A photo book is a physical compilation of images presented in a book/leaflet form. The vast majority of photo books provide a narrative and tell a story. I have been studying a selection of photo books by various photographers and here are my observations and analysis of these photobooks.

Mood board

Here are a few of the books I have studied and images from all of them and analysis of the images themselves

FOUND SURFACES

“Found Surfaces” is a photo book by Eleni Bakagianni and it provides us double page spread images of various surfaces and textures found in an urban environment. I find the images very aesthetically pleasing and I also like the book as a whole as it helps to portray the authours creativity in terms of her being able to take a photograph of something that is essentially always overlooked and walked past on a daily basis, and turn it into a piece of art that pleases the eye

This is my favorite image from Found Surfaces. I am unsure as to what the image is of, I am assuming it is either a wall with damage marks or a birch tree trunk. Either way the image is very powerful in terms of its minimalism yet aesthetic properties. The black marks provide a nice contrast to the whites of the surface and there is a good sense of texture throughout the image

SIGNS OF LIFE

Signs of life is a photo book by Phillip Reid, which depicts aerial images of built up areas and includes images of sports stadiums, housing estates and high rise districts. The whole book has consistently strong geometric properties as a result of photographing from an angle which captures multiple of the same of similar types of building.

Here is my favorite image from Signs of Life. I am particularly drawn to the geometric nature of the image, with the straight walls and roofs of the buildings really standing out. The photo is well contrasted due to the white of the buildings standing out from the blacks of all of the surrounding trees/bushes.

CHERNOBYL

Another photo book I have studied is “Chernobyl” by John Darwell. The book provides an insight into the once populated Ukrainian town of Chernobyl, which was home to one of the worlds most disastrous nuclear catastrophes the world has ever seen. I have a particular interest in Chernobyl itself due to its story and how the whole town has essentially been frozen in time. The only thing that has changed through the absence of human life in the city is that nature has started to take over and decay is widespread.

Here is my favorite image from Chernobyl. The image depicts what appears to be a local grocery store. In the photo, it is evident that the place has been left to nature and nature has well and truly taken over, with the plants overgrowing and growing out of the concrete pavement at the front of the shop.The photo itself truly represents the power of the natural world and its ability to reclaim land when humans are not present. the image itself consists of many greens and yellows in the form of the shop and pavement, as well as the greens of the undergrowth and both of these colors compliment each other very well. Another feature of this photo I like is the blue sky, it represents serenity and peace and is a nice complimentary background to the subjects in the image.