Kristen Lubben

This special and important photography book presents, for the first time, the very best contact sheets created by Magnum photographers. Contact sheets tell the truth behind a photograph. They unveil its process, and provide its back story. Was it the outcome of what a photographer had in mind from the outset? Did it emerge from a diligently worked sequence, or was the right shot down to pure serendipity a matter of being in the right place at the right time? This landmark publication provides th e reader with a depth of understanding and a critical analysis of the story behind a photograph, the process of editing it, and the places and ways in which the selected photographs were used. For anyone with a deep appreciation of photography and a desire to understand what goes into creating iconic work, "Magnum Contact Sheets" will be regarded as the definitive volume. .

This is the compact edition of the definitive volume on how iconic images by Magnum photographers are made. Newly re-formatted and with 16 extra pages, this publication features superb reproductions of more than 130 contact sheets and over 200 photographs taken from the sheets, bearing witness to the creative methods, strategies and editing processes used by many of the acknowledged greats of photography. Whether George Rodgers photographs of the Blitz in 1940, Philippe Halsmans memorably surreal image of a leaping Salvador Dalí, Burt Glinn capturing the end of segregation in 1950s Arkansas, David Hurn photographing the Beatles in 1964, Joseph Koudelkas extraordinary images of the invasion of Prague, Susan Meiselas in Nicaragua in the 1970s, Raymond Depardon at the fall of the Berlin Wall, Larry Towell in El Salvador, Bruce Gilden photographing classic New York scenes or Jim Goldberg creating his remarkable, experimental artworks, the contact sheets and images in this book constitute an extraordinary record of great images being captured and edited.

This exceptional book, published here in an accessibly priced paperback format, comes out just as the shift to digital photography threatens to render the contact sheet obsolete. It celebrates the contact sheet as a fascinating way of accompanying great photographers as they work towards, and capture, the most enduring images of our time. 139 contact sheets, representing 69 photographers, are featured, as well as zoom-in details, selected photographs, press cards, notebooks and spreads from contemporary publications, including Life magazine and Picture Post. Further insight is provided by texts written by the photographers themselves or by experts chosen by members' estates. It includes many greats of photography, among them Henri Cartier- Bresson, Elliott Erwitt and Inge Morath, as well as Magnum's latest generation, such as Jonas Bendiksen, Alessandra Sanguinetti and Alec Soth. These photographers cover over 70 years of history, from the D-Day landings by Robert Capa and the Paris riots of 1968 by Bruno Barbey to images of Che Guevara by Rene Burri, Malcolm X by Eve Arnold and classic New Yorkers by Bruce Gilden.