5 comments about Women in the Material World.

1. i bought this book for my aunt who is a single, middle-aged, jouyful southern woman. she is an exuberant believer in Jesus Christ who unfortunately doesn't know much of his world beyond the USA, and i thought this would be a good way for her to explore it while connecting (a word that is very near to her counselor's heart) with people.
   i don't know how much she has read yet, but my sister and i devoured it in the few days that we had it. we came away from it feeling even more curious about life in different places and reminded of our privilege as women to live in a financially independent manner.
   all in all, if you need an antidote to self, this book will help.



2. I read the Material World several years ago and I was excited to see that Peter and Faith had published a "sequel" of sorts for the book. Women in the Material World is fascinating, especially if you can review it side by side to the Material World. I thought the questions regarding love in their marriage and their expectations for their children were so interesting. I am very happy with my purchase of this book and I recommend it to anyone who is considering it.



3. A companion to Material World: Portrait of the Global Family, this book is an incredible expose of the lives of typical, average women all over the world. I, as an American woman with everything I could ever possibly dream of, especially appreciate seeing how things may have different for me had God just decided to make me the girl child of a Vietnamese working family vs. my background. It really makes you take stock of your life, appreciate it, and feel blessed no matter what your circumstances may be. America is truly a wealthy and favored nation. Even our poor, compared with most of the countries in the world, are rich! We should all feel compelled to give back, not matter how much (or how little) we have. I've been giving this book to my friends for gifts (thank you, Amazon!) A MUST READ!



4. A sequel to the authors' successful, "Material World: A Global Family Portrait," which interviewed 30 "statistically average" families from around the world and photographed them surrounded by all their worldly goods, "Women In The Material World," by Faith D'Aluisio and Peter Menzel, revisits 21 women from these families.

   With interviews conducted by women over a period of days, even weeks, and 375 color photographs of women captured in their daily lives, this is an absorbing look into an overlooked world of marriage, women's work and families. From female circumcision to divorce, from finances to education, gender roles, work, and friends, women discuss every aspect of their lives - seemingly freely.
   
   Two themes repeat through this largely agricultural world - women's work begins before dawn and ends long after dark and most women feel they have enough children - whatever that number may be.

   This is a fascinating, captivating and beautiful volume, to be read, not just browsed.




5. This book is a superlative sequel to the early Material World by Peter Menzel. I have read the earlier book so many times that when this new volume came out, I bought it immediately sight unseen. In this book, Faith D'Aluisio revisits 19 of the 30 families featured in the Material World to find out about the women's lives.

   The articles are organized alphabetically, together with short features on marriage, laundry, work, education, childcare, hair, food, water, and friends. At the back of the book, we find statistical charts about women, and a useful statistics glossary. Each article has an extended interview with the mother of the family that reveals parts of her life story as well as her attitudes towards topics such as marriage, child care, education, money, and possessions. The articles are of course filled with numerous color photos, large and small, of the women at work and with other family members.

   The Material World itself is a monumental book, but it was hard to go back to it after reading this book, where we find that the details presented in the Material World were so incredibly superficial. For example, family life for Maria dos Anjos Ferrerira in Brazil or Carmen Balderas de Castillo in Mexico isn't nearly as rosy as one might guess from looking at their original smiling photos in the Material World. On the other hand, Zhanna Kapralova from Russia continues to be a survivor. No matter how much you learn from the Material World, it will be far eclipsed by this book with its extended interviews and additional photographs.

No comments about Glamour of the Gods.

5 comments about If It's Purple, Someone's Gonna Die: The Power of Color in Visual Storytelling.

1. As a student first looking into the true meaning behind film, I enjoyed "If It's Purple Someone's Gonna Die". In order to recognize the cultural significance of a film, its necessary to notice and understand the emotions that the director wishes to display which cannot always be conveyed through dialogue. Through references to films that have greatly impacted American society, Bellantoni does an excellent job of helping the reader see the crucial role color plays in film.
   One of the things I enjoyed most about this work was the stress placed on the feelings and reactions of the audience when certain colors take over the screen. For example, purple, seen as a color that represents royalty from an intellectual perspective actually has associations with the noncorporal in the context of human emotion. However, I did feel that Bellantoni did not provide evidence to support many of her claims. For example, when discussing the color green, Bellantoni states that people hesitate to consume green foods or drinks because of its correlation with evil. Though this may be true, her statements sometimes seemed subjective. Statistical evidence may have made these points more effective.
   Lastly, I thought that Bellantoni's work is an overall success in expressing the role color plays in film because of the connections made to the reader. Whether or not one is a film student, Bellantoni cites groundbreaking films that have had an effect on all of our lives. Many can recall the girl in the red coat in Schindler's List and our implied connection to her or the progression through the primary colors representing an emotional and intellectual journey in Malcolm X. These examples presented in the text make it possible for the reader to refer back to a film whose use of color affects them physically and emotionally. By relating to her audience, and providing memorable, relevant examples, Bellantoni makes it possible for the reader to understand the visceral effects of color in film.



