Best city photography books according to redditors
We found 117 Reddit comments discussing the best city photography books. We ranked the 59 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 117 Reddit comments discussing the best city photography books. We ranked the 59 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
For those that don’t know - Humans of New York is about a guy that goes around the city every day and finds one person to talk about their life. It’s almost always eye-opening, and an absolutely incredible Facebook page to follow.
He has also written a book, which can be found here for $16.
https://www.amazon.com/Humans-New-York-Brandon-Stanton/dp/1250058902
I can’t express how incredible this page and book are. For what it’s worth, this redditor gives it a 10/10 and recommends it to EVERYONE!
Edit: For those of you without Facebook, here’s a website! http://www.humansofnewyork.com
I recently read a book from the architecture library where I work on Torre David that provided great analysis on how the vertical community came to be, etc. I highly recommend it.
Torre David: Informal Vertical Communities https://www.amazon.com/dp/3037782986/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_u-91AbHF7AS8V
It’s kind of expensive, but if one can track it down through their library, I highly recommend it.
I'm getting my SO's mom this book: Humans of New York: Stories. One of the things I like about her is that she really cares about people and their stories, so I thought I'd write that in a card to go with it. :)
In case you're interested, these are from the book called 'City of Shadows', a collection of police photographs out of Sydney. Great book, you can get it here though Amazon's price is way high. I think I got it for about $40-$60 from book depository though they're out of stock.
Only wrong size in the sense that they don't accommodate low floor model trains and have station platforms built several feet off the ground. Cincinnati's subway was built to accommodate trains similar to those found on Boston's Green Line. They could always be adapted for light rail trains similar to our streetcar vehicles, but it would be at great expense and require ADA accommodation.
EDIT: Meant Red Line, not Green Line. There's more in this book about how Cincinnati's was modeled after Boston: http://www.amazon.com/Cincinnatis-Incomplete-Subway-Complete-History/dp/1596298952
If anyone's interested, this book is a pretty interesting rundown on Torre de David, though it's not quite as in-depth as I'd like. I guess like Kowloon, it'll be history now...
> 'Subway' by Bruce Davidson
http://www.amazon.ca/Bruce-Davidson-Subway/dp/1597111945 ?
That app came out a few years ago (2011), when anti-hipster sentiment was pretty close to a fever pitch. e.g.
Things have died down a bit since then.
The irony is, I'd be willing to bet that the guy who made the Punch a Hipster app is probably a hipster by some people's definition. Culture is weird. I wouldn't worry too much about people getting their feelings hurt over the app, though.
This is the work of photographer Bruce Davidson! Find his book here. Just wanted to get visibility for him :)
> the tunnels are fit to a unique train car gage
This is false. Check out this book, which debunks this myth, as well as others (like "the turns are too tight" and "the city ran out of money").
This and many like it are featured in a collection at the Sydney Police and Justice Museum after being lost for many years. I forget the exact context but my neighbour worked on the initial collection and many of the old police files were lost due to buildings being transferred between departments. Eventually a building, then belonging to the Historic Houses Trust, was flooded and boxes of hundreds upon hundreds of these glass negatives were found in original condition however the attached notes were destroyed. Peter Doyle has (I'm sure along with many other people) worked for a number of years to put together information on these and created a book called City of Shadows which we gave to our neighbour last Christmas and was captivating just to look into these people's faces, stories, and I really loved the emotion in their eyes.
We went there back in Year 12 a few years ago and they were telling us how the criminals were allowed to adopt any pose they desired, but with the photography at the time (early 1900s) were essentially long exposures so some have blur as one of the men in the picture. Other images can be found here including the man who refused to open his eyes . Doyle has also noted that many faces appear several times with differing names and outfits showing the success of their alias'. Cool Stuff.
I just have a casual interest in this stuff. You can find a lot of things online if you google something like “railroads in New Jersey” or check out the old threads on sites like railroad.net
Or you can start with the timeline here and google anything that seems interesting.
This book is pretty interesting too.
Humans of New York is a wonderful book. It also happens to be a blog and an Instagram account. By interviewing his subjects, Brandon Stanton brings an interesting sense of reality to his photographs.
So, there are actually a couple of books about this that may be to your interest. You can either buy them (Amazon or Full Circle), or I'm pretty sure get a copy from one of the libraries.
Maybe a book? I think the Humans of New York book could pretty much be given to everyone, it's all happy and uplifting and cool.
You said she's on her feet all day so maybe something to help relax a little like a foot spa? Otherwise they make these little balls that you roll under your foot (my grandma used to do this with just a tennis ball) and it's supposed to good for your muscles and kind of like a mini massage.
Does she use anything to help treat her bunions? They make some cool products like this and this that might be helpful! They have some really good reviews, she may already have something like this though?
Not the best ideas haha but maybe it will help! Good luck with shopping! :)
I remember hearing Wayne Dowdy, author of "On This Day in Memphis History," speaking on NPR about all of the brothels in Memphis and how they operated up until the 1920's
It's a mix of gang culture that does not exist in other countries along a lack of social welfare saftey nets, the problem is not legal gun ownership.
