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Join the PWP Book Club for our continuing discussion of
The Pleasures of Good Photographs
Essays by Gerry Badger

For our June 5th book club meeting, please read the second half of this book (starting on page 108). Since this book contains essays on photography that can stand alone, please join us even if you did not participate in our discussion of the first half of the book.

The second half of the book includes essays that cover:

Various women photographers (Dorothea Lange, Jitka Hanzlova, Anna Fox, Susan Lipper, Diane Arbus, Cindy Sherman, Anna Atkins, Judith Golden, Julia Margaret Cameron, Imogen Cunningham, Eileen Cowin, and more);
“Some Thoughts on the Photobook”; and
“It’s Art, But Is It Photography? Some Thoughts on Photoshop”.

Book Description (from Amazon):

The Pleasures of Good Photographs is an intellectual and aesthetic excursion led by Gerry Badger, one of the field's eminent critics and popular writers and the author of more than a dozen books including both volumes of The Photobook: A History. In this new volume of essays, Badger offers insight into some of his favorite images, artists and themes, drawing upon nearly three decades of experience writing and thinking about photography. With deep discernment and a readable blend of scholarly finesse and wit, Badger elucidates works by dozens of photographers, from Dorothea Langeand Eugène Atgetto Martin Parr, Luc Delahaye, Susan Lipperand Paul Graham. Among the broader topics discussed are the photobook, where Badger believes photography sings its loudest and most complex song, and Photoshop's role in art-making. An interlude at the heart of the book pairs the author's evocative meditations with nearly a dozen particular images. Alongside some of Badger's classics, The Pleasures of Good Photographs showcases primarily new essays, making it an important addition to the canon of photographic writing.

About the Author (from Amazon):

Gerry Badger, a photography critic for nearly thirty years, is himself a photographer, as well as an architect and curator. He has written for dozens of periodicals and his previous books include The Photobook: A History, Volumes I and II, coauthored with Martin Parr, and The Genius of Photography: How Photography Has Changed Our Lives, a companion volume to the esteemed BBC television series. Badger lives in London.

We will meet at the Metropolitan Opera Guild on Wednesday, June 5th, at 5:00 pm (just prior to our monthly meeting).

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