Recent posts

In the opening of his new book, “This Was Then” Mike Abrahams states “these photographs, taken between 1973 and 2001, are of ordinary lives that are so often ignored and marginalized.” The book showcases 133 of his black and white images. He goes on to say, “even though I have been privileged to travel widely with my camera, it is the lives that I have been able to document in Britain that hold the greatest significance for me. “Those years were marked by major political and economic upheaval, and Mike’s camera captures ordinary people, old and the young, going through both the mundane and the chaotic moments of their lives.

“The cemetery seizes your mind. After wandering around here for three years, I’d pretty much lost the need to take pictures, but kept returning, the last time to search for the gravestones and statues in the pictures I’d already taken” Eugene Richards writes in the afterward of his new book, “Remembrance Garden – A Portrait of Green-Wood Cemetery”. Besides presenting a collection of the photographs he took over that period, the book includes several personal remembrances as well as a collection of the epitaphs he encountered.

My friend, Neal Rantoul sent me images and information about his latest project.

The young men that are the subject of Jim Mangan’s new book, “The Crick”, were raised in a rural Colorado town ruled over by a prophet. They were cast out of their church and forced to create a life for themselves. They formed a unique community based on what they knew, the love of nature and the cowboy life. Jim’s photographs, taken over a period of six years, are both hauntingly beautiful and sadly tragic at the same time.

When you Google the name Garry Winogrand and select the images tag, you see dozens of his iconic black and white images. Only if you take the time scroll far down the page do you start to see a few color images. I know that my perception of his work was always based on his classic black and white photographs. Winogrand Color, offers Winogrand fans a collection of rarely, if ever, seen color images.

Susanne Breidenbach states in her forward to Lucinda Devlin’s new book, Frames of Reference, that “for nearly half a century Lucinda Devlin has been photographing interiors and outdoor spaces, architecture and landscapes, applying a highly consistent approach and demonstrating the utmost concentration.” Indeed, she has. This beautifully designed and produced book features her photographs whose subjects range from Orpheus Disco, Syracuse, New York, 1978 to Lethal Injection Chamber, Texas State Prison, Huntsville, Texas, 1992.

At a recent studio visit, I saw this series of work and was knocked out by its boldness. I asked Olivia Parker if she would be willing to have an exhibition featuring the series at Curry College and she was kind enough to agree. Alison Poor-Donahue and I co-curated the exhibition titled "Olivia Parker - Persephone's Graffiti". Exhibition infomation is posted here.

I’ve known Neal Rantoul for several decades. During that time, Neal was the head of the Photo Program at Northeastern University in Boston as well as an extensively exhibited and collected fine arts photographer. Neal continues to create new work and recently he sent me information and images from his latest series, Shirley.

Bruce Davidson: The Way Back will be on view at Howard Greenberg Gallery from June 22 through September 16, 2023. Selected by the acclaimed photographer from his vast archive, the exhibition will present previously unpublished work dating from 1957-1977.

Ian Berry (born 1934) is a British photojournalist with Magnum Photos. He made his reputation in South Africa, where he worked for the Daily Mail and later for Drum magazine. He was the only photographer to document the massacre at Sharpeville in 1960, and his photographs were used in the trial to prove the victims' innocence. Ian Berry was also invited by Henri Cartier-Bresson to join Magnum Photos in 1962 when he was based in Paris; five years later he became a full member.

Andrea Gjestvang spent six years photographing on the Faroe Islands documenting the men who are referred to as “Atlantic Cowboys”, men who live in a primarily male society making a very demanding living off the sea and the land.

In her collection of both black & white and color photographs, artist Gretchen Grace captures this sense of vibrancy and possibility. New York is a city so full of personality and people that anything could happen at any given moment. By combining black and white images taken in a classic 'caught moment' street photography aesthetic, along with nuanced color studies and abstractions, Grace conveys this complexity unique to the city.

Photographer Rob Hammer logs in an average of 35,000 miles per year road-tripping around the United States in his truck with his dog, exploring, discovering, and photographing what he's said can be "an endless expanse of unknown." He's come to call the trips "treasure hunts," and the 75 color images collected in his new book Roadside Meditations reflect a sense of respect and wonder not only for the landscapes and human imprint he discovers along the way, but also for the immersive process itself.