2. As a student in a university level film-studies class, I found this text to be not only intriguingly insightful but also truly helpful in regards to one's ability to intelligently dissect a film. The only minor drawback to If It's Purple, Somebody's Going to Die is Bellantoni's steadfast determination to reference anecdotal factoids without backing them up. While her insightful commentaries on how colors make one feel and what they indicate are impressively well researched, I found her off hand references to red cars getting pulled over more than others etc. to be a bit unfounded.
   
   In addition to the aforementioned fact dropping, it appears Bellantoni starts every chapter by calling the color in question a dual-purpose, contradictory, or multi-use color. While she does always clarify how/why these colors have the ability to produce opposite reactions from the reader, the nitty-gritty of these explanations becomes tedious (95% white yellow, 50% white yellow, 100% pure yellow etc.).
   
   Overall, once you accept the fact that Bellantoni truly knows all there is to know about color in film, and believe me, you will after you see enough people wearing purple die, then this text becomes an invaluable resource. I'm giving it four stars as an indication of how easy it is to ignore the few downsides mentioned above. Definitely an excellent resource.



3. As an instructor of film-studies, I needed a text that tackled color-theory but used terms that first-year college-students could understand (i.e. a jargon-free examination of color in film). Bellantoni's work easily fulfills this need.
   
   Foremost, Bellantoni logically divides her chapters by color (How refreshing to find a technical-work which travels a simple path!!) Within these chapters, are references to both well-known films (ex. "The Godfather," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Saving Private Ryan," "American Beauty," "Eyes Wide Shut," "Rosemary's Baby" and "Malcolm X") as well as lesser-watched films (ex. "Mi Familia," "Eve's Bayou, and "The Caveman's Valentine"). The tremendous range of examples ensures that every reader will find a film-favorite for each color entry. (No need to worry about this being another text brimming with obscure/out-of-print works!!)
   
   Now, let me be clear about Bellantoni's work. She emphasizes that there are both "intellectual" and "visceral" responses to color. Her text focuses almost entirely on the "visceral" (which she repeatedly states). Some detractors of the Bellentoni's find fault with her "failure" to explore the "intellectual." Nonsense. Frankly, I prefer this focused approach to a broader (potentially sloppy) work. The richness of this text would have suffered if Belllantoni felt compelled to address every possible interpretation.
   
   While I enjoyed Bellantoni's personal anecdotes, I was occasionally frustrated by her neglecting to cite sources for a variety of evidence. For instance, when she asserts that "red cars get more speeding tickets than cars of any other color," I would have appreciated a footnote citing her source (or even providing the data)(2). Nonetheless, these were minor irritations in an overall informative work. What compensates for this "problem" is her interviews with cinematographers. These frequent "blurbs" lend credence to Bellantoni's work ... if ever you doubted the importance of color, just read a few of these inserts and you will become a "believer."
   
   In my class we read one chapter a week ... by the last week, my students were color-masters!! The assigned films had become exercises in color-exploration ... to the point where I had to stop my class and say "Let's look at other elements also!" What this tells me is that Bellantoni's work is easily accessible to every student and genuinely exciting!! While my class has completed readings on most film elements, they inevitably want to return to Bellantoni's work on color and camp there! That kind of enthusiasm ... well, that's rare!
   
   Thank you, Professor Bellantoni for inspiring excitement in my students! What a gift you have given to professors and students alike!!



4. This book is definitely on the beginners side of the spectrum. (no pun intended) You're not going to learn to be a production designer just from reading it, but it's a great start to becoming more aware of the use of color in film (or comics, video games or any other visual media) to influence underlying mood of the story. And once you're aware of color's presence, you can start making educated choices on how to use color in your own work.
   
   Although a few more pictures would've been nice, the author does a good job of taking each of the six primary & secondary colors and defining its role in general and then giving numerous specific examples of the different visual and emotional tones each color can take.
   
