What I have been reading this week
Besides today’s newsletter, the one you are reading right now, I had started four different ones, all exploring different aspects of photography. Not one of them is finished. I lost my red thread amid writing. The reason for the mild chaos in my head is my dog, who had a lump removed on Monday and wasn’t feeling well after surgery (he feels much better now). Everybody who has kids or a furry friend can probably understand, that I had trouble concentrating.
It is now Wednesday evening, as I am writing these words. This is rather late for me. I usually have my newsletter finished by Wednesday and publish it on Thursday. At first, I thought about releasing it a day or two later, thinking that nobody would care anyway. But I cared. So this wasn’t an option. Then I thought, I would just post another entry of “My visual journal”, but I didn’t want to do that either, because I posted one last week. And while I was looking at the stack of my books next to me - the ones I have enjoyed while cuddling my sick dog on the couch - I thought why not share the things I read this week? So, here we go.
The first book - one of my favorites - and one I am returning to all the time is “The Garden at Orgeval” which was Paul Strand’s last project. In 1955, Paul Strand and his wife Hazel bought a house in Orgeval, France. Hazel began gardening there for the first time in her life, and Paul Strand embarked on the journey of photographing their garden throughout the seasons over the next 25 years. A beautiful book that inspired my photography and motivated me start a long-term project just a few months ago.
The second book, which just came in the mail the other day is “Should Nature Change” by John Gossage. John Gossage writes in the introduction:
I went out across the country to find what I would find. To learn something I did not know about the place and the things you can see in the eye of those younger than you. The narrative is delicate but each stop is specific and a precise picture of what I saw.
The photos in this book are of scenes, objects and people he meets, all taken in everyday non-iconic places throughout his travels across America. Photographs you have to look at more than just once to fully appreciate them. I am excited to have this book in my collection.
I don’t know how I came upon the last book, but it had quite an impact on me. It is the old classic “Ways of Seeing” by John Berger. It was first published in 1972 and is based on a BBC television program of the same name. The book consists of seven chapters. Three of the chapters only contain dozens of pictures without any explanation. Berger writes that these
purely pictorial essays are intended to raise as many questions as the verbal essays.
And they sure did. After reading the whole book I also watched the BBC series on YouTube. Those four episodes helped me to deepen my understanding of what I just had read. You can find the series here:
I am still processing this book and at this point don’t feel like writing a good summary of it. But I will most likely write more about some of the arguments in this book in another newsletter.
And while I was pondering John Berger’s book, I received the newsletter by fellow photographer and writer Matthew Poburyny. In his latest newsletter he - like John Berger in “Ways of Seeing” - explores how our memories and experiences from the past influence how we see the world and how we approach photography. I loved his essay and also tremendously enjoyed the lecture by the British photographer Jem Southam.
Have you read any of the books I mentioned above? What were your thoughts on them? I would love to hear about it. You can share it in the comments with me or drop me a line at info@susannehelmert.com
That’s all from me today. Thank you for being here and for reading this week’s newsletter.
X,
Susanne
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After seeing the cover for Ways Of Seeing I realized I have it back in store in Canada and just didn't get around to reading it yet. Should Nature Change by John Gossage is a staple in my collection and the Paul Strand book sounds absolutely lovely, something I would for sure enjoy, thanks for turning me onto it.
I will have to check out the videos from Ways of Seeing, thanks for the link. I read it recently after it was recommended in a photography social media group that I follow. I struggled with it because for a book about art and relying on visuals- I found the layout/design of it did not work for me. Some of the formatting seemed like it was a mistake, and some of the artwork shown was too small to understand why they were included. I think I even disliked the typeface. Overall it was interesting and gave me a few things to think about but I quickly donated it, thinking I’d never refer to it again. Maybe the videos will help me appreciate it more. So many people seem to have been impacted by it, maybe I judged too quickly.