Poverty begets criminals. If you can't make the money to survive on your own, and the government isn't giving you enough (foodstamps are good and all, but what if your kid needs to go to the hospital for surgery and you can't afford it?) A common way to get that money is mugging, usually with an illegally acquired gun, which in itself is a crime, and will eventually lead to a murder somewhere down the road.
Gang culture is something I'm not super familiar with, I had incidents as a kid where my families car windows were smashed in or graffiti was all over our school/house, but I was not old enough to remember it a lot by the time my family moved out of that area of where we lived. I can't really comment on it too much, but I do know it relates to a lack of family and the need to belong. It also leads to a lot of gang on gang violence and murders (with illegally acquired guns) and apparently even desensitized these gangs to the idea of killing children (according to the book Our America.) The police will often ignore these areas because they are incredibly dangerous. Poverty and gang culture is most found in the black community, although there are whites and other minorities in gangs, because of the legalized racial oppression found in certain parts of the country and social racial oppression in other parts of the country until the 60s/70s, it still continues to this day to a smaller extent.
It is actually not a big problem for most people in the country, as most states and cities are comparable to other first world countries when it comes to murder or other violent crime. The violence skyrockets because of the ghettos in a few big cities, which is caused by a lack of safety nets and the slow recovery of the black community and not because of the legal ownership of guns by many citizens.
He also makes these sweet 3D Victorian historical picture books
Here you go.
https://www.amazon.com/Humans-New-York-Brandon-Stanton/dp/1250038820
Amazon link for those who are interested.
THIS might be exactly what you're looking for...
There are lots of great books on the history of Long Beach.
And all of Tim Grobaty's books are great.
This is a great book talking about many of these buildings! It's not hyper detailed, but explains what happened to the buildings. Some bulldozed, some lost to fire, etc, etc.
All by Bruce Davidson from his book 'Subway'
http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-Davidson-Subway/dp/1597111945/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382469250&sr=8-1&keywords=bruce+subway
Taschen makes some wonderful budget photo book options. They have this one on New York which is $10. Bernice Abbot's Changing New York is a wonderful book but is most likely out of your price range unless you're willing to buy used. Diane Arbus' Revelations also falls into that category. There is also Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton though I don't find the photography particularly compelling.
Brian May also has a very good book about a lost collection of stereoscopic photos that he and his co-author reassembled. It also goes into detail about stereoscopic photography and includes a stereoscope so you can view all the pictures. It's amazing!
A Village Lost and Found
My brother just finished a book on the abandoned subway of Cincinnati. He had to sneak down there to get shots for the cover and insert. Check it out, we're finishing up a promo video today that will have more of the photos that didn't make it into the book.
http://www.amazon.com/Cincinnatis-Incomplete-Subway-Complete-History/dp/1596298952
EDIT
Here's the video we just finished about an hour ago.
There are lots of options - I'm not quite sure if they all transfer over to Europe but I'll give it a try.
Hope this helps!
I'm in the block of acknowledgements at the end of John Dies at the End and I'm mentioned in the album liner of In Evening Air by Future Islands. Also, I'm in a picture in Look at this Fucking Hipster (technically in the background, but it's an iconic picture that the author wrote a paragraph about).
It's nice (although a bit narcissistic) to be able to walk around a book store and point out random things with my name or image in them. Also, I've been recognized on the street several times for various reasons.
EDIT: Oh, and I wrote a song that has over 31,000 YouTube views. However, I don't think anybody actually watched the video for the song. And the "song" is actually a minute long clip looped several times.
EDIT EDIT: I also sent in a correction to Mental Floss's daily fact newsletter thing. I'm not sure how many people actually subscribe to Watercooler Ammo, but I got mentioned by name.
I picked up the book a couple of weeks ago. Many giggles were had.
the book is 400 usd and up on amazon. it's from australia. however, if you go to australia, the book is much, much less.
http://www.amazon.com/City-Shadows-Sydney-Photographs-1912-1948/dp/1876991208/
http://shop.hht.net.au/Home/Catalogue?productid=e5ebe56a7a9ed9a6
If like me, you take a great interest in lost architecture, I cannot recommend enough any books by Gavin Stamp especially Lost Victorian Britain: How the Twentieth Century Destroyed the Nineteenth Century's Architectural Masterpieces and Britain's Lost Cities: A Chronicle of Architectural Destruction. It's one long tirade against Britian's own cultural revolution of the 1960s and '70s.
Well, perhaps I stated it too strongly. When I think about science, I think about the pursuit of hard facts; when I think about reason, I think about cold utilitarianism. I stand by my point about science, but you are right, I shouldn't have included reason. It's more than utilitarian calculations.
However, if you value art because it provides some greater benefit to society, then I don't believe you actually value art. You are making a utilitarian argument, which is exactly what I keep harping about.
Look, the meaning of words seems pretty obvious to me, too. But when people keep telling me that progressives would preserve the building because they are progressives, I despair because words have no meaning anymore. After all, it's the progressives that so often destroy such buildings, not preserve them.
