Bruce Gilden - A Beautiful Catastrophe

Bruce Gilden on Magum website

"A Beautiful Catastrophe" is the craziest photography book I have seen so far. I just bought it second hand on Amazon for less than £10 and it was a great buy. In this book Bruce shoots in the streets of New York with a Leica camera. He shoots strangers. He doesn't ask for permission. And he uses a flash on cord. He is big and scares lots of people suddenly jumping in front of them and blinding them with his flash. Crazy stuff.

and he says: "I'm known for taking pictures very close, and the older I get, the closer I get." yeah, we can see that.

Josef Koudelka - Exiles

Josef Koudelka on Magnum website

Exiles is one of my favourite photography books. I don't own it. It is out of print, expensive now and very hard to get. When I worked at the university in Hong Kong they had this book in the library and I borrwed it several times. And I felt in love with his images, some of the photos stay in my mind, like the old guys pissing in the alley, the gypsy man throwning up a small ball with a horse in the background or Koudelka's wrist with the watch in the window. You just can't forget his photos. and he himself is a very special person, people say that because of his lifestyle he is one of Gypsies.

and I have just placed an order on his "Koudelka" book, published by Hudson & Thames, to have it before it is sold out. The US edition of this book published by Aperture is sold out now and can be bought only from various book sellers for at least £100.