Photo Book Touchstones

By Ctein

Some chance remarks in Mike's "Incidentally..." post reminded me that I had been meaning to write about books of photographs that I considered important moments in the field (what Mike called touchstones), and why.

Now, understand that these books may not appear impressive by today's standards. I would say that we live in a golden age of photographic reproduction, except that I think it's only going to continue to get better. A touchstone, though, doesn't have to stand up well today. It's a marker, a highlight. The Wright Brothers flight will always be a touchstone of aviation, although it's utterly unimpressive today, technically. I will close with a book that I consider the current pinnacle as well as a touchstone, but most of my touchstones date back to the 1960s and '70s.

First on my list is Gentle Wilderness: The Sierra Nevada, text by John Muir, photographs by Richard Kauffman (1967). Mike favors Eliot Porter, but a case could be made for any of the Sierra Club-Ballantine books of that period. Me, I'll vote for this one, because it's the book that drew me into the series primarily through its utterly luminous blue cover photograph of the Center Basin. I'd never before seen a reproduction with that kind of step-through-the-page clarity, and I rarely have since. It doesn't hurt that the book was printed by Kauffman's own company, H.S. Crocker. (I should do a column about Richard, one of photography's greatest under-appreciated amateurs.)

The entire series is a touchstone. Art reproduction books typically were expensive and good or cheap and, well, cheap. Ian and Betty Ballantine felt that they could make money on affordably-priced, high-quality art books. Even as a college student, I was able to buy the majority of the trade paperback editions of the Sierra Club–Ballantine series. The series was a commercial success that opened the doors to the thousands of good photography books we've had since.

And, yes, by today's standards the reproduction is only adequate. At the time it was a level of quality that had been hitherto unaffordable by mere mortals.

My next touchstone goes to the other extreme: Himalayas by Yoshikazu Shirakawa (1971). The deluxe wraparound slip-covered edition tips the scales at 12 pounds, filled with sumptuous reproductions, full-side, double-side, and even quadruple-side, that positively drip ink. An amazing tonal range and color gamut for the time, and it sold for an amazing price. I can't remember what; I think traumatic amnesia has blotted out the number, but it was the most expensive photography book offered up for general sale in the U.S. I bought a copy because I was fresh out of college and had a great-paying job. I'm still amazed that I did. There are many ways that today's books have better reproduction, but this one just screams "rich," and in a good way.

Ernst Haas, Tobago (from The Creation)

My third touchstone is Ernst Haas' The Creation (the original 1971 hardcover edition, of course). Much more affordable than Himalayas, although it was not inexpensive, and not quite as sumptuous in its reproduction, but it was designed (and succeeded eminently well) to make you fall in love with color. It's a positively lyric book filled with lyric reproductions. I got my copy as a gift, and, sadly, it sustained water damage a few years later. Because I was something of an idiot at the time, I didn't replace it while the book was still in print. I've never seen the 1983 reissue, which seems to be available on Amazon for not too much money. Does anyone know how it compares in quality to the original? [Not very well. Hold out for the original. —MJ]

Lest readers think I pay no attention to black-and-white books, my fourth touchstone is a landmark that ushered in a new era of fine photographic reproduction. I'm talking Ansel Adams. Not the 1974 opus, Images 1923–1974. No, I'm thinking five years later, with the publication of Yosemite and the Range of Light. It's not as superficially impressive as the 1974 volume, until you open the covers and compare reproductions between the two. It's like night and day—the 1979 book has open, luminous tones and lovely shadow and highlight separation that comes immensely closer to conveying the feel of original Adams prints than anything previously done. The reproductions are also sharper and more exquisitely detailed. Put the two volumes side-by-side and there is simply no comparison.

What changed? The advent of electronically-controlled laser platemaking. It revolutionized press work and every subsequent photography book that had pretensions to seriosity had to stand against Yosemite and the Range of Light.

Up till now
Lest any readers conclude that I am hopelessly mired in books of the past, I'll close with two modern works, one of which I'm pretty sure will be a touchstone and the other of which I'm certain about. First, Bruce Davison's three-volume masterwork, Outside Inside (2009). I haven't seen a lot of Bruce's work in the original, but the reproductions in these volumes feel "right" to me. Maybe I'll look back on them in time and find otherwise, but for the present I have a sense that they convey the photographer's vision with a verisimilitude that is uncommon in book reproductions.

Finally, a touchstone that is currently at the pinnacle of color reproduction: Bill Atkinson's Within the Stone (2004). I reviewed this five years ago here. Amazingly, Bill still has copies of this book for sale, although it is out of stock with Amazon. I just ordered three copies; I will have no trouble finding people to give them to as gifts over the holiday season. Read my original review to understand why this is such an amazing book. Everything I said then still stands; nothing else I've seen comes remotely close to this volume for color reproduction, and the price of $40 makes it eminently affordable.

•     •     •

Those are some of my touchstones, certainly the ones that have stayed in my memory the best and the longest. Let's hear about some of yours!

Ctein

Original contents copyright 2012 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Thomas Osbourne: "Oh my...I happen to own two of these books, Yosemite and the Range of Light and Within the Stone. I bought the Atkinson book after seeing an exhibit of Atkinson's photographs. Seeing the exhibit was like discovering cave paintings—pure visual poetry. The book is more of the same, but the images are perfectly paired with luminous passages of poetry and prose."