   If nothing else, this book added about 8 movies to my Netflix queue.



5. Unlike most books on the psychology of color, this one focuses on film and relies heavily on the author's personal experience teaching the subject. Useful for film students--and others.

2 comments about Typologies of Industrial Buildings.

1. Reading the introduction to this remarkable book I came across the fact that Bern and Hilla Becher are continuing the German tradition of companies photographing their industrial premises. Alfred Krupp, about 1860, was the first to have his own photographer and a printing plant to produce promotional material. Other companies followed and printed ever more lavish photo books about their plants.
   
   The Bechers though have pursued, since 1957, a unique photographic objective in attempting to record as much of the industrial landscape as possible but in a way that is personal to them. Their head on, flat perspective and grey sky backgrounds just seem so right as you turn the pages. I think this is the only book to show so many of their photos: just over 1500. They are divided into 130 Plates with between six and thirty photos to a Plate though they are mostly fifteen throughout the book. The structure sequence is water towers, cooling towers, gas tanks, colliery winding towers, preparation plants, gravel plants, lime kilns, grain elevators, coal bunkers, blast furnaces, details (close-ups) and industrial facades. Winding towers has thirty Plates with over four hundred photos. The briefest of captions locate the place, country and the photo date.
   
   Armin Zweite writes a thirty page introduction (translated from German which makes it seem overly complex) but full of interesting insights about the Bechers work, style origins and their place in contemporary photography. The book is beautifully produced as one would expect from the German publishers Schirmer (MIT have the English language rights) with quality paper and printing in a 200 screen.
   
   Because Typologies contains so many works taken by these two remarkable photographers I think it is way above the usual art monograph.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
   



2. Fabulous photos arranged in logical and pleasing order. Captions are limited to location only. I would have enjoyed a little more explanation of the function of the building types shown. However, as the blurb says "Bernd and Hilla Becher's photography can be considered conceptual art, typological study, and topological documentation."
   The text is limited to the Bechers' approach to their photographic art and is a little dense and esoteric for the average reader. Definitely for those who wish to understand the Bechers' place in the art world.
   I'll keep it for the wonderful pictures!

5 comments about Hot Rod Pin-ups.

1. The cars are much better than the girls. The women generally are not classy looking. Maybe that is what David Perry had in mind. The cover shot is the best pinup shot. The photography is super.



2. I love this book. It shows fashion from various eras and adds the rough style of classic cars. The history is a good added bonus, but the pictures are more interesting to look at. Very colorful and exciting.



3. Great photography,with some great babes draped over cool cars.
   Dave Perry has a way of photographing period perfect clothed girls in provocative ways that make the girls a counterpoint to beater rods. If you've got a grain of warm blood still pulsing though your veins then these girls will quicken the pulse.



4. David Perry not only gets the Hot Rod Kulture, he's part of it! and luckily, for us, he captures it on film, with mastery.
   The book is awsome. His choice of cars and models is right m*#@ing on!
   The only problem is keeping my friend's greasy mitts off my copy...
   I guess I'll have to get a couple more...books that is



5. David perry (along with Chas Ray Kriger) is one of the two best photographic exponents of the future noir pinup genre. I waited a long time for the release of this book, and as I expected,the photographs are wonderful. Pity the book has been let down with some of the worst publishing design I have seen in ages. The cheesy slogans etc posted over the photographs and the annoying black boxes with model and car info in the corner of each photo are very distracting. The photographs speak well enough for themselves and would have been much better suited to full page spreads (as in David Perry's Hot Rod book) without the annoyingly colourful graphic design vomit on each page. Anyway if you dig pin up photography its still worth your dough..

2 comments about Burning Angel.

1. Suds, stockings, panties, roller skates, a bra tug or war, and some of your favorite porn stars like Joanna Angel and Dana Dearmond are just some of the delights that await you in much-admired photographer Brenda Staudenmaier's debut book. While most of the models have the trademarke Buring Angel punk tattoo look, some complete with a snarl, there are also some very cute, but still sexy, shots - fellating a curling iron, licking a happy face lollipop, baring everything against a graffiti-covered wall or on a rooftop with New York City as the backdrop.
   
