Welcome to the Curious Eye
I love photography and I love thoughtful writing on photography.
I’ve spent a lifetime in communications, but as I transition from working for others to working to please myself, I intend to use this site to share my thoughts and my photographs.
These are personal pictures. Most have no commercial value. I hope that a handful have artistic value, but at a minimum I hope they are interesting to look at.
Photography Book Archive
I am gradually trying to build an archive of brief summaries and reviews of photography books that others can use if they are curious about the art of photography.
If you are looking for “how to” books, you won’t find many here. But, if you are interested in the history of photography as a means of personal expression, and the criticism of such, there is a good chance you will find this interesting.
Book Reviews and Posts
Camera Lucida
Camera Lucida, Roland Barthes I doubt if any book about photography has been more thoroughly dissected than Camera Lucida. I have no illusion that I can add anything significant to the body of work on this small volume. It is a safe bet to say that for every one of the 119 pages in Roland […]
Is Robert Adams the finest writer on photography?
Beauty in Photography, Robert Adams, Aperture The measure of a great essay is that after one reads it, there is simply nothing more to say. That is my reaction to Robert Adams’ Beauty in Photography. I have read it and re-read it. I want to comment on it, but frankly, I find it difficult to […]
Interview: Philip Gefter and Buzz Hartshorn
I enjoyed Philip Gefter’s collection of essays “Photography After Frank.” So, when I saw this interview by Gefter of Willis “Buzz” Hartshorn, the director of the International Center of Photography, I knew I would want to re-post it. I’m not familiar with Hartshorn, but I’m aware of the ICP and the interview was conducted shortly […]
The Saddest Picture. Ever.
I can’t get this picture out of my head. I’ve thought about it for years and it always tears at my heart. For those who are unfamiliar with it, it’s called “Meine Frau in Freud und Leid” (My Wife in Joy and Sorrow) and it was taken in 1911 by August Sander. It shows Anna […]
