No comments about The Sunlight Print Kit: Materials, Techniques, and Projects for Homemade Photography.

5 comments about Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago.

1. Our America is a book begging to be shared. It is not a quiet or introspective read. It is an in-your-face, honest tale in the voice of two young teens who are wise beyond their years. Without question, it is the best book that I teach to my freshman level English class in terms of student engagement. It challenges prior knowledge, stereotypes, and opinions and broadens a student's sense of self and the world around him. Compiled from hundreds of hours of audio footage, the book captures two radio documentaries ("Ghetto Life 101" and "Remorse: The 14 Stories of Eric Morse") paired along additional footage. LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman have honest and open voices that allow the reader to enter their world.



2. ...for use in the classroom on diversity, cultural difference, and endurance over challenges in a person's environment.



3. Our America, a book by two young boys from a housing project on the South Side of Chicago, is raw and beautiful all at once. It tells the story of the authors, LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman, as they make their way in the Ida B. Well's housing project and tell the story of a five year-old's death from one of the buildings. The book, which was written by the boys in collaboration with author David Isay, is part journalism, part activism and part reflection. It takes a very factual look at the events of the child's death, there are transcriptions from interviews, and there are their own ramblings and editorializing about what's going on in their part of the country.
   
   The boys become involved simply by bringing their notebooks, pens, tape recorders, cameras (and their instincts) to their own neighborhood. Interview subjects include teachers, young children, cousins, neighbors, the chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority, police officers and lawyers. Their approach is direct and simple - they ask the tough questions of the people in charge. For example, Lloyd asks the CHA chairman, "Would you want your kids growing up in these public houses?" With the help of David Isay, LeAlan and Lloyd become the chroniclers of their particular time and place.
   
   The book's readability level is low - at maximum, it's on a fifth grade level in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure. However, the themes and issues developed in the book are far more advanced. Students of any age level in high school should be able to grasp the content and then think critically about the issues it presents around racism, poverty, gang violence, family structure and public housing. It is a book aimed not only at young people but also the adults in power, the people who make the decisions that affect the poor.
   
   Our America is not something to pick up for light Saturday afternoon reading, or to help you forget about the troubles of the world. Instead it's a book to crack open the minds of two young boys living an all-too-common reality, and face both the issues and the joys that they see every day. Its literary value is lesser than its cultural significance, one of the few books written by young African Americans and one of the few resources for genuine information about what their lives are like.
   
   Our America is published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, 1997.



4. We read this book in school and I felt really bad for the kids. I don't know what I would have done if something like that happened to someone I know.
   
   I related to this book because I live close to this neighborhood, but I feel lucky that my life is so much better.



5. This telling account of life on the south side of Chicago is worth reading to catch a glimpse of the struggles and hardships that marginalize this south side community. The narrative and accounts of life in Chicago's public housing complexes unveil the social conflict that is tucked away from viewing and ignored by outsiders.
   
   To shed light on the situation, two teenagers, assigned by the National Public Radio, conduct interviews with family members, neighbors, and friends throughout the text. During the process of their interviews, they describe the everyday life and hopes of escaping the self destruction of those who must live in the projects especially Ida B. Wells public housing.
   
   The book is a short read of two hundred pages with a reading level of sixth grade. Despite the simplicity of the layout of the accounts, the descriptions of urban city life and death are profound. Since the teenagers' interviews, some of the public housing complexes have been brought down. The south side of Chicago is beginning to prosper as new schools and businesses bring opportunity and hope to a community that seemed abandoned.
   
   Whether you are a student, parent, or professional, reading this book will make you want to take action to rebuild our community.

2 comments about The Guide to Kansas Birds and Birding Hot Spots.

1. It is very through and informative and I would recommend it to any one trying to identify birds.



2. A fine gem, summarizing the birds most likely to be seen in Kansas. Each bird gets a full page with photo and helpful information like how to recognize them, where to find them, and when to find them. The photos are excellent! New birders will quickly find a species without sorting through the clutter of a larger field guide. Experienced birders may glean details such as where and when to find target species.

1 comments about The Fourth Wall.

1. Beautiful portraits in a perfect printed grayscale. I like the way the actors were taken out the scene and become reallife people

5 comments about Diana: Princess of Wales.

1. As a fan of Diana's, I enjoyed seeing a more casual side of Diana. The picutres show a side of the princess that reaffirm how beautiful she was in all settings, not just formal. The pictures however are a little soft in the focus arena.



2. Five months before Princess Diana's death in August, 1997 she sat for what was to be her last photo session with the Peruvian photographer Mario Testino. The results for the most part are quite wonderful. Often shot in natural light, sometimes smiling naturally-- a difficult task for any photographer to capture-- Diana, relaxed and unadorned (she wears no jewelry and is barefoot and seated sometimes on an all-white sofa), seems to be having a very good time and could almost be the exquisitely beautiful woman next door. Having said that, I noticed that in a shot or two she has an unflattering nose. Unlike too many Brits, however, she was blessed with beautiful teeth-- and a smile that would melt concrete.
   