   The range of photos and types of models is remarkable, and while they certainly have things in common, Staudenmaier seeks out each girl's special charm, whether a look or a body part or a pose or setting. These photos are vibrant, daring, bold and sexy, without ever resorting to clichés. There are girls with guns and girls in latex. There are lots of very cute pairs of underwear. I'm partial to one stunning redhead and many of the two-girl sets. All of these photos, taken for the site Burning Angel, are very direct; though posed, they have a candidness about them that lets the models' beauty, as well as their quirks, shine through. My favorites here are ones I call the "whoops" photos, ones where the girls are looking at the camera like, "Whoops, I forgot I had my clothes off. Silly me!" There's something slyly sexy about those shots, like Barely Legal girls gone wild in a way Joe Francis would never condone. They're wild because they allow themselves to be, and so does Staudenmaier.



2. This book is a must have for any fan of Burning Angel or Graffiti. A perfect collection of Brooklyn's finest starlets posed provocatively often in front of some of the best street art in the US.
   
   Brenda's photography is well known to anyone that has read Vice Magazine's popular "Do's and Don'ts" column. Her work with Burning Angel has helped define the alt porn world.
   
   Basically, if you like beautiful girls with tattoos, attitudes and incredibly sexy bodies then buy this book!

No comments about Photography in Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present.

5 comments about Windows to Vietnam: A Journey in Pictures and Verse.

1. I spent one month in Viêt Nam last year and although I shot more than 1800 pictures, may I say this is a wonderful and marvelleous book which has remembered me all my journeys. I recommend it to everybody who wishes to visit this amazing country.
   I fell in love with Viêt Nam and their people. This is a different book; you have beautiful photographs far away from the ones you usually see in any publication shot by Scott Charles Clarkson; you read poems with a very special sensitivity written by Veita Jo Hampton and the Foreword written by Mark A. Ashwill is a must, before you start looking and reading the book.



2. More than simply a work of art or collection of jewels, "Window to Vietnam" is an equisite experience. It combines visual delight with intangible imagery to render a deep understanding of a multi-dimensional country... its past, present and the marvelous confluence of both. This book is a "coffee table must!" But don't be surprised to find yourself taking it to bed.



3. Windows to Vietnam is truly a beautiful book. Scott Clarkson's photography and Veita Jo Hampton's poetry complement each other perfectly. Clarkson's photographs selectively, yet effectively, show us both a people and a nation that are positive-thinking, confident, optimistic, and ambitious. At the same time, the book pays homage to the character, the culture, the history, and the heritage of the Vietnamese people. Hampton, recently nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, in this book goes well beyond her proposal to Clarkson to allow her to "write to these photos": Her poetry looks not only at but deeply into, even beyond, the photographs and brings out details that are not readily visible in the photos, except perhaps to a poet's imagination and ability to "see" that which may not be evident to others. The metaphoric "Windows" in the title is most aptly chosen, as evidenced in "Carved Frames of Hue" (p. 55; photos pp. 48-57 and back of cover), as well as in other photographs and poems showing or alluding to windows and views. Clarkson's cover photo, "Friend on the Mekong," captures in a single shutter's click the face and figure of a man that reflects the strength, character, and heritage of the people of Vietnam. The poetry and the photographs stand as testimony to Hampton's view, quoted on the inside/back of the book's jacket, that the most effective communication is achieved through the "deliberate blending of words and pictures."



4. Vietnam is surely one of the most photogenic places on earth and the images in this lovely coffee table gift book bring this vibrant country into your home. Delightful, large format color photographs celebrate the land and people of Vietnam - its vibrant colors, ancient way of life, and active lifestyle. These remarkable pictures are accompanied by poems which riff on the themes evoked by the images - an intriguing merger of past, present and future in Vietnam today. Anyone who loves Vietnam will enjoy this gorgeous gift book celebrating the country and its people. Allison Martin, Families with Children Adopted from Vietnam.



5. What an enchanting journey to Vietman! The words and pictures of Windows provide a unique exposure to the culture, sights, sounds, smells, economy and lifestyle of Vietnam today. As you enjoy the beauty and history of Vietnam that this wonderful book brings to life, one must admire how Vietnam bridges its ancient past to its future. With images created by an insightful poet and brilliant photographs that speak to you, the authors weave their talents throughout every page to create a masterpiece.

5 comments about Orbit: NASA Astronauts Photograph the Earth.

1. Awesome pictures taken form high up in the sky. One can find unique views that are beyond imagination. Also included necessary information regarding NASA expeditions.



