A book about history, evolution, people and of course photography.

"Looking at photographs" by John Szarkowski
Editorial:
Museum of Modern Art / Distributed by New York Graphic Society, Greenwich, Connecticut, New York, 1974

"Looking at photographs" is not an ordinary technical book about photography and how to achieve the best results with your gear.

This book is about understanding where did photography come from, how did it evolve, and how people's perception changed alongside.

The author John Szarkowski was the curator of photography for the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

In this book, he gives us a chronological evolution of photography by his understanding.

Some of the pictures don't even have authors, but he feels that they had an impact on the art.

Some images in this book strike me every time I see them, it creates a sense of pure photography, without distractions, flowing with emotion.

In the early day's people didn't have a fixed behavior around cameras, so to me, it looks more natural.

From the book, page 30
Julia Margaret Cameron
”Madonna with children”. c. 1866

From the book, page 20,
Carleton E. Watkins,
”Arbutus Menziesii Pursh”. 1870s or 1880s,

From the book, page 24,
Nadar, Gaspard Félix Tournachon
”Baron Isidore Taylor”. 1872-1875

"Photography, and our understanding of it, has spread from a center; it has, by infusion, penetrated our consciousness. Like an organism, photography was born whole. It is in our progressive discovery of it that its history lies." - John Szarkowski

When I'm on vacation, I usually take it with me, and when I read it, my good image database stored in my brain increases, and that's the ultimate goal.

Increase the number of good images you see in the world. What aesthetically pleases you, the more you see, the more you will project that into your work and to your everyday life too.

I advise you to buy it if you're a beginner photographer or a seasoned one. If you don't have this book, you're not the best you can be.

Have you read this book? What’s your favorite picture?

You can buy the book here.

From the book page 80
Paul Outerbridge
Untitled. 1922