Harald Mante is regarded as one of the outstanding contemporary photographers in Germany. He started out as a travel photographer whose work was published in numerous magazines and books and later taught photography in the tradition of the Bauhaus school of design, applying image and color composition concepts to photography.
This book is meant to present the wealth of Mante's photographic work and at the same time to advocate a pure, straight approach to photography, untouched by digital image editing tools -- uncropped and unmodified captures of scenes as seen through the viewfinder.
Photography Unplugged is meant to sound a voice which is singing to a slightly different tune than the digital photography choir.
Harald Mante's photographs, all captured on Kodachrome's legendary slide films, will inspire beginners and expert photographers alike, and will reveal the beauty and magic of masterfully composed photography.
Born in Berlin in 1936, Harald Mante studied graphic design and painting at Werkkunstschule Wiesbaden. He taught Photographic Design at Dortmund Polytechnic and at the European Art Academy in Trier, as well as many seminars and workshops. Professor Mante has authored numerous art books and textbooks. His photographic work has been exhibited in museums and private collections world-wide, and his books and calendars have become collector's items.
My review is based on expectations, when I read the synopsis I built an idea that this would almost be a textbook for manipulation free photography. I was hoping to open this book up and get a score of explanations for why Harald Mante's work looked how it did.
Sadly I was dissapointed to find that this is a coffee table book. A great collection of photos that you might flip through a few times, mark your favored photos and maybe break those photos out over coffee with a friend.
It would be good to teach from but you would have to already know the concepts I was hoping find in this book to be able to decipher why a photo feels the way it does.