   In an interview with the photographer that accompanies these photos that were shot for a spread in "Vanity Fair" that sold out on the newsstands he reminisces about the day he shot these photographs and the good time that both he and his subject had doing them, commenting on what he calls real laughter, laughter from the inside, that he was able to elicit-- it is obvious in the photographs-- from Diana. In a touching note, he mentions that these photographs became the favorites of Diana's boys.
   
   My two favorites-- at least today as they might change the next time I look at this beautifully printed book by Taschen-- are numbers 33 (Diana is clutching her hands at her ankles) and 54 with 45 (the pensive Diana) as a close third. Other favorites are 42, 43, 9, 10, 36, 10 and 23, where she is most beautiful.
   
   Diana is wearing some of the 79 dresses she auctioned off at Christie's for charity. If you are interested, information about the clothes is included at the back of the book. But this isn't about the clothes. It is about Diana; she is certainly no mannequin here.
   
   Sixty or so photographs, both in black and white and in color, are included in this book; they are reproduced and numbered in the back. Fraydon Carter wrote a foreword; Meredith Etherington-Smith, an introduction.
   
   While these photographs take on a special significance because they are the last formal ones of Princess Diana before her tragic death, had she lived, she would of course have been photographed dozens and dozens of times. I cannot imagine, however, that these by Testino would not have been seen as some of the most beautiful, most compelling and would have held their own with whatever photographs came after them.



3. Stunning pictures, just a beautiful piece of art that will leave you speechless. Princess Diana was beautiful inside and out, there's nothing left to say.



4. AWFUL! Only a few photos, repeated several times, most were out of focus. Would never have purchased if I could have looked inside. I guess that's why it was wrapped in plastic in a local bookstore.



5. Although you can buy plenty of other books with photos of Diana, Testino photographed her like no one else. She looks casual, relaxed and happy in these photos. Diana does not look at all "glammed" up with excessive makeup and hair styling. The way you would see her at home, inspite of the gowns she wears in these photos. Testino captured a Diana that was probably only seen by family and friends, and in these shots he shared that Diana with the rest of the world.

No comments about 2009 Photographer's Market.

3 comments about Stacked Decks: The Art and History of Erotic Playing Cards.

1. Interesting topic, interesting book. Good images, but resolution could be better. If you are into fine photography and a collector of cards this book is a good reference of this subject. Every card collector should consider getting a copy of this book. Emphasis is on the fine art and attractive models, and historic approach. A nice book worth the price.



2. Mark Rotenberg is the obvious choice to do a book on pin-up playing cards, the intro says the contents are from his 450 decks (the world's biggest collection? Probably!). There isn't too much to say about a product that has very few clues about the models, photographers, printers yet over the years the numbers manufactured must run into the millions of packs. Of the 452 cards in the book the majority show anonymous females in predictably unimaginative stock glamour poses that card printers could buy for next to nothing.
   
   I thought the illustrative cards much more interesting. There are a few showing the paintings of Heinz Villiger, Joyce Ballantyne, Al Moore and Gil Elvgren. Strangely no Petty or Vargas decks, were the reproduction rights too expensive? The best cards in the book are surely the two decks put out in 1955 by Parisian manufacturer Editions Philibert who commissioned artist Paul-Emile Becat to paint a series of miniatures showing erotic Florentine life during the Renaissance and another set about Casanova. When compared to these two decks the book's photo glamour material come across as the tacky cards they really are.
   
   It is unfortunate that the book's production is very dull. The cards are presented full on, with none angled or overlapping each other. The addition of a drop shadow would have given them a lift. As most of the cards are visually unimaginative perhaps a few still-life photos throughout the book would provide some interest: a poker hand on a card table with some chips, a scattered deck of cards as a background with four or five prominent. I thought it was particular annoying that so many cards are shown larger than the originals (and some really are too big) which only emphasizes their cheap subject matter and poor printing.
   
   If there had been more creative input in the way the contents had been presented I think this could have been a much more interesting book.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.



3. Stacked Decks is fabulous! There are many, many pages of kitschy, campy 1940s through 70s "nudie" cards, featuring both photos and illustrations. Some are sweet in that girl-next-door way, some are sexy and sultry (or even a bit slutty), and some are just plain hilarious! There are also some really old cards dating back to the 1800s and some fascinating history. It's a perfect present for anyone who loves poker or is interested in pin-up art.

2 comments about Graphics on the Kindle (Book 1 of the "Graphics on the Kindle" Series).

