Review by Gerhard Clausing • This fascinating photobook combines images of two seemingly unrelated subjects, old cars and cattle. In recent travels across the United States, Ute Behrend was struck by the ubiquitous presence of these two elements throughout the landscape. As we involve ourselves in the contents and juxtapositions found in this project, we detect a deeper significance on several levels. These are not just vast standard American landscapes with some appealing elements in them, but also have a deeper meaning, giving us close-up views about American culture, past and present. We g ..read more

Review by Douglas Stockdale • Katherine Longly and Cécile Hupin have created a conceptual photojournalistic project; a series of interviews, quotes, screen grabs and reuse of photographs, repurposed to create a narrative that asks the question: If money cannot buy happiness, what drives people to participate in a lottery? The book is design and sequenced in a documentary style. A series of graphic headlines are interspersed with black and white photographic images and narrative details of some one’s personal story related to the ups and downs of being involving in some aspect of playing ..read more

Review by Gerhard Clausing • The photographic work of Arthur Tress  is highly regarded, even treasured, for a number of reasons. He combines several genres in a unique and personal manner: street photography, portraiture/the depiction of relationships, and environmental observations. With a very special mysterious way of integrating moments, his images often border on or specifically display a very surreal point of view, frequently facilitated by staging some situations. This photobook was published in conjunction with a recent Getty exhibition and focuses on his early work from the ..read more

Review by Lee Halvorsen • Before starting a photo book, I usually flip quickly through the pages from back to front to give me a feel for the book. I started to do the same with this small book but surprisingly found myself often pausing to absorb the abstract images more purposefully. The book is an unusual visual essay of the author’s observations, proposals and conclusions enhanced by immersive, abstract images.  The title and images hint at a theme of water however, water is more the vessel of the metaphor. The progressive development of the theme sequenced with the abstract ima ..read more

Review by Douglas Stockdale • Whose land is it? This is probably the underlying question for Lana Z Caplan’s photodocumentary project of an expansive region of coastal California, which also represents a broader question for all of North America and the world beyond. Her specific subject is an area generally identified as Oceano, located on the Pacific coast of middle California, historically the land of the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini (ytt) Northern Chumash, who still claim parts of this area, but also overlapping ownerships by the state of California, US Federal National Wildlife ..read more

Review by Gerhard Clausing • Some 25 years ago, the group of people known as the Uyghurs, a large ethnic minority in China, primarily of the Islamic faith, were still relatively unencumbered by much outside control. Since then the Chinese government has imposed many procedures on these people that have received international criticism. In 1998, just before all these latest developments, the renowned documentary photographer Kevin Bubriski captured the cultural traditions and life of the Uyghurs, creating a kaleidoscope of their time, a valuable time capsule now presented in this new photobook ..read more

Review by Brian F. O’Neill • Ed Panar’s January 2024 release Winter Nights, Walking, has arrived after much anticipation. I originally became aware of Panar’s work with the 2018 release of In the Vicinity (published with Deadbeat Club), a book that depicted indirect aspects of the marijuana market in the so-called Emerald Triangle of California (where Panar worked seasonally for years). Drawn to his unpretentious imagery, as well as photographic engagement across numerous American geographies, I was especially excited for Winter Nights, Walking, because of its treatment of night photography a ..read more

Review by  Gerhard Clausing • Keeping the hidden child in each of us alive is not easy. Many influences and factors along the way try to squash it as time goes by, to the point that it gets heavily suppressed. Yet it is that hidden creative force that needs to be nurtured and brought to the forefront in order to allow your creativity to blossom forth. So it is a great pleasure for me to see that this volume by Nancy Richards Farese not only deals with child’s play, but also has a playful approach to the presentation. To begin with, the dust jacket is illustrated with a warm-toned color i ..read more

Review by Brian F. O’Neill • There are some books that just grab you. They demand your attention. There are others that seem to scream for attention, but their images and production might let you down. Often, we call the pictures in such books cliché. We don’t need to name the books. Just quietly think to yourself the most recent one you have seen. You know, to be respectful. Recently, at the excellent Artazart along the Canal St. Martin in Paris, I was overwhelmed with the stock of art, design, and photography books. Some I had seen before – the better-known catalogue type coffee table books ..read more

Review by  Gerhard Clausing • The most extraordinary photobooks are those that have a grip on you and become very personal as you spend more time with them. Henry Schulz’s book is precisely that kind of a project. In 61 images he presents assemblages of human elements that cut through time and space. Even though they look like it, these are by no means ordinary landscapes or cityscapes or even a mixture of the two categories. We are looking at monochrome evidence of human things that evoke a variety of associations. One would need to invent a new term for this kind of image, such as thin ..read more