Thursday, May 7, 2009

I, Tokyo- Jacob Aue Sobol

I, Tokyo by Jacob Aue Sobol is chock full of tightly composed portraits and other highly dynamic photos- all B&W, all high contrast. Although a small handful may try a little too hard, the major reason I won't be buying this book is that too many of the images bleed into one another (see below), and together with the high contrast, I found myself once too often asking if I was looking at one picture or two, and what the hell was I looking at anyhow?

For the life of me, I don't understand why photographers allow themselves to be party to an overbearing, graphic presentation that cheapens their images, confuses the viewer and lessens the overall viewing experience and appreciation of those images.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes, Koudelka, for instance, usually goes for one image on the right hand page.