1. One of the wonderful things about the marketplace of the mind that is opened up by the Kindle and other new technologies is that it allows us to focus on the things that we choose, the things we know about, the things we want to learn about, the things that drive us, the things that we are passionate about. Which I suppose is a flowery way of saying that, when there are skills that we do not have, we can find others who have these skills, who share them with us in terrific little e-books like this one. Whether you want to learn how to have fun with graphics on your own Kindle or incorporate graphics into a Kindle document, Manuel Burgos is a great go-to guy to have on your side. I was so impressed with what I read in Graphics on the Kindle that I contacted Manuel and engaged him to help me with the cover design for the print-on-paper version of Beyond the Literary-Industrial Complex: How Authors and Publishers Are Using the Amazon Kindle and Other New Technologies (... to Unleash an Indie Movement of Readers and Writers), and he did a wonderful job. I have no doubt that I will go back to him when it is time for a print-on-paper version of How to Use the Amazon Kindle for Email & Other Cool Tricks: Read and Answer Email Anywhere, Anytime on the Amazing Amazon Kindle (The Complete User's Guide to the Amazing Amazon Kindle).



2. Feel free to post any questions for the author as a comment to this post. We'll answer them daily. Thanks!
   
   ATTENTION COMIC BOOK, COMIC STRIP, AND GRAPHIC NOVEL CREATORS AND PUBLISHERS! Because you demanded it! Rare Arts is pleased to present its next title, Formatting Comics for the Kindle (Graphics on the Kindle). This second e-book of the "Graphics on the Kindle" series is the first to tackle the challenge of KINDLE E-COMICS! Check it out today!

4 comments about Winogrand: Figments From The Real World.

1. You won't regret putting this one in your collection. Garry probably lost the plot out there in tv land toward the end but Moma maestro plucks 20 or 30 pictures out of the dead zone to give us a treat. Frankly liked the post-humous stuff just as much and the book gives you a super buzz if you like that good ol' street stalker stuff. Don't even think about it ...whack it in the collection or send it as a gift...it's a great book.



2. Gary Winogrand came out of the generation of street photography inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson that included Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, and Joel Meyerowitz. He worked at framing the "decisive moment" as he filled his black and white composition with split-second accuracy and detail. His subjects are caught mid-flight in candid moments of personal introspection, or engaged in social activity. There are photos of secretaries walking back to their Manhattan mid-town offices after lunch. There are photos of couples dancing, holding each other's gaze and unaware that the camera has recorded their intimate glance into each other's eyes. He shot the famous at night clubs, and took photos of passengers arriving and departing international airports. Wherever there were people on lines at movies, at airports, or walking down crowded city avenues, or stopping at store windows, or entering and exiting revolving doorways of skyscrapers, or of people waiting at street corners, kids hanging out, the elderly on benches, the young in love in each other's arms, Winogrand was there with his camera.
   
   What you see through his lens is his version of America, of who we are, and what we look like, and how we fill in the spaces we inhabit from small towns in America out west, to the big city streets of Los Angeles and New York. He captures us as we work and play, he records how we gape as spectators at rodeos or at stippers at strip tease clubs, or at movies, or at square dances and Fourth of July parades in small-towns. He captures us at home, in our yards, in our cars, at zoos and at ball games and in our rooms isolated and alone.
   
   Winogrand captures the soul of a nation. He is artful in his use of black and white in that he cuts a slice of reality and presents it as a full meal for our eyes to feast on. You can enter his composition from any angle and find a way into his image.
   
   Winogrand is an American master, and this collection gathers the best of his many exhibits and shows and books of photographs and lays them out in chronological fashion, from the early 1950s to the the early 1980s in order that we can study the development of his genius over the course of his career.



3. A very good retrospective of Garry Winogrand's career. All my favourite Winogrand photos are included, and the quality of the printing is excellent -- the images are not too dark nor too contrasty, with plenty of detail.



4. a wonderful collection of images from street photographer garry winnogrand--this collection if from all over the country during the 50's, 60's and 70's

3 comments about Myth of the Machine : Technics and Human Development.

1. Lewis Mumford was one of the 20th century's most important philosophers, and the two-volume set Myth of the Machine (Volume 1 is Technics and Human Development; and Volume 2 is The Pentagon of Power) are probably his most important books: the summation of his life's work. In writing as elegant as it is clear, Mumford makes plain the death urge that has always underlain civilization, which Mumford calls "the machine," and later "the megamachine." This is a social structure organized not around any organic human needs, but around the "needs" of the machines that have come to characterize and control our lives. These are crucial, incisive, devastating books. I cannot praise them highly enough.



2. rather than the typical modern myths about mankind and its evolution - evoked by TV-series like "The X-Files" - this great book - as an amazing anthology of the human intellect - shows the "whole truth" ( that is not outhere by the way, but in our brains ) and how much we are going to lose of our human capacilities if we adore the principle of the machine!



3. This superb book discusses why language was mans most valuable tool ever developed and critiques opinions that say other wise. Enjoy, Mumford was a true geniu