Appropriation in the practice of making "new" art has been around for a long, long time — and often with very exciting results and a fair amount of controversy.

When I heard about this "remake" of Robert Frank's classic photobook, The Americans, I had a glimmer of hope that it would reveal some overlooked details in Frank's photographs, thereby increasing my appreciation even more.

At least the new title was funny, shifting the original French title, Les Américans, to a jokey mixture of English and French, Less Américains. The whole idea hinges on the removal of most of the details of every image from the classic book by erasing them with Photoshop.

But in the final analysis, it feels like a cheap gimmick and a publicity stunt. See more erased images, and read the review in Lens Culture.

The Krakow Photomonth festival is always a feast for the eyes and the intellect. This year (its 10th anniversary) is offering up a wonderful eclectic mix of young, old, traditional, anarchic and real-time digital interaction photography. Lots of associated events run throughout the month, too. See the preview, and read about some of the many highlights in Lens Culture.

Originally published in 1983, Les Amies de Place Blanche focuses on the transsexual community living around the Place Blanche district of Paris in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The book established Christer Strömholm’s reputation as one of the leading European photographers of the twentieth century.

The exquisite new version of the book includes the original essays by Strömholm and publisher Johan Ehrenberg as well as newly commissioned texts by Jacky and Nana, two of the women who feature in many photographs in the book. The introduction is by Hélène Hazera, a leading French journalist, actress, director, and television producer who is also a transsexual.

See a high-resolution slideshow of these and more images, and read the book review with very touching and sensitive quotes from Strömholm, in the latest issue of Lens Culture.

Christer Strömholm's work from this series is featured in an exhibition at International Center for Photography in New York City from May 18 - September 2, 2012.

Now for something light, entertaining, educational and inspiring.

Thanks to Colleen Leonard (famous Canadian photographer and former Lens Culture assistant editor) for sharing this with us, via Hyperallergic.

This work stopped me cold the first time I saw it. It looked terrifyingly real, but how could it be? Are some of these people being forced to write confessions while loaded guns are pressed into their heads? It must have been staged. But soon I came to realize that these are indeed real photographs of real interrogations of suspected criminals in Ukraine.

Canadian photojournalist Donald Weber first went to Ukraine during the Orange Revolution of 2004, on assignment. Following that first trip, he soon returned, and spent the next six years in Russia and Ukraine trying to photograph contemporary life, and its hardships, as well as the vestiges of a still-powerful, hidden system.

Interrogations is the result of his personal quest to uncover the hidden meaning of private, unpleasant encounters with unrestricted Power. It is a simple, elegant book that sears itself into your memory.

See many more photographs, and read the compelling interview with Donald Weber, in Lens Culture.

In an age where black-and-white film and traditional photo paper and chemicals are disappearing from the marketplace, Leica Camera has launched a risky bet that high-quality black-and-white photography will continue to be in demand in the 21st century.

Their bet? A brand new digital camera that does not take color photos. The Leica M Monochrom camera is optimized to capture the fullest possible tonal range for smooth, rich, super-high-resolution black-and-white photography. I'm not a technical expert, but apparently by creating a sensor that ignores the typical RGB filters, each pixel of the new 18 megapixel camera records a subtle variation of black, white or grey only — a technique that is far superior to converting typical RGB color digital photos to black-and-white.

And indeed, Leica camera enthusiasts from all corners of the globe (including many, many high-profile professional photographers) flew in to Berlin last week and cheered loudly as they got the first look at Leica’s latest release — “the world’s first digital camera exclusively for full-frame, 35 mm black-and-white photography.”

Lens Culture was honored to be invited to this special event, and to meet the enthusiastic international crowd at C|O Berlin photography gallery in Berlin. Award-winning Magnum photographer, Jacob Aue Sobol, was one of the experts who got to test-drive the new camera before its public release. Sixty of his stunning new digital photos were on display during the event. We're including three of those images here. And be sure to look for a great video interview with Sobol in Lens Culture in our next issue.

For more details on the new camera, check the Leica website.

Photographer/philosopher Max de Esteban creates stunning, old-world-type portraits, and groups them by philosophical themes. Above: "Doubt is arguably the origin of rebellion against darkness." (excerpt from long, eloquent essay).

See, and read more in the new photobook review in Lens Culture.

The volume C Photo: Posed/Unposed outlines the field of tension between the entirely spontaneous and unposed on one hand, and the striving for a perfect pose on the other, depicting a variety of approaches from photojournalism or amateur snapshots to advertising, portraiture and fashion photography. See more images, from many photographers, in Lens Culture.


Photographers published are Rico Scagliola & Michael Meier, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Thomas Struth, Pawel Juszczuk, Federico Patellani, Edward Quinn, Hester Scheurwater, Garry Winogrand, Guy Bourdin, Jules Spinatsch, Ghislain Dussart, Slim Aarons.

Cig Harvey is a photographer driven by conceptual work that vibrates with super-saturated color and careful premeditated composition. See more images, and read the review, in the latest issue of Lens Culture.

As we enter our 9th year of Lens Culture, we’re releasing our largest issue to date. And more will be added in the coming days and weeks.

Discover great photography and new photobooks touching on an incredibly diverse variety of themes, styles and cultures. Included in this issue, so far:

• On the foggy fringes of explosive growth in China
• A photo diary of a manic road trip around Iceland
• Re-enactment of a real serial murder by teenage Americans
• Centuries of imperialism and war in Afghanistan
• Modern day street photography in Paris
• Steaming mountains of garbage recycled in Phnom Penh
• Dying traditions in Transylvania
• Academic research about Francesca Woodman in Rome
• Grappling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Extended family-based organized crime in London
• Overstepping the boundaries of appropriation
• A (photo) graphic novel with no linear narrative
• Celebration of supersaturated color and personal whimsy
• Duane Michals photographs Magritte
• Photographic philosophical musings on personal identity post 9/11
• An overview of contemporary Iranian photography
• A reprint of a classic book about sexual identity in 1950s’ Paris
• History of Kodak Girl advertising campaigns
• Up-close photographs of criminal interrogations in the Ukraine

We hope you enjoy this new issue. Be sure to tell all of your friends, too, okay?

SUPPORT LENS CULTURE
If you purchase photobooks (or anything, really) via Amazon, Lens Culture will earn a small commission if you start your shopping with this link:


Thanks!