Before Social Media, artists would get together over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and discuss their latest work. The Danforth Museum’s exhibition, Visionary Boston, features three mid-century Boston artists who were part of a group of local artists that were instrumental in defining a unique direction for Boston painting, photography, and sculpture.

Marc Vallée is a London based documentary photographer. His new book is titled “90s Archive: Volume One”.
Marc has photographed youth culture, in Paris, Berlin, and London. He has made work about the tension between public and private space in the context of graffiti, skateboarding and queer cultures. He has self-published zines and shown in group exhibitions at the Museum of London and Somerset House.

In the years from 1973 to 1977, Steve Dunwell photographed New England textile mill workers in their working environment. To highlight the series, he has assembled a portfolio showcasing nine of the portraits. The portfolio, titled “With These Hands” is a collection of elegantly crafted, black and white portraits of the mill workers.

The world has lost an unknown number of irreplaceable masterpieces due to war. Tragically, it continues today because of the war in Ukraine. Elena Subach’s new book documents the work of courageous Ukrainians to save as much of their cultural masterpieces as possible.

David was working on his series of street people portraits during a very chaotic time in New York City. The city was in a massive financial crisis. Ed Koch was the mayor. Crime had exploded and Studio 51 was at its height of popularity. With all this going on, the city streets gave David a wondrous array of people to meet and photograph.

This is an amazing book on many levels. I recommend Gordon Parks, Pittsburgh Grease Plant, 1944-1946 to anyone who is interested in seeing brilliant editorial photography by one of its masters.
It expanded my knowledge and appreciation of his work and his contribution to documenting the Black American experience.

Chris Anthony’s new book, "Thanks, We'll take it from here", lives at the intersection of photography and the income equality revolution. It’s a vibrant, ruckus collection of photographs and the multitude of materials that make up the income equality movement in all its forms today.

Look closer. That’s exactly what Ken Graves and Eva Lipman did when they worked together on the photographs in the new book, "Restraint and Desire". At first, the images seem to just capture a moment during a multitude of social events, but if you look closer, the images capture a moment that is crystalized in the title of the book – restraint and desire.

In Brian Finke’s new book “Backyard Fights”, he documents the people and the culture of backyard boxing in rural Virginia.

As a graphic designer and a fine arts photographer, there is nothing I admire more than a well-conceived and executed hardcover photobook. Robbie Lawrence’s Blackwater River is the best designed and produced photobook I have seen this year.

I’ve Been A Big Fan Of This Series Since I First Saw Pelle’s Prints It At A Portfolio Review Several Years Ago. Pelle Cass’s New Book Gives You A Chance To See A Number Of His Wonderfully Overly-Populated Photographs.

Mike Smith’s new book of black and white portraits, Streets of Boston, is filled with people in the real streets and neighborhoods of Boston. The people that I see every day, the people that live and work here for most for all their lives.

Donavon Smallwood’s new book, Languor, is an ode to NYC’s Central Park. With the pandemic at hand and the history of Seneca Village in mind, Smallwood created photographs of tentative comfort and appreciation as an examination of nature, home, tranquility, and escape.

Polly Alderton is a British photographer. Her work is largely portrait based and is centred around The Family Album under the premise of, 'Show Don't Tell.'

„Dios Mio!“ by Brian Sergio is a powerfully designed and produced book. Brian states about the photographs he selected for the book, “As I was going through my pictures, I came across a folder full of randomly selected photographs from various projects or sources that may be discontinued or cannot be categorized.”

Giacomo Brunelli’s new book, “New York”, is a beautifully designed book of New York street photographs shot in a gritty black and white, high-contrast style.

Accompanying the first solo exhibition of Swiss Guinean artist Namsa Leuba at The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston, Crossed Looks features Leuba’s major projects to date, including photography series in Guinea, South Africa, Nigeria and Benin, and the debut of a new series recently made in Tahiti.