Synopsis
At their best, the pictures add to our understanding of the surface event documented and reveal something profound about the people pushing that history forward. -- The Los Angeles Times, Available for the first time in an accessible paperback edition, this groundbreaking book presents a remarkable selection of contact sheets and ancillary material, revealing how the most celebrated Magnum photographers capture and edit the very best shots. Addressing key questions of photographic practice, the book illuminates the creative methods, strategies, and editing processes behind some of the world's most iconic images. Featured are 139 contact sheets from sixty- nine photographers, as well as zoom-in details, selected photographs, press cards, notebooks, and spreads from contemporary publications including Life magazine and Picture Post . Further insight into each contact sheet is provided by texts written by the photographers themselves or by experts chosen by the members' estates. Many of the acknowledged greats of photography are featured, including Henri Cartier- Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, and Inge Morath, as well as such members of Magnum's latest generation as Jonas Bendiksen, Alessandra Sanguinetti, and Alec Soth. The contact sheets cover over seventy years of history, from Robert Capa's Normandy landings and the Paris riots of 1968 via Bruno Barbey, to images of Che Geuvara by René Burri, Malcolm X by Eve Arnold, and portraits of classic New Yorkers by Bruce Gilden., Available for the first time in an accessible paperback edition, this groundbreaking book presents a remarkable selection of contact sheets and ancillary material, revealing how the most celebrated Magnum photographers capture and edit the very best shots. Addressing key questions of photographic practice, the book illuminates the creative methods, strategies, and editing processes behind some of the world's most iconic images. Featured are 139 contact sheets from sixty- nine photographers, as well as zoom-in details, selected photographs, press cards, notebooks, and spreads from contemporary publications including Life magazine and Picture Post . Further insight into each contact sheet is provided by texts written by the photographers themselves or by experts chosen by the members' estates. Many of the acknowledged greats of photography are featured, including Henri Cartier- Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, and Inge Morath, as well as such members of Magnum's latest generation as Jonas Bendiksen, Alessandra Sanguinetti, and Alec Soth. The contact sheets cover over seventy years of history, from Robert Capa's Normandy landings and the Paris riots of 1968 via Bruno Barbey, to images of Che Geuvara by Ren Burri, Malcolm X by Eve Arnold, and portraits of classic New Yorkers by Bruce Gilden., Few photography books can lay claim to being truly groundbreaking. The first edition of Magnum Contact Sheets was one of them. This exceptional book, presented here in a new, accessible and democratically priced format for the first time, reveals how Magnum photographers capture and edit the very best shots. Addressing key questions of photographic practice - was the final image a set-up, or a serendipitous encounter; did the photographer work diligently to extract the potential from a situation, or was the fabled 'decisive moment' at play? - this book lays bare the creative methods, strategies and editing processes behind some of the world's most iconic images. 139 contact sheets, representing 69 photographers, are featured, as well as zoom-in details, selected photographs, press cards, notebooks and spreads from contemporary publications, including Life magazine and Picture Post . Further insight into each contact sheet is provided by texts written by the photographers themselves or by experts chosen by members' estates. Many acknowledged greats of photography are included, such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliot Erwitt and Inge Morath, as well as Magnum's latest generation, such as Jonas Bendiksen, Alessandra Sanguinetti and Alec Soth. These photographers cover over seventy years of history, from the Normandy landings by Robert Capa, the Paris riots of 1968 by Bruno Barbey and war in Chechnya by Thomas Dworzak to images of Che Guevara by Rene Burri, Malcolm X by Eve Arnold and clasic New Yorkers by Bruce Gilden. This landmark book, published just as the shift to digital photography threatens to render the contact sheet obsolete, celebrates the sheet as artifact, as personal and historic record, as invaluable editing tool, and as a fascinating way of accompanying great photographers as they work towards, and capture, the most enduring images of our time.
