Brandt: The Photography of Bill Brandt

by Bill Brandt, Bill Jay (Introduction)

Over three hundred fifty of Brandt's photographs are assembled in this comprehensive look at some of his most famous pictures

Genres: Photography, Art

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 1999

About the author

Bill Brandt, born Hermann Wilhelm Brandt was an English photographer and photojournalist. Born in Germany, Brandt moved to England, where he became known for his images of British society for such magazines as Lilliput and Picture Post; later he made distorted nudes, portraits of famous artists and landscapes. He is widely considered to be one of the most important English photographers of the 20th century.

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The photographer must have first seen his subject, or some aspect of his subject as something transcending the ordinary. It is part of the photographer's job to see more intensely than most people do. He must have and keep in him something of the receptiveness of the child who looks at the world for the first time or of the traveller who enters a strange country...they carried within them a sense of wonder..."

"A feeling for composition is a great asset. I think it is very much a matter of instinct. It can perhaps be developed, but I doubt it can be learned. To achieve his best work, the young photographer must discover what really excites him visually. He must discover his own world."

"It is a part of the photographer's job to see more intensely than most people do. He must have and keep in him something of the receptiveness of the child who looks at the world for the first time or of the traveller who enters a strange country. Most photographers would feel a certain embarrassment in admitting publicly that they carried within them a sense of wonder, yet without it they would not produce the work they do, whatever their particular field. It is the gift of seeing the life around them clearly and vividly, as something that is exciting in its own right. It is an innate gift, varying in intensity with the individual's temperament and environment."

"...I let myself be guided by this camera, and instead of photographing what I saw, I photographeed what the camera was seeing. I interfered very little, and the lens produced anatomical images and shapes which my eyes had never observed. I felt that I understood what Orson Welles meant when he said 'the camera is much more than a recording apparatus. It is a medium via which messages reach us from another world.' "

"I find the darkroom work most important, as I can finish the composition of a picture only under the enlarger. I do not understand why this is supposed to interfere with the truth. Photographers should follow their own judgement, and not the fads and dictates of others. Photography is still a very new medium and everything is allowed and everything should be tried."

"If there is any method in the way I take pictures, I believe it lies in this. See the subject first. Do not try to force it to be a picture of this, that or the other thing. Stand apart from it. Then something will happen. The subject will reveal itself."

[Bradley Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Groundbreaking photography from the man who inspired many, including Ralph Gibson.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brandt: The Photography of Bill Brandt review

[Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brandt's photography is too amazing to be rated by mere stars.
I wasn't fond of the format of this book. I found The Career Section eye straining, with the text taking my attention away from the photographs.