(If you don't believe me, then read the book Britain's Lost Cities. Hint: it was not German bombs that destroyed those old Georgian, Tudor, and Victorian buildings, it was progressive city planners.)
My friend (Cincy native) just wrote a book about it. It's really comprehensive. If you're into this sort of thing pick up a copy, he could use the support!
http://www.amazon.com/Cincinnatis-Incomplete-Subway-Complete-History/dp/1596298952
There's this one, too.
I've wanted to buy this book for ages, it's called City of Shadows: Sydney Police Photographs 1912-1948 by Peter Doyle.
It's on Amazon here but it's rather expensive.
I was given this book on one of my first dates with my now husband. It's still one of my faves.
Also, I love to give the book "Humans of New York" to people who don't live here.
Really reminds me of this
https://www.amazon.com/Look-This-cking-Hipster-Mande/dp/0312624972
Read Jake’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Cincinnatis-Incomplete-Subway-Complete-History/dp/1596298952
I wholeheartedly agree.
Did some research!
The photographs were exhibited at the Historic Houses Trust, and taken down on Sunday 11 February, 2007. A 239 page book was later formed called the City of Shadows: Sydney Police Photographs 1912-1948, though a little out of my price range. Fortunately there are tons more mugshots floating around for those interested.
Cheers.
Pretty sure they're taken from here or here.
This pic is from a great book called City of Shadows: Sydney Police Photographs 1912-1948. seems all these guys were freshly arrested and these special photos were made allowing them to pose as they wished.
The reason I bothered writing a long comment was because I got the general sense from what you've posted that you were passionate about what you were trying to do, and working it out/improving and not just an asshole. Glad I was right.
See if you can get a copy of this book from your school or local library: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1597111945/ref=s9_simh_gw_g14_i1_r?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=1VBT2F8340N6KEZVM8KK&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop
or any Bruce Davidson book for that matter. I think he manages to capture 70s/80s NYC, which was arguably a far worse place than current Baltimore, in all of it grit/grime/crime/drug use. Try to understand what about his photos works, and what doesn't. What compositionally elevates his subjects of helps you connect with them, then go out shooting with that in mind. To be honest, I think the biggest thing you can do to help yourself is to edit yourself much harder. I think a class where you are getting ripped apart can be good for teaching you to be even harder on your photos than anybody else. This will also make you shoot more because fewer things will make it past your cuts, and shooting more will always make you better (though, for me at least, posting more can sometimes be a negative to me getting better). I think if you can learn to see your photos in the harshest of lights then the good ones that are left will really be great.
I keep subs to GQ, Wired, etc. as they're part of my interests. I also purchased Abandoned America, which is a cool coffee table book showcasing some awesome photography of abandoned places.
That is amazing! So weird, but amazing!
I would love to be able to shape shift. It's the perfect power. Need to be invisible? Cool, become a tiny insect or something instead. Need to fly? No worries! Bird! Need to walk through walls? Easy, become a ghost! (I'm sure that counts as shape shifting, right? Right. ¬_¬)
Failing that, I would love to have the power, that when I go to buy anything, I have the exact amount of change in my pocket (or if it's bigger, the exact amount needed in my bank account). Think about it, if you just had a load of money, you would run the risk of running out, this way, you will always have enough for what you want/need. Fabulous.
If I win, I would very much like you to surprise me. Or, failing that, I would really like this, this, this or this. I'm sorry, I couldn't decide D: (all are in my wishlists)
We are RAOA. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
Edit: words
You can find more in the book Murder in the City: New York, 1910-1920. Lots of photos using these tripods suspending the camera overhead. Cover in book link below is NSFW:
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-City-New-York-1910-1920-ebook/dp/B01MXO55CM
One for the team at Shit London
Those are photographs by the well known photographer Bruce Davidson.
Are you looking for a novel or a non-fiction book? If it's the latter, maybe this one? It's about the Torre David in Caracas, Venezuela. I'm sure there are other books about it as well.
born november 14th and girl.
$20 $40
He also co-authored this book.
It's a set of images from a Bruce Davidson book - "Subway". First published in 1986.
Anyone interested can have a look at amazon.
May also co-authored a stereoscopic book called "A Village Lost and Found" which depicts scenes from a small English village ca. 1850. The cool thing about the book is that it uses a stereoscopic viewer to make the scenes appear to be 3D. http://www.amazon.com/Village-Lost-Found-Brian-May/dp/0711230390
He's an interesting guy
He's also an avid fan of stereoscopic (aka "3D") photography and has a published collection of Victorian stereoscopes.
Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:
Amazon Smile Link: A Village Lost and Found
|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|France|amazon.fr|
|Germany|amazon.de|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|
|China|amazon.cn|
This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting). The thread for feature requests can be found here.
Make it something related to what she likes related to, but outside of interior design. First thing that comes to mind would be travel and fashion:
Worlds Greatest Trips
Humans of New York
Paris in Color