Jean Depara, by Jean Depara

in

Why?

“Before taking off on any long project, I always look at other works. What inspires me are photographers that are not even of today, they're photographers from before. And how I discovered Depara's work is through the publisher in Paris called Revue Noire. . . . That is something that goes back deep into Joseph Rodriguez' photography, going way back to my first project in Spanish Harlem. I want to own my own story. I want to tell it in a way that I think is more intimate and perhaps a little bit more subjective."

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- Joeseph Rodríguez, Photographer

IIlluminance, by Rinko Kawauchi

in

Why?

“I love Illuminance, because I love that Rinko is photographing the banalities of life, the everyday moments, and she's having moments of ecstasy. She clearly has that gift as an artist of seeing and feeling the ecstatic in the ordinary. I find this book to be one that I return to for that reason. There's something deeply meditative about it, there's something reassuring about it, that the world can be so beautiful.

It's like a visual prayer book, a constant reminder that life is extraordinarily beautiful, and it's full of secrets and gifts, if you just stop and look for a second. As we look at this picture right now of the rear view mirror on some kind of motorbike, and the sun is just hitting it and it's glowing. The vast majority of people are going to walk by and never see that, and I love that she sees it and calls our attention to it.”
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- Kathy Ryan, Photographer

Ballet, by Alexey Brodovitch

in

Why?

“I love the fact he had a day job as an art director, but he also had the desire to make photos. He went and he did the ballet; they're kind of grainy, and ultimately pretty low-tech in terms of the technique, and he used that to his advantage. I just love that there's so much mood, sensuality, drama, sweat, and dynamism in these pictures. I like that he carved out a subject that he was able to make a wonderful set of pictures, and then the book itself, the way it's laid out. I like that body of work, because I think it's just one more example of there are photographs waiting to happen everywhere, and even if you don't dedicate yourself to photography full-time, you have a chance to do something significant.”
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- Kathy Ryan, Photographer

Un’antologia, by Paolo Pellegrin

in

Why?

“Everything about this book is extraordinary. It is the monograph of his life's work, and it even starts when he was a child. This book is exquisite. The photography's incredible, the layout and the approach is amazing, and when you get a little further in it is so ambitious. It still boggles my mind that it succeeds.

When you start to get into Paolo's work, you’ll see this timeline that places it in context with highlights of what was happening in the world in that period, as well as highlights of what was happening in the photography world—I love that. I don't remember a photo book doing that, so that all the people looking at this book who didn't live through this era, as they're looking at the pictures Paolo made, they are also recognizing the context in which those pictures were made and published.”
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- Kathy Ryan, Photographer