Robert Adams: Beauty in Photography: Essays in Defense of Traditional Values

Unabashedly devoid of post-modernist theory. Adams offers a great set of essays on why we should care about art—specifically photography as art. Often the over-theorized approach to art skips over the human experience of art. As a philosopher and an artist, I find this a real shame as it only serves to further turn the arts inward on itself, forgetting the intangible universality of the human experience of beauty, art, and creativity—not to mention the fact that it is an approach that doesn't check itself against the experienced reality of the subjective (a major flaw if you're looking to truthfully address reality). Always a pleasure to read the conversational essay style of Adams. He brings high ideas into consumable, comprehensive language, and best of all makes art enjoyable.

Poor Adams - it seems the only way to get out of his head is to think through the subjects bothering him and put it down on paper. He should take up photography or something haha.I love this book. It's short and easy and probably as concise as humanly possible, given the author's personality and education.I try to stay away from reading too much about photography. It seems Adams is way ahead of me on this issue, as he notes in the title essay. This book was recommended to me by someone whose pictures I admire for their powerful simplicity.This book now goes on the shelf with all-time "keepers". It's a good prompt to think about what exactly am I doing with a camera and how to maintain that activity for the long haul.

I found that various topics Adams discussed in his book, for instance, "What is beauty?", "How do you make art new?", "Can you photograph evil?", insightful and highly relevant even though it was written in the age of film. I read his essays again and again when I want to reflect on my photography.If I had to quote, this would be one that I love most:"Most of the pictures (in mass circulation photography magazines) suggest embarrassing strain: odd angles, extreme lenses, and eccentric darkroom techniques reveal a struggle to substitute shock and technology for sight." -Robert AdamsThat is so relevant in the age of digital photography.

This is really a book-let, something of a size common in old European Schools. The views expressed are honest but conservative, and overall its clear that the author lives in a somewhat "safe" academic environment and likes to resort to the standard referral method of using other photographers as setters of standards or at least, a base of reference. But, he does it knowingly and cracks at least one joke about it. It makes a very good read, and I worked my way through it in less than an hour. I would place it in a category perhaps of a "Zen of Photography" reading. For those photographers who are full of themselves this booklet will do no good. For those who perhaps, like to go on photographic quests, and thusly often question what they are doing, this book is a good read. The images shown are small and just act to prop up the essays, so they don't need to be supreme works of the printing art.A good buy for the student and the expert alike.

I really do think this book is a vital part of any serious photographer's library. I confess I had to reread some sections to dig deeper into what was being said but that's just me. Look no further than this easy-to-read essay on what makes for a beautiful photograph.

Well Written

I have always thought of Adams as one of the most expressive writers on the aesthetics of photography. I actually have had this title in my library for many years but think highly enough of what Adams has to say that I bought this for a friend and photographic colleague. I hope that Adam's stand, as a photographer, on the condition of our environmental life support system adds to the up-swelling of consensus toward an actual awakening and the necessary change that will be required to affect our survival.

Just because this was written in the 70s and only has B&W photos, don't discount it. Robert Adams was one of the prime shapers of American photography in the latter 20th century. His insights still hold water and give a window into seeing beauty without a photo being pretty.

While don't agree with every idea Adams presents it is a book that makes me think and think again and again. If you are serious about the art of photography this is a must have. I have read it twice in a week and will read it again and again as the ideas are that important..

This is a small gem of a book. A thought provoking reflection on the effectivness of photographs. Adams' analysis of landscape photography particularly and the place of humans in all landscapes challenges many long held views. Illustrated sparingly this well designed book is one to come back to again and again for the well written strength of its essays.

An absolutely lovely book looking at several aspects of photography and discussing them in depth.Should a photographer, especially a documentary photographer manipulate and "enhance" the scene in front of him as an artist does or perhaps he already does when he chooses his viewpoint and selects a filter etc.....some things I had not thought of before, made me think.Well worth the money and an asset to the library of any photographer.

I love this book and find myself re-reading parts of it frequently. It's a fairly philosophical analysis of photography. The quality of the paper and hence the images is fairly low, but the ideas that Adams presents in a series of essays are interesting and timeless.

I bought the book as a potential aid to my photography, hoping it would broaden my mind about the subject, but I found it a little dull if I'm honest. I don't doubt the author gave plenty of time & thought to his essays, but I didn't find much to really provoke me into new visual adventures.