Something I’d not anticipated — although it is obvious in retrospect — is that lockdown has induced me to indulge a long-standing habit: buying books of photography. I’ve bought rather too many since March, but the pleasure has been immense, and I’ve devoted more time to them than I might otherwise.

The picture above shows five of them. Broadly (although wildly inadequately), they are two books of portraits, two of street photography, and one about the history of photography. Two are essentially monographs or projects, two others retrospective compilations. I can’t write much about them that has not been said elsewhere, so I’ll just list them with some links.

The Americans by Robert Frank. Years ago, while I was working in Baltimore, I used to go to the Air and Space Museum, on the Mall in Washington DC, two or three times a year*. They had a lovely bookshop, and when I could afford to, I’d indulge book acquisition syndrome. Among others, I bought Adams The Negative and compilations of work by Walker Evans and Frank Meadow Sutcliffe which remain in my collection. Robert Frank’s The Americans was one other. Somewhere along the way, I think I lent it to someone, but I can’t remember who, and I’ve not seen it for years. So, I’ve treated myself to a new copy. All I’ll say is it remains as powerful as ever, and I think it is one of the foundations of my personal book collection. I should have replaced it years ago. The body of work that Frank produced remains astonishing and revelatory, and is no less informative now of the United States that I have known and loved for decades, than when it first appeared in the late ‘50s. If you’ve not seen it, you may well find that you know some of the pictures anyhow; if you’ve not got it, I can’t recommend it highly enough. If anything could cure gear acquisition syndrome (GAS) this would be it: many of the pictures are — by today’s standards — not very sharp, overly grainy, and/or have blown highlights/blocked shadows. All of which proves that the obsessions of present day gear freaks (including me) are utterly irrelevant. It is, of course, the twelve inches behind the camera that are important (wetware, not hardware or software). Wikipedia entry. Blackwells. Hive Books. BookFinder.

William Eggleston’s Guide. This is one of those famous “essential” books that has successfully resisted my book acquisition syndrome until the last month. There’s endless commentary on it, both pro and anti. In contrast to Frank, William Eggleston didn’t look to produce conventionally “meaningful” work: as he put it, “I don't have a burning desire to go out and document anything. It just happens when it happens. It's not a conscious effort, nor is it a struggle”.  I’ve seen quite a few original prints over the years, and depending on context and my mood, I either love them or think “Meh”. Looking at it now as a complete body of work, I have the same reactions to the various pictures. Some are surprisingly fascinating to me: green bathroom is one such (don’t ask me why). Others, well, they are less compelling period pieces. Nevertheless, I’ve made many photographs under his influence. As a body of work, it speaks to a coherent vision. Commentary on StreetPhotography.com. Blackwells. Hive Books. BookFinder.

Norman Parkinson : Always in Fashion. Carrie Kania, Alex Anthony (eds.). The contrast with Frank and Eggleston could scarcely be greater. Parks started as a society photographer in London during the 1930’s, and was quickly drafted in to work for Vogue. His work appeared in Vogue’s UK and US editions until the early 1990’s, as well as in many other fashionable publications and advertisements. He photographed royalty many times. In the early 1980’s, his picture of the Queen, the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret attracted widespread derision as “the Windsor Sisters”, with its soft focus romantic look. So, after Frank and Eggleston, why on Earth would a I buy a book about such a photographer’s work? Partly it is that he was one of the first of portrait photographers that I ever looked at in detail, and at the time, I liked his style and sense of humour. I went to his retrospective exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in (OMG!) 1981, and it left a strong impression on me. He showed a way to photograph models in the open air in a way that was surprisingly quirky, prescient and (for such an establishment figure) un-stuffy. Two that I especially like: models on a high vantage point overlooking Manhattan; Ava Gardner in a portrait that could have been made 50 or 60 years later by Peter Lindbergh. There’s also much that is overly posed, contrived, static and dated by current standards, and many are little more than curious period pieces, although they do cleverly reflect the different periods they were made. I retain immense admiration for Norman Parkinson and his body of work. Blackwells, Hive Books, BookFinder.

Arnold Newman: One hundred. Arnold Newman was a portrait photographer, more or less contemporaneous with Norman Parkinson. He is best known for popularising the idea of “environmental portraits” in which the subject is photographed among objects/settings that speak to their occupation/achievements. One of his best known portraits is of Igor Stravinsky with the lid of his piano lifted to form an outline like a musical note; the wall on the left hand side is a darker tone that forms a frame in which just Stravinsky’s head and shoulders, and an arm supporting the head is seen. For me, that is a genius compilation of concepts and graphic design. It is really worth studying his contact sheets too: his contacts for the Stravinsky portrait show him starting off with basic “safety shots” to make sure there is something, and then working through ideas until the final concept comes. And even then, the final print is major crop from the original neg: the completed composition comes from post-visualisation. The book was produced to coincide with the centennial of his birth. His influence is felt in all sorts of environmental photography today: one of the best of the current environmental photographers is Gregory Heisler, who has written a commentary in the book, and Newman’s influence on Heisler is clearly articulated in it. (Incidentally, I strongly recommend Heisler’s 50 Portraits as well.) For anyone interested in portraits that reveal character (and not just “headshots”), I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Blackwells. Hive books. Bookfinder.

The Genius of Photography by Gerry Badger. The Genius of Photography was a TV series first shown on BBC Four in 2007. I had never seen such a series and analysis of photography before, and for me it was a complete knockout. I’d vaguely heard of the likes of Lartigue before, but seeing what he achieved and the context in which he worked was stupendous. It introduced me to any number of great photographers I’d never previously heard of, people such as Atget: I bought the wonderful Atget: Photographe De Paris (Books on Books Series) shortly after. The DVD of the series can be found on eBay; Vimeo and YouTube have individual episodes. I’d always meant to get the book of the series, written by Gerry Badger, but never got round to it. I found a used copy on AbeBooks in excellent condition, at a very good price. There’s a lot in this book, and I’ve only just started it, so there’s a lot of pleasure to come. Gerry Badger page about the book. AbeBooks. BookFinder.

I suppose that one final point is that Frank, Eggleston, Parkinson and Newman are people whose work influenced me when I was just starting to get in to photography. They were the people whose work I saw in magazines in the pre-internet era. Because their work has lasted so long, I think they appeal to me subliminally in the sense that they have survived the filter of time. Having said that, I think my next acquiescence to book acquisition syndrome ought to be more books by contemporary photographers, and from a different range of perspectives. I have several in mind, but in general, the fact that I can go on to Instagram to see what they are doing in the here and now reduces my intrinsic need to buy their books.

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*Aircraft? Photography Books? GAS? Some things stay with you for life :-)