Magnum Contact Sheets

I read this book cover to cover over the course of a few months. Just a few entries each weekday morning after I dropped my kids off to school. The images are wonderful, of course, but seeing the contact sheets and learning even more about the context in which the photos were taken as told by the photographers themselves (!) just adds to the quality of this fine, fine book. Don't flip through it. Read it page-by-page. When you read the photographer's words about how/when the photos were taken gives so much great background detail. And with that info, once you turn the page to see the full-scale image they've been discussing and setting up?!?! WOW. It's a revelation. A must-have book for any photographer open to inspiration.

This book represents a unique and extraordinary insight into the photojournalistic photographic process. Many famous images are represented here, but what makes them particularly valuable is you get to see the contact sheets as well as the stories behind the pictures. I know of no other book on photography that comes as close to this. Some examples that spring to mind are Ansel Adams - Making 40 Photographs, Michael Freeman's photo books, and most recently, those of Scott Kelby, all of which give you insights into technique and the photographer's mind. But none of these tap into the extraordinary resources captured in this book. My approach to reading and absorbing this substantial volume has been to look at the contact sheets first, to understand the material captured, and then see how your choices relate to those of the photographer. This in itself is a valuable learning experience, not diminished in any way by the clues contained on the contact sheet in the form of notations. This is one book that should be on the bookshelf of every serious student of photography.

Honestly, I was shocked at the print quality for the price of $45. I’ve bought photo books that cost 2x-3x as much that less photos in worse quality. It’s also just absolutely massive at over 500 pages with something interesting on almost every page. I’m a bit worried about the longevity of the binding as it’s a lot of strain and weight on a paperback but I imagine if I’m nice with it it will last a good while. If you want it as a book that you take to your grave, I’d go with the hardcover. But for a student like me, the paperback is a real value proposition.

Eariler this year this book came up in a discussion in a photography forum, called "essential reading" for anyone who was interested in street photography. Many of the images are stunning, even more are extremely confronting. Some are timeless, and will elicit strong reactions and emotions. Iconic scenes from all over the world,and people internationally known. The stories behind the images, both personal and historic, add a level of understanding as to what and why. It's well worth getting. Oh, another thing; it's a large volume and quite heavy, so don't expect to tote it around for a read in the park.

Magnum Contact Sheets is truly a masterpiece in terms of content. The reproductions of the photographs in this book are of outstanding quality. This is an iconic book that will be highly sought after in the future. I would expect prices to skyrocket once it is out of print. In my opinion, this is a book that every serious photographer, student of photography and connoisseur of fine photography books should own. And now for the bad news: Due to a combination of marginal binding strength by Thames & Hudson and improper packing for shipment by Amazon, I had to return the book repeatedly to get an undamaged and/or non-defective copy. When copy #4 arrived, I at long last had an acceptable copy of this outstanding book. There are two threads on this book and the trials and tribulations associated with it at L-Camera-Forum (Google it). I would rate the book at five stars (or an "A") for content and quality of photographic reproduction. However, in terms of the binding I would have to rate it at two stars (or a "D"). It is truly unfortunate that the marginal binding has flawed an iconic book that is in all other ways a masterpiece.

Magnum has just created the best photography collection in the world. This book is definitely a tribute to the most talented photographers in our era. It is an amazing collection of images that show not only their best shots, but also the entire filmstrip with other pictures taken before and after the main photo published in newspapers and magazines. This book is an amazing resource for those who want to decompose and reverse engineer the style and composition techniques used by famous photographers. It is an extensive collection of black and white photos and includes even handwritten notes of the photographers who shot them. It is a must have book for any photographers considering enhancing their technique and style.

Photography is a hobby of mine and this book was full of insights. You do not have to have a background in film to understand what happens in a contact sheet. You just need to see enough of them to learn how to read them. When I worked at a fashion studio, we were happy to get one keeper in a 36 exposure roll. What you don't see in the other 35 shots is often helpful in understanding what steps led to that $$$ keeper. You know your process from reviewing what you shoot, and then to see it from what other people have shot helps you understand the process is different for all of us, but, yet, the visual path of other photographers is readable. You'll flip the pages and read the details and you will "get it" and be happy you digested this brick of a book. I mean, that is, if you visually want to get better.

This is a wonderful book full of historical photos. Being a photographer from the days of film photojournalism, I can identify what some of the photojournalists endured to create photos. If you are a photo enthusiast of film photography or new to photography, this book tells a story and one you will enjoy. The printing is outstanding and the quality of paper used is perfect to illustrate the reproductions of the older "proof sheets." I'll warn you, it's heavy - in weight, but well worth the purchase.

Es increíble poder ver el proceso de selección del autor de una fotografía famosa, y leer o bien el comentario del mismo autor o de especialistas de la época. No me gusta el encuadernado suave, pero la buena calidad de impresión de las fotografías compensa. Un imprescindible en la biblioteca de un fotógrafo.

Une source inépuisable. Il y a les planches de contact, la finalité choisie et l’histoire qui a suscité le déclenchement des photographes à l’époque de l’argentique.

I've had my eye on the Contact Sheets book for the past few years, and I saw it on Amazon for ~32 USD (45 CAN?) and had to pull the trigger. For this price, I'd say the book is an insane deal. The quality of the book is very good - the pages are smooth with smart edges and decent thickness, and the book cover is well-made with a minimalistic design. The dust cover got a little bit wrinkled during shipping (from Amazon? the vendor?). I'm not too miffed because it shipped all the way from Canada to me (in California), and the wrinkles were all on the corners/binding. Some people in the US amazon complained about poor book binding, but I don't perceive the binding to be a weak-point. Caveat: I've only had the book for a few weeks and babied it, so take that FWIW. The actual content is well laid out and in chronological order. The text have relevant stories leading up to the culmination of the photos. Some of the stories are in-depth than others. The Magnum photographers write about people involved, the events, and the feelings they felt when shooting or selecting photos from their film rolls. I don't have the book with me, nor do I think describing a particular page very useful. If you're already interested in Magnum, you'll probably know a few of the stories behind the photos (e.g. Hoepker's photo of the young people relaxing during 9/11 twin towers incident). However a few stories I was happy to learn more about (e.g. the fortuitous accident involving the photo processing of Frank Capa photo of soldiers on Omaha beach). I only wish that the book covered more photographs and more recent time period.

O livro mostra um pouco do processo criativo de inúmeros fotógrafos a partir de uma ou duas fotos de uma sessão, revelando o processo de busca pela imagem com a folha de contato do rolo da foto consagrada. Em um breve porém suficiente relato o fotógrafo conta a história de como chegou naquele resultado. É simplesmente incrível para quem fotografa.

Książka wspaniała, mam jednak zastrzeżenia co do wysyłki amazon. Nie jestem w stanie pojąć, jak tak duża firma może żałować folii bąbelkowej. Książka jest duża, a została zapakowana w liche pudełko, które łatwo zostało uszkodzone, oraz wypełnienie kawałkiem papieru. Książka latała w kartonie w wszystkie kierunki, co spowodowało uszkodzenia.