Singular Images Essays on Remarkable Photographs Book

The very premise of the makes an important point: so much of photography is presented as a series, while the singular image-- the photo that stands on its own without context or a number of other related photos on the same subject-- is rarely rarefied. Although some of the essays miss this point and discuss how a single image stands out in a series of images by the artist, the attention on one photograph as a stand-alone work of art is refreshing.

In addition, none of these photos are splashy or what a lay person would want to have on their walls. Reading about what experts see in an image that does not have obvious (and therefore, usually, predictably banal) attraction opens the mind to a new way of seeing. Well, that is when you don't get the keen sense that even the artist is saying, "okay... not at all what I intended, but sure."