Karsh: Beyond the Camera

by David Travis

In August and September of 1988, Yousuf Karsh's long-time assistant, Jerry Fielder, sat down with the master photographer and taped over 9 hours of recollections of the many portrait sessions he'd experienced in one of the greatest careers in history. Karsh spoke of his sitters and his rags-to-riches life, including much that had never before been revealed or recorded. Previously, Karsh had often paired his full-page portraits with stories of his encounters with famous sitters. However, as his œuvre grew, the photographs soon eclipsed the commentary, and his essays were often edited down to captions.

Drawing from the newly rediscovered 1988 recordings, Beyond the Camera reestablishes the original presentation of Karsh's work, pairing each photograph with the story of its making on the facing page. Here, Karsh's portraits are elucidated and complemented both by his own recollections and by the text of veteran curator David Travis. The resulting book, with its chronological rather than thematic arrangement of portraits, is a study of Karsh's artistic and stylistic development, offering the reader an unparalleled tour through the greatest images of the photographer's life work.

As much as Karsh wrote about his portrait sessions, he rarely revealed what he thought about himself. Travis constructs the compelling history of how a brilliant technician behind the camera was able to go beyond the studio trappings to plumb the psychological realm all great portrait photographers must navigate and master. Although Karsh had a deep understanding of the human psyche, he worked on an emotional level rather than an analytical one. Thus, his stories seldom addressed what he thought about his artistic experiences. This essential element of Karsh's work is what David Travis locates and fills in, drawing not only from the anecdotes themselves, but from the one thing that has been missing from all publications prior to this – the photographer's voice.

Genres: Photography, Biography

169 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 15, 2012

Reviews

[Richard Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a photographer I love reading the words of the photographer about his photographs. One of the masters at work

[Karah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate seeing more of Yousuf Karsh's portraits. It disappointed me that Anna Magnani's portrait was not included. In hopes of studying the Magnani portrait, I borrowed this book from the library.

On page 96, there is a glaring error. It reads 'the pubic mind' when it is supposed to say 'the public mind'. I hope future editions correct this error.

[Godine Publisher & Black Sparrow Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Famously reticent about his work, this is a rare invitation to learn the stories behind Karsh's most famous meetings with great men and women, and of his aesthetic choices when met with the challenge of capturing them as they were."
—Publishers Weekly

[David Smyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple and concise mem0ories of classic photographs.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book

The short written pieces before each photo bring deeper meaning to the images themselves. Karsh's relationship with his subjects is the real story. The connections he made gave us some of the most amazing photographic portraits in history.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for portrait photographers.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb

[Seth Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book attempts to look beyond the simple stories told about many of Karsh's most famous portraits. Because actual information from Karsh himself rarely goes beyond these simplified stories, much of the information is simply the thoughts of Mr. Travis. He does attempt to glean information from interviews by/with one of Karsh's principle assistants. Some of Travis' commentary I appreciated but other parts of it simply seemed to be conjecture.

Overall it's a decent book with somewhat small but good quality prints that allows you to meditate on Karsh's broad body of work.

[Paul Deveaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book of photographs from Karsh. The comments on each portrait from the photographer are not necessarily revealing in terms of technique or rapport with the subject. Just anecdotes about the session. The commentary from Travis is helpful but a bit academic for my taste.

[John of Canada · Rating 3 out of 5]

The photos were sublime,Karsh's commentary was helpful and unegotistical.Travis's were somewhat helpful and seemed very egotistical.