The Spirit & The Flesh (Debbie Fleming Caffery, Radius Books, Abrams, 2009, U.S. $60, HC w/dust jacket, 64 duotone illustrations, 96 pages, Essay by Carrie Springer, foreword and poem by Luis Alberto Urrea)
I have known of Debbie Fleming Caffery's work for a while. When I was with CameraArts magazine, and Katrina swept through New Orleans, Caffery was the first photographer whose work I selected to illustrate that tragedy. She brings compassion, truth, and integrity to any of her many photographic projects. This title is printed deliciously, beautifully, and with great care toward the meaning of each and every image therein. You can't whip through this book. It needs time. It needs "space." Save a whole afternoon for this one! (-ed.)

"The Spirit & The Flesh balances the themes of grace and redemption, sin and forgiveness that Caffery encountered in Mexico and that held her in their sway. Her black-and-white photographs are themselves rich in contrast and unabashedly sensuous, deftly documenting the turbulent emotional landscape." From the Radius Books website.

this is who I am (Artisan, April 2008, U.S. $25.95, CAN $29.95, HC 116 pages, Illustrated, duo-tone photographs)
I recently took a tour of my book collection, and discovered this gem of a book, photographed by Rosanne Olson. There are "regular" women in this book aged 19-95, most are nude, all are proud. They are doctors, lawyers, artists, mothers and daughters, professors, performance artists, etc. They lead real lives and they have real bodies. No one is famous, but all are beautiful, captured wonderfully by Olson's poetic and compassionate eye. "The women in the photographs convey their confidence and generosity by appearing for us with dignity and comfort." (from the Foreword by Rita Charon, MD. And after you have viewed and felt the images in this book, there is a closing poem by Maya Angelou. Now that I have re-found this great book, it will stay close at hand! (tba)

50 Photographs by Jessica Lange (Published by powerHouse 2008, $60 (U.S.) HC. Black-and-white photographs)
They are grainy, other-wordly... exquisite. As we all know, there were/are many celebrities who have "gone to the other side." They have chosen to pick up the camera and do some shooting. Maybe they did it to put the shoe on the other foot—as a method of control, maybe they began photographing as an experiment. Some succeeded. Some didn't. Jessica Lange has succeeded, big time! The pictures in this beautifully-printed 11x14-inch book draw the viewer deep into each frame. None are gratuitous. None are throw-aways. All are compelling. All are worth it. "It is a way of working," she says of her process, "that is the opposite of acting. Photography doesn't depend on collaboration; it can be solitary and private." (from the cover flap)(tba)

Titans (Photographs by Al Satterwhite, Dalton Watson Fine Books 2008, $89 (U.S.) HC. Black-and-white toned photographs, 187 pages, with Foreward by Roy Firestone)

This book isn't about Roman Gladiators, but it is about gladiators. A coffee table book, Titans is about Muhammad Ali and Arnold Schwarzenegger at the height of their powers, in the period of the 1970s. It is an unglamorous look at two men who trained almost like no other in history to become the best at their own individual sport. Schwarzenegger spent his time on the beaches of Southern California, training and straining his muscles to become the best of the best. Ali's training was mostly done in the square confines of the boxing ring. Taking on all comers, they rose to become legends, perhaps the best that ever was in their fields. Satterwhite's pictures are, at times, raw and unflinching, personal images. Throughout the book there are quotes by the two giants that reflect their sensitivity and compassion, in spite of their legendary physical prowess. "I wish people would love everybody else the way the love me." Muhammad Ali ($64.97-new, at amazon.com) (tba)

Dog Run (Photographs by Michael Crouser, Penguin Group, 2008, $32 (U.S.) HC. Black-and-white photographs, 100 pages-approx., with Foreward by Mark Doty)

When I first glanced at this book, I was almost immediately taken aback! I thought it was a volume of images of angry dogs. I was wrong. This is a book about dogs, and their many emotions. They are at play. They are being dominant. They are staking out territory. They are, simply, dogs... being dogs. "All these new animals to smell and bite and taunt, all these new pals! New enemies! They play like little boys throwing each other down a hill on the school playground. They practice in their play what Nature has said the must know. Dominance, defense, breeding and agility. Whether it is a single dog, doing something odd or a pair feigning visciousness, they are hilarious and poignant to me in the diversity of their play." (Michael Crouser-from www.dogrunbook.com) Upon a much closer look, I was intrigued by the seriousness of the dogs as they went about their individual business within the confines of a dog run. If you love dogs, this is a must have! ($24.32-new, at amazon.com) (tba)