2. Shuttle astronaut Jay Apt, together with scientists Michael Helfert and Justin Wilkinson, has put together a wonderful book of photographs under the auspices of National Geographic, Orbit. These are all photographs taken by astronauts from the space shuttle while in orbit (with a few exceptions, historically significant photographs from moon circlings and early trips into space). Photography, interestingly enough, is never really scheduled as a shuttle activity, but rather done 'in between' the other assignments. The photographs included in this book do not come from special 'space' cameras, but rather from regular hand-held, off-the-shelf cameras that astronauts took with them.

   The shuttle offers a unique platform for photography, to say the least. It has 11 different windows, and as the shuttle orbits in what one might consider an upside-down position, the windows and cargo-bay with doors open are almost always facing the earth. Astronauts take lots of film with them, and record many phenomena. This book is divided geographically, by earth region: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific, Middle and South America, and North America. There is also a special section on the Aurora, with dazzling photographs of things that look right out of Star Trek!

   The images include daytime and nighttime views, calm views and stormy views. One can see hurricanes and cyclones from high above, stretching their entire lengths across great portions of the globe. One can see the difference lighting makes in an urban area at night, the way terrain and human-engineering connect, and how much of the world seems to remain unspoilt when viewed from a distance of even a few hundred miles away.

   This is a remarkable book, full of glorious photographs of the 'home world', a great coffee-table book, a great gift, and a great guide of inspiration for younger readers who might be interested in science, geography, or even becoming an astronaut.




3. Astronaut Jay Apt, with the help of geographer Justin Wilkinson and climatologist Michael Helfert, has assembled a book full of pictures of Earth taken from orbit. These photographs were chosen from over a 145,000 that are available from the NASA photographic library and focus on many different aspects of our planet's geology and climate. The large coffee table style format and the high quality of the reproductions allows this book bring out the stunning features of our home and is welcome addition to anyone who is interested in space photography, especially since most of the book is photographs and very little text.

   The book is divided into sections covering each continent, the Pacific Ocean and the aurora. To show the range of Earth's geology and climate, each section highlights the major geological features found in each region and if appropriate mankind's influence. To further emphasis to geological diversity of the planet, occasional surface photographs that correspond to an orbital photograph are also included. For example, in the section on Africa, there are photos of the Nile, Nile cities, the Sahara desert, various coastline features and cloud formations. The only portions of the Earth not covered are the North and South Poles, since the shuttle does not fly over these regions. There is also one extremely interesting two page map spread which shows the location of each one of the 268,000 photographs taken by the astronauts.

   This book is one of my favorite space photography books and I look at it often and each time that I do I always notice something different. This is a great book and well worth the price.




4. Truely a magnificent piece of work to wiew the wonder of God's creation leaves you in awe of the beauty of the Earth. I pick it up regularly, for maximum enjoyment choose times where you are not rushed so you can drink in the superb pictures. A book no household can afford to be without.



5. The book is published by National Geographic, so it goes without saying that the quality of the photographs is superb. But to look at this collection of space-born images is to never see the earth in the same way again. All the contintents and oceans are covered and even the Aurora is documented. The astronauts who took these photographs are some of the luckiest men and women on (or off) the earth, and this book will show you why.

   Despite all that man has done to harm the environment, many of the photographs give you an eerie sense of what it might've been like to look down on the earth thousands of years ago, seeing only a beautiful collection of shapes, colors and clouds. Some pictures of the African desert and its coastline will leave you breathless.

   A wonderful collection that beats satellite imagery any day of the week.

2 comments about Face of Fashion.

1. The contemporary fashion portrait is the focus in FACE OF FASHION, which brings together paintings made for the fine arts yet embodying fashion styles, standards, and art. The array of photographers whose works appear here all have a distinct, unique style within fashion photography, making FACE OF FASHION an excellent juxtaposition of varying approaches and styles and a top pick for any college-level art or fashion library. Full-page color images blend with essays and writings about the photographer's approach and the fashion and art worlds.



2. If you think of fashion photography as being the pictures of clothes draped across beautiful bodies to be shown in advertisements, you will find only a small percentage of the pictures in this book to meet that expectation. Instead here you will find photographs that are striking, that don't really fit with the idea of selling a dress. Indeed if 'fashion' implies clothes, some of the pictures here don't show any clothes at all, just the form of the model.
   
   The result is a collection of photographs that show what the best of the best of photographers are doing today. Striking, yes. Disturbing, sometimes. Beautiful, often. Sexy, usually. Each page brings something to the eye that's usually a surprise.