Magnum Contact Sheets: Amazon.co.uk: Kristen Lubben: Books

Review

`This book is a bit like one of those parties you're trying to blag a ticket to. An unmissable event. Just look who's on stage: Cartier-Bresson, Capa, Erwitt and many more. ... A huge undertaking, well produced this tremendous book shows how defining moments are captured and made iconic. Image, history and process, there's something for everyone here'
--The Bookseller

`A glorious monument to a way of working that is no more.' --The Daily Telegraph

`This books allows us to see the mixture of talent, chance, watchfulness and diligence behind each successful picture. ...there are very many reasons to celebrate the images in this huge and beautiful book.' --The Guardian

`By presenting the unpublished contact sheets behind the world's most iconic photos - including the D-Day landings, the Blitz, Malcolm X and Che Guevara - every compelling page gives us an intimate and exciting sense of walking alongside the photographer.' --RA magazine

`These contact sheets, souvenirs of a technology that is now obsolete, are the elegy for a lost art.' --The Observer

`Magnum Contact Sheets reveals the unseen pictures that led to the creation of some of the most iconic and historic images of the modern world, taken by photography's top names.'
--Scotland on Sunday

`A treasure chest of material...this is a book that sets out to transfix and absorb all those that fall on its pages ...with Christmas just around the corner...this should take its place at the top of your wish list.'
--The Usual Shutter Specs Blog

'An exemplary bit of publishing in that it is stunningly beautiful ... but is full of the kind of material that might be considered the preserve of scholars or researchers' --The Observer

'Fascinating'
--Creative Review

`A landmark in photography publishing. This rich treasure trove of a book exposes techniqueand situation through archival imagery like never before' --Glass

`A must for every photographer's shelf ... an incredible book ... No matter what level of photographer you are, your age or your genre of photography, I would urge you to get this book ... It's a book to fall in love with and treasure. Thank you, Magnum. Thank you, Thames & Hudson' --Professional Photographer

'Covetable ... informative and lovingly curated' --Metro

'A book for anyone who has tried and failed to get that killer shot ... Gives a sense of how closely skill and seat-of-pants intertwine, even for the greatest photographers' --The Times

'One of the most interesting books of the year'
--The Independent

'Every once in a while a book comes along that makes you stop, look and listen, Magnum Contact Sheets is such a book ... extensive, exhaustive in its research and inspiring' --Hungry Eye Magazine

'The most significant photographic title of 2011' --Master Photography

'Offers an intimate glimpse into its contributors' working processes.' --The Independent on Sunday

Gives a fascinating insight into the process of creating great photojournalism' --The Irish Times

'This landmark book presents an unparalleled wealth of unpublished material.'
--Art Daily.org

'One thing is for sure: if you do not have a copy of Magnum Contact Sheets on your bookshelf you cannot be serious about photography.'
--State Magazine

Product Description

This special and important photography book presents, for the first time, the very best contact sheets created by Magnum photographers. Contact sheets tell the truth behind a photograph. They unveil its process, and provide its back story. Was it the outcome of what a photographer had in mind from the outset? Did it emerge from a diligently worked sequence, or was the right shot down to pure serendipity a matter of being in the right place at the right time? This landmark publication provides the reader with a depth of understanding and a critical analysis of the story behind a photograph, the process of editing it, and the places and ways in which the selected photographs were used. For anyone with a deep appreciation of photography and a desire to understand what goes into creating iconic work, Magnum Contact Sheets will be regarded as the definitive volume. With 435 illustrations in total, 230 in colour, including over 3,600 frames on 139 contact sheets.

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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

Fascinating content, Badly bound, Dreadfully packed by Amazon 18 Nov 2011

By John Wilson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you are a serious photographer than you will be fascinated by this book. You will already know many of the photographs featured in the book. What you won't have seen is what other photographs were on the same roll of film. This book shows you that. If you've spent hours agonising over which of several versions of a picture is the one to show the world you'll want to see the images which were rejected by some great photographers.

If I was rating the content alone I'd give it 5 stars However.....

This is a huge a very heavy book. Thames and Hudson have cosen to attach the bound pages to the cover by the end papers alone (see the user contributed picture on this page). The consequence of this is that the weight of the pages begins to pull the endpaper off the covers. If you are unlucky the endpaper begins to tear and the covers come off the book.

Also Amazon packs this book in a box which is quite a bit bigger than the book itself. They put screwed up paper in the space round the book to "protect" it. This is a recipe for disaster. The box gets thrown about during shipment, the box stops but the book keeps going. The screwed up paper is no protection and the cover gets badly damaged. I've had two copied from Amazon and both were severely damaged in transit.

To Amazon's credit their refund and replacement service is first rate.

Sadly I've had a refund and will not be buying this book.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

A monster of a book in more than one way 3 Dec 2011

By Graham TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE

This is a big heavy book but it's packed. I just love it. I always had the impression that 100%of Magnum photographers images would be sharp and correctly exposed. What a relief it was to find out that these guys are not infallible and like most photographers not all images are perfect. However the contact sheets are a great way to see what was shot and what was used. The used images are iconic.

May sound strange that I like the book warts and all but I really do like this book.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

Great content and fine publisher 8 Nov 2011

By Alexander Komarov

Format:Hardcover

This is a great book and fine compilation.
Unfortunately the book has a very poor binding. The front end sheet was torn off right after the opening of the book. Just by the weight of the book's front cover.

IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Thames & Hudson offered me free copy of this book right after my feedback posting. The brand new book well packed was delivered by UPS from London to Moscow in one day.
Great job, guys! Many thanks!

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