'Photographers Sketchbooks'

"Photography is so much more than pushing a button. It is a way of seeing, a way of life, a grasping of life. At the same time it involves an enormous amount of preparatory work, research, and trial and error. All photographers - the visually restless, the diarists, the experimenter, the R&D obsessives, the collectors and the cross-genre free-wheelers - know this as they dream of future pictures and agonize over the next big project. They create speculative work that may blossom into something important, or wind up in a box under the bed - or its virtual equivalent.

This book offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the working methods of nearly 50 photographers (e.g. Mustafah ABDULAZIZ, Christopher AGOU, Peter VAN AGTMAEL, Richard ANSETT, Jessica BACKHAUS, Roger BALLEN, Eric William CARROLL, John CHEVINSKY, Scarlett COTEN, Robin CRACKNELL, Amy ELKINS, Jason ESKENAZI, Jason EVANS, Everyday Africa, Jim GOLDBERG, Naoya HATEKEYAMA, Kiana HAYERI, Rob HORNSTRA, IPG Project, Martin KLIMAS, Katrin KOENNING, Martin KOLLAR, Stacy KRANITZ, Anouk KRUITHOF, Saul LEITER, Graham MacINDOE, John MacLEAN, Susan MEISELAS, Mimi MOLLICA, Louie PALU, Laura PANNACK, Trent PARKE, Viviane SASSEN, Emily SHUR, Alec SOTH, Paul TrREVOR, Thomas VANDEN DRIESSCHE, Muir VIDLER, Irina WERNING, Michael WOLF, Zhang XIAO, Wataru YAMAMOTO, Daisuke YOKOTA) from around the world. In their own words, they present selections from their 'sketchbooks': everythingfrom Polaroid studies to smartphone snaps, diaries, found photography, installations, zines, blogs and online photo streams alongside traditional contact sheets, photo albums and book dummies.
With over 500 images, 'Photographers' Sketchbooks' is a compelling insight into the ways professional photographers realize a personal vision." (publisher's note, © Thames & Hudson, 2014)

"This book, 'Photographers' Sketchbooks', celebrates the new creative processes of the modern photographic era, in which blogs and Instagram streams function alongside analogue albums and contact sheets, and the traditional notebook takes the form of Polaroid studies, smartphone pictures, diaristic projects, found photography, experimental image-making and self-published photo-zines.

Each photographer presents his or her sketchbook: several pages of images that convey his or her working methods and thought processes. These intimate, one-off presentations are accompanied by engaging interviews that reveal how the simple act of pressing a shutter can capture and express a fully realized personal vision.

Three essays by the authors explore subjects at the cutting edge of contemporary practice, including: photo diaries and online experiments and exhibitions; print and electronic publication; planning and editing large projects; and new cameras and other photographic technologies.
Designed to satisfy the most demanding of image junkies, this is an indispensible resource for anyone with an interest in photography or the creative process." (publisher's note, © Thames & Hudson, 2014)