5 Books That Inspired Us in 2021
I’m a massive reader — non-fiction, please — and an addictive collector of books about art and photography. There are always a few that rise to the top and rank among the most inspiring books I’ve read over the previous 12 months. Here they are.
Natasja in Colares
Lachlan Bailey
If I have the story straight, world-renowned photographer Lachlan Bailey and model Natasja Madsen found themselves simultaneously quarantined in the (not-so-horrible) confines of Colares, Portugal.
With the help of Erik Torstensson, co-founder of FRAME clothing, the pair spent a few days at a rented villa, creating the remarkable photos that inhabit this book. While shooting the stars for Vanity Fair and Vogue may be out of my reach, the work in this book reminds me great pictures are always attainable. They don’t require a team of 20 stylists, just the right people, the right place and the right attitude.
The original print run of 2000 — with proceeds to benefit Wildlife Victoria — sold out almost immediately but it looks like a second run is available at the FRAME website.
It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be
Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite
Paul Arden
I discovered “It’s Not How Good You Want to Be …” at Chelsea Books in NYC but, as I was trying to travel light, I didn’t buy it until I got home. Thanks to Amazon, I found “Whatever You Think …” and it’s turned out to be my favorite of the two. No matter though: you can read both in the span of an hour and return for nuggets of wisdom here and there.
My favorite part is page 81 of Whatever You Think …”, wherein Arden talks about reviewing the portfolios of photographers seeking commissions. He said 99% of the work was of a high standard but 98% seemed like something he’d seen before. The two percent that stood out, he said, did so because they had a point of view that was uniquely their own. “These were often difficult people,” he writes, “almost unemployable because you couldn’t tell them what to do. Sometimes it went wrong.” he added, “Sometimes it didn’t. When it didn’t go wrong it more than made for the times it did.”
A great book for anybody who lives a creative life, which is all of us.
Erwin Olaf
I’d never heard of Erwin Olaf before I set about spending my life’s savings this past fall at The Strand bookstore in New York. This is a case where the book was definitely sold by its cover. I’m fascinated that an ordinary (albeit beautiful) girl doing something as simple as sitting with a glass of milk can have such otherworldly qualities. (She looks like an insect, her wings the sofa and her dress.)
ONE + ONE = THREE
Dave Trott
Obviously one plus one equals two. What else could it be? Well, that’s what this book is all about.
Creating Photographs
Albert Watson
This book is actually a condensed transcript of key points from Watson’s Masters of Photography class. The video is better, of course, but it’s also 10X the cost of this book, which is just $14.95. It’s also nice to have the words in front of you, especially when there isn’t a device on which to watch a video (like when you’re on holiday at the North Pole, the only place left without wi-fi). The site also has classes by Steve McCurry and Joel Meyerowitz, a couple other guys who knew what they were doing.