Reviews for Portraits of America

The average rating for Portraits of America based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-03-21 00:00:00 J Daniels Before offering my little review of PORTRAITS OF AMERICA, I must provide a small disclaimer: William Albert Allard's photograph, "Amish boy with a guinea pig," when it appeared in National Geographic magazine in 1965 was profoundly influential for me. I was probably the only ten-year old boy who carefully scrutinized each Nat Geo story, wondering about the mysterious (to me) photograph attributions to "Magnum" or "Black Star" and noting that Nat Geo took pains to note "Kodachrome by…" for each color photo. "Amish boy with a guinea pig" is still one of the greatest photographic portraits of all time. So don't expect too much objectivity in my review of Allard's book. Here's a secret that I hope isn't well kept: Bill Allard is a brilliant essayist. You could throw out all the pictures and still publish an amazing book, still entitled PORTRAITS OF AMERICA. But then, of course, there are the pictures; and they are glorious. Allard has an amazingly perceptive eye and is a master of finding the right moment. It's also interesting (and instructive for a photographer) to observe his evolving style from the Amish story shot in 1964 right through to the rodeo piece of 1998. But there is one thing I still want to know: where's the picture of the bookstore clerk from Oxford, MS?

Review # 2 was written on 2016-08-13 00:00:00 Georgio Allen A charming and, for me, nostalgic view of America, many of the photos having been taken within my living memory and bearing a marked stamp of the times. I enjoyed Allard's introduction to each series of photos, pinpointing their context in his career and often drawing comparisons to his own youth. What is remarkable is how much of old Americana has disappeared within merely the last 40 years, or just the last 20 -- replaced by an increasingly homogenous yet impersonal culture. As to the quality of the photographs, I confess that I've never understood how to differentiate the amateur from the professional / artist in photography. I know what I like when I see it, but otherwise can't vouch for the quality; I may even take the opposite view of what others consider gold (or garbage). There's much to be enjoyed here, though maybe only 1 or 2 made enough of an impression that I'd seek out an individual framed print for the my wall. That's all right; this collection is worth enough for my bookshelf.