Why Photographs Work

The full title of this book by George Barr is Why Photographs Work: 52 Great Images: Who Made Them, What Makes Them Special and Why. And one of my images is in the book! In the book Barr writes about what makes the photograph work and then the photographer writes about the making of the image. This is followed by a biography of the photographer.

While the book is about photography as art, it isn't written in art-speak. "This book is for any photographer who wants to make beautiful photographs. And it is for anyone--photographer or viewer--who wants to understand why some photographs stand out from all the others."

I am very fortunate to be in this book with some photographers who I have admired over the years, or bought their books or been in one of their workshops. Some of the photographers I didn't know until now. Barr wasn't just looking for well-known photographers. He was looking for great images. But from looking at the biographies of the photographers, all of them are serious image makers who have something to say.

So how did this happen? I found Barr's blog a number of years ago. We exchanged comments. He looked at some images that I have on line and when he was ready to do this book, he remembered the work. So, while some scary things can happen on the Internet, some pretty amazingly good things can happen as well.

Hey, you still have time to buy  Why Photographs Work and get it before Christmas. Buy two, one for someone and one for yourself.