Reddit reviews Elliott Erwitt's Dogs (Photography)

I love atmosphere, so I'm all about:

• Todd Hido - Roaming [examples]
  
• Todd Hido - A Road Divided [examples]
  
  Would love any recommendations for similarly moody work?
  
  
• Elliott Erwitt - Dogs [examples]
  
  
• Kitajima Keizo - Untitled Records Vol. 1
  
  
• Akihide Tamura - Afternoon
  
  
• Lukas Hoffmann - Vingt-Six Photographies
  
  I don't own the following, but would like:
  
  
• Laurenz Berges - Early Then [examples]
  
  
• Ansel Adams - 400 Photographs [pretty sure this is the most comprehensive collection]
  
  
• Nick Brandt - On This Earth, A Shadow Falls [not one for wildlife photography, but this one's special]
  
  
• Vivian Maier - Street Photographer [concern about quality of blacks in this one?]
  
  
• Pentti Sammallahti - Here Far Away [examples]
  
  
• Issei Suda - Tokyokei
  
  
• Lucas Foglia - Frontcountry [examples]

Photo books! I like Elliott Erwitt. His photos are an incredible mix of juxtapositional humor, emotive/profound, and historically significant. That kind of range makes them great to just pick up and page through for a few minutes too. It's basically decoration you can actually interact with. Good conversation piece, too. Especially for those times when you have a guest over who you don't know super well and the conversation hits a point where you're both thinking to yourselves, "oh shit neither one of us know what to talk about next and it's going to be awkward real in 3 seconds" but you can't really end the conversation there because because they're going to be over for a while longer. You have those times, right? Maybe its just me I don't know.

But anyway, his book Personal Exposures is a favorite of mine. Personal Best is another good one. If you want something that is guaranteed to make even the coldest motherfucker smile, and you're ok forgoing the heavy and historical photos, Dogs is absolutely awesome. Unfortunately it's out of print, and finding one new is likely to run you over $100, but you can get a used copy in good condition for about $50 (as linked).

Not into Erwitt? Robert Frank, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Robert Capa are similar in that they are documentary photographers, but they're a little more traditional if that's your thing.

Or maybe you're looking for more abstract street scenes. Fan Ho's Hong Kong Yesterday shows some of the best use of light and shadow I've ever seen and creates geometric, high-contrast, often surreal images. It's stunning work, and the book cover and binding are amazing (fabric coating with foil embossed text and a high-quality print of his most famous work photo, "Approaching Shadow" adhered to the cover. It's an absolute steal at $65.

Want something with a little more edge? Ryan McGinley is your guy, and You and I is your book (as long as you're ok with a slightly NSFW cover and a handful of slightly NSFW images inside.)

Or you could go with the old standby, Ansel Adams. Some of the most stunning landscape images ever made. But because his images are so well known, most people have seen his stuff countless times before, so it may not be as interesting/appealing. Especially for those awkward moments. You have those moments, right?

Or really, any coffee table book works if you're just looking to fill some visual space somehow. Go to a chain bookstore and browse the clearance section. The're all like, $5 or something. I just really like my coffee table books to tell a story (or stories) in images, and to have a personality and reflect stuff I think is pretty cool. I'm also kind of into photography, so that probably has something to do with recommending photobooks specifically.