Rambling...

Maaaybe...  Photo: © S. Banos

I love my photography books- I really do! But lately, I've been buying considerably less of them- like not at all. Oh, many still excite me upon first viewing, but then, the thrill dissipates, much quicker than expected- and I start to wonder... why? Are today's photo books pure fluff, just meant to hold interest a few more seconds beyond your average daily Instagram feed? Are the photo themselves without any deeper, lasting meaning- socially, aesthetically or otherwise? Am I just jaded- has it all been said and done?

There was a time at the end of the last century when I couldn't find enough good photo books; even before the digital revolution, they were quite numerous- but the quality ones, of any depth or meaning (along with, or solely due to aesthetic excellence) were rare indeed. I have a 20 image rule- if I like (really like) at least twenty of the photographs found within a book's pages, I usually bite and pull the trigger. 

The past several years have seen more photo books than ever, a plethora emerging on a near daily basis, which means a lot more junk- as well as a lot more finds, if one makes the effort. Trouble is and this is highly personal- I've now experienced most of the flavors.

Starting in the mid seventies, color made a significant change in the medium of photography, we had a whole new newly accepted way of seeing and interpreting reality- a major sea change deluxe! The Digital Revolution has certainly brought about changes in almost every aspect of how we experience the medium of photography itself, but... has it brought about a major change in the actual art of photography- as did color?

We see more work (although we trust it less), and we see it faster and easier, in smoother, cleaner pixels, rather than organic lumps of grain. We have managed to alter every which way we have come to view, understand and proliferate photography, and yet- it it still hasn't translated into an actual sea change of how we actually see and interpret the world around us (not counting technical considerations, eg- increased ease of photographing in available light). And all the little non photographic gimmicks and nuances now included in many a photo book (good and interesting, and pricey, as they may be) are often still not enough to entice me into a lasting relationship. We are certainly testing this new digital technology to see what it can deliver in every which way possible, but when (and I do think it is but a question of when) will we finally incorporate it into a significantly novel photographic vision? Instead, we seem stuck in a metamorphosis, if not a metastasis, of everything and anything at once- from maximum megapixels to back to the future analog. Strange days...