Nigel: "The Atkinson appears to be in stock with Amazon—in the U.K. at least. (Just ordered a copy.)

Charles Cramer: "Ctein, I consider Gentle Wilderness to be one of the great photography books. Kauffman's photographs are absolutely luminous. I would love to read a column by you about him."

Comments

[John Krumm]

Always good to find a few more interesting books. The Haas book does seem available in the used 1971 hardcover edition through Amazon, ranging from acceptable to very good condition. I just ordered one for less than a buck... http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0670245836/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

[Richard Newman]

Ctein,
Many people seem to consider the various photo books put out by he National Geographic as excellent quality printing. What is your take on them?

[G.]

Darn you ctein! I'm not supposed to spend money on books this month - just ordered "within the stone".

[Rod S.]

Ctein, it's interesting to learn of your admiration for Shirakawa's Himalayas. I arrived a little later on the scene and bought the 1977 concise edition whilst preparing for a trek to Mount Everest the following year, and subsequently bought the 1986 full-size Abradale/Abrams reprint. Like you, I found the book inspirational.

The book is also a showcase for the quality of enlargements possible from the Pentax 6x7 camera and was one of the factors that motivated me to move from 35mm to the 6x7 format and to the Pentax 6x7 in particular.

Question: Was it a similar experience for you?

[Dan]

How about Photographer Tillman Crane and his book TOUCHSTONES, as well as his portfolio of that name? http://www.tillmancrane.com/portfolio_touchstones.php

Worth having and worth viewing.

[DenCoyle]

For anyone interested in the Limited Ed. of Ansel's "Yosemite,,,"

http://www.niceoldbooks.com/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=39543

Wonderful place/people to do business.... cheers

[John Hufnagel]

I still have my original 1971 copy of Ernst Haas' The Creation, which I obtained in the early 1970's. It never fails to inspire me even after 40 years! Whenever I open the book, it holds my attention for at least an hour. A fine selection indeed.

[Mani Sitaraman]

Ctein, I bought 'Himalayas' in the 1970s as a present for someone who wanted it very much. After much deliberation and a longish wait to come by the spare money.

$100

[Scott Kirkpatrick]

Your post made me go to a dusty corner of my shelves and take another long look at my dozen or so Ballentine paperbacks from the Sierra Club Exhibit Series. The books are rich in pictures, many by Elliot Porter, Philip Hyde, and earlier sources, with extensive documentation and west coast verse to support the photographs. All for $3.95 a copy! The dates and photo/editorial credits are frequently obscure but it seems they all appeared in the 1960s, under David Brower's editorship. And they must have printed boatloads, as they are still available used at single-digit prices.

Dave Bohn's "Glacier Bay," had the greatest impact on me at the time. I ended up spending time there in a kayak a few years later.

scott

[Mike Johnston]

"How about Photographer Tillman Crane and his book TOUCHSTONES"

I have that.

Mike

[Paul Morris]

I have 'Yosemite and the Range of Light' - it was a Christmas present from my Mum. I've always thought it had very fine reproduction quality, although I hadn't realised what a step-change it represented in its time.

The other one that stands out from my modest book collection is John Sexton's 'Listen to the Trees'. This has the most beautiful silvery reproductions that really gave me a sense of what large format photography could achieve.

[Ctein]

Dear Scott,

Yeah, if they hadn't printed boatloads, it wouldn't have been cheap.

(If there are readers who don't know how book printing works, the setup costs are extremely high but the unit costs are very low. The way you make a book cheap is to decide to print a zillion of them, so as to spread those setup costs over many, many copies.)

pax / Ctein

[Ctein]

Dear Rod,

Not quite the same. I was a very early adopter-- had the fifth Pentax 6x7 imported into the US according to my camera store. So I'd been using it for a while before I saw the book.

But it was gratifying to see that Shirakawa-San had as good taste as I did. (G)

pax / Ctein

[Peter Croft]

I've just finished composing my own book using Photobook Designer. It's 106 pages and Photobook will print it for $278.20, casebound.

I paled at that and enquired from a local printer. Their quote for two copies - $929.50 i.e. $468.25 ea.

The lady apologised, said she knew it was high, but said what you just said - the setup costs are the same for two copies or 2000. That's where the cost is. She said even she, with staff discount, would use the web services for a small run like this. She hinted at, er, China being involved.

It's disheartening because I'd like to be able to give my book as a gift, but even $278 is way too much for me. When we can write our own books so easily now, the cost of printing is still a stumbling block.

I can output it as a pdf, of course, and it looks great on screen, but nothing matches the impact of print.

The quality of the first one I had done was extremely satisfying, btw. It matched what I composed on screen very closely. I was surprised and pleased.

[QT Luong]

The Sierra Club Ballantine paperbacks may be touchtones in their combination of affordability and quality, but from a pure quality point of view, they pale compared with the corresponding Exhibit series hardcovers.

As for the impact of laser printing, it is most evident if one compares the first and second editions of "The portfolios of Ansel Adams", since the image selection is unchanged.