Divertissement... I Dreamed a Dream (Photographs by Claire Yaffa, Ruder Finn Press, 2008, $25 (U.S.) HC. Black-and-white toned photographs, 187 pages, with Foreward by Roy Firestone)

I really like the photography of Claire Yaffa. Her simplicity, sensuality, introspection, and clarity, all provide me with many moments of viewing pleasure. As with all her books, there is no high-degree of technical proficiency evident in Divertissement. There are no illusory layers of this and that. We just see images that make us think, make us wonder, make us smile, and best of all... make us keep coming back for more."Yaffa shares her sensual visions of the elusive patterns created by light and shadow. Presented in an intimate format, the images celebrate in line and form the beauty and grace. The self portrayed in her work is tender, poetic and gentle. Her photographs invite a detailed perspective of our world, from the broad, sweeping motion of a forest to the fluid line of a leaf." (From a review at amazon.com, where the book is available, new, for $19.00) (tba)

Reflections (Photographs by Connie Imboden, Insight Editions, 2009, $50 (U.S.) HC. Black-and-white photographs, 184 pages, with essays by Julian Cox, Arthur Ollman, and John Wood)

"When I first discovered the beauty and complexity of reflections and the human body in 1983, I had no idea it would continue to fascinate me to this day, 25 years after the first exploration in a puddle of water." (Connie Imboden-press release) I have followed the work of Connie Imboden for many years, and have always thought it to be intense, complex, and beautiful, very beautiful. She doesn't follow a path carved by others. Imboden takes up the shovel and creates her own direction, with curves, peaks and valleys, and potholes in the middle of the road, as well as rainstorms that seemingly come out of nowhere. She makes you wonder what will the next page reveal. This isn't the kind of book you can simply glance at and think you are done with it. Reflections (as the title suggest) asks you to take your time; don't be in such a hurry. ($36.50-new, at amazon.com) (tba)

Paul Outerbridge: Command Performance (Text by Paul Martineau, Photographs by Outerbridge, Getty Publications, 2009, $39.95 (U.S.) HC. Black-and-white and color photographs, 164 pages)

There are many photographers who are much better known than Outerbridge, but few can surpass him for print quality, composition, and quality. His main pre-occupation was to merge the differences between fine art and commercial photography. He shot for both Vanity Fair and Paris Vogue, and was very successful working with both models and employers. An early pioneer of color processing, Outerbridge worked with magazines and advertisers to help them sell their products. One of his major accomplishments as a photographer, however, was to master the very challenging carbon-transfer process.

In the latter part of his career, his years in southern California were finacially difficult, and it wasn't until years aftere his death that his carefully preserved archives began to resurface. This volume represents all periods and styles of his career, including cubistic still-life images, commercial photography and nudes. I am very pleased to see the work of Paul Outerbridge finally come into public view. More than just a monograph on the photographer, Command Performance, could be a historical treatise on the history of 20th Century photography. This another good one for your library. -ed.

Sculpting with Light (Text by Photographs by Allison Earnest, Amherst Media, 2009, $34.95 (U.S.) paper. Black-and-white and color photographs, 125 pages)

In the world of photography there is nothing else that can cause us so much frustration as light, its availability, as well as its absence. In this timely book, Earnest brings forth and demystifies that very process. Rather than jumping right into the subject of light, she addresses "The Role of the Photographer." There is no better place to start than where your battle with light might begin. After that, we move into "The Physics of Light." Here you can get an idea about the structure and the perception of light. And so it goes. There is nothing left to chance in Earnest's covering of this challenging subject. From ambient to reflected light to short vs. broad light to lighting different facial shapes, you will not walk away from this book without a better knowledge of how you can control light, rather than it controlling you. -ed. For additional information: www.allisonearnestphotography.com