3 Books as Gifts for Photographers

Here are three of my favorite photography books for 2011 which should make for easy gifts for any photographer. Rather than instructional books, I’ve picked these because I find them to be inspiring looks through the lenses of 3 different photographers. Two of these books were published in the last year the third was published in May of 2010 making them all unlikely to already be on their bookshelves. I’ve also tried to pick exceptional books that may not be that well known.

First up is Vivian Maier – Street Photographer. This is part of the incredible story of a prolific street photographer who worked from the ’50s until the ’90s shooting all over the world without showing her work to anyone. Her photography was first discovered posthumously when her film, much of it undeveloped, was purchased at an auction by John Maloof in 2007 and then revealed to the world as he attempted to unravel the story behind the photographer. Here, published for the first time is a collection of her phenomenal work.

Next, I’ve selected Johor: Asia Latitude One by National Geographic photographer Justin Guariglia and writer John Krich. This book was a commissioned project from the Princess of Johor, the southernmost state of Malyasia. It features a combination of landscape, portrait and aerial photography showcasing the country. The book itself is unique in that it’s hand bound with uncoated French-folded pages. I found the aerial photography to be particularly stunning and the book to be an interesting look into another part of the world.

My last pick is Yvon’s Paris, the only book of the three not published in 2011. There are plenty of photo books of Paris, so why choose this one? Yvon’s Paris stands apart in that it is the iconic Paris of classic postcards captured between the two world wars by Pierre Yves-Petit. He worked primarily in the moments of the day when the city was the most enigmatic and poetic. Somehow able to find shots that capture that special character of the city at just the right angles. These are the shots of Paris that we wish we could take, walking the streets waiting just for the right light through the clouds or in the fog.