Documentary Photography Galleries

A Lost World : JUST PUBLISHED: A LOST WORLD - A NEW KIND OF REAL PHOTO ARTIST'S BOOK July 7, 2009. I have just released A LOST WORLD, my second photographic artist's book. A LOST WORLD is issued in an edition of 250 signed and numbered copies, and is available at a prepublicataion price of $250 until its release date of October 1 2009, when the published price will be $300. An absolutely elegant 8 x 8 inch book, it opens up to display twenty three 8 x 16 inch double-page photographic spreads bound in such a way that each spread is a single flat sheet of photographic paper. No gutters; just a barely visible fold. When I first saw a sample I knew I had to publish one of my own, using the 16:9 aspect ratio small panoramas I've been making with Panasonic LX2 and LX3 cameras for the past three years. The book is photographically printed on Fuji Crystal Archive real photo paper (not the ink-on-paper reproductions of a traditional book). It’s Leporello binding insures flat, seamless 16 inch double page layouts, perfect for panoramic photographs. It is a new kind of photographic object combining the best qualities of a portfolio, a book, and an album in an elegant presentation of the twenty three images that comprise A LOST WORLD. Below are screen shots of the entire book, from front to back. You might try Slideshow (upper right corner) to see the book in sequence and at 2/3 actual size. Inquiries and orders may be directed to Rodger Kingston at rpkphoto@comcast.net.

A Lost World

JUST PUBLISHED: A LOST WORLD - A NEW KIND OF REAL PHOTO ARTIST'S BOOK July 7, 2009. I have just released A LOST WORLD, my second photographic artist's book. A LOST WORLD is issued in an edition of 250 signed and numbered copies, and is available at a prepublicataion price of $250 until its release date of October 1 2009, when the publis ...

Updated: Aug 10, 2009 1:32am PST

New American Photographs : NEW AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHS NOW PUBLISHED AS AN ARTIST'S BOOK The title, "New American Photographs" has a double meaning: as a continuation of the lyric documentary tradition of Walker Evans’ 1938 classic AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHS and as acknowledgement of the seismic shift that has taken place technically in photography during the past decade. The images in NEW AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHS have all been made since 2003 with digital cameras, and continue work documenting the American social landscape that Kingston began in the 1970s on 35mm color film. Museum curator and author Clark Worswick says about Rodger Kingston, “He is amongst the best artists that America has ever offered: for his generosity of spirit: for the blast of adrenalin I get from his encounters with "the great ordinary of American vernacular": for his sense of history in photography: and for his deep sense of proportion, common sense, and uncommon humor. Rodger's point of departure for this book is Evans "American Photographs" ... what a thing to stand up to, and to actually be able to prevail in this space. Amazing... simply amazing to pull this off. This is a sheer bravado performance!" NEW AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHS is available as an artist's book in an edition of 50 signed and numbered hardcover copies, each accompanied by an original 8x10” print printed and signed by the photographer. Purchasers may select their print from any of the 110 images in the book. The edition was released in November, 2007 with a retail price of $350; however, copies 1 through 30 quickly sold, and with copy number 31, the price rose to $400. Copies number 35 through 50 are still available. Inquiries and orders may be directed to Rodger Kingston at rpkphoto@comcast.net. Feel free to comment (below) or by email. Click on "Rodger Kingston (rpkphoto)" (above) to return to my home page.

New American Photographs

NEW AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHS NOW PUBLISHED AS AN ARTIST'S BOOK The title, "New American Photographs" has a double meaning: as a continuation of the lyric documentary tradition of Walker Evans’ 1938 classic AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHS and as acknowledgement of the seismic shift that has taken place technically in photography during the past deca ...

Updated: Feb 11, 2008 2:13pm PST

Toronto Summer, 2004 : In July 2004 I visited Toronto to see my old friend, Indian filmmaker Bikram Kahn. He lived near Kensington Market, where I spent a lot of my time. The Kensington Market area has a cobbled-together look, like a movie set from the 1940s, with fruit stands and clothing stores, junk shops, butcher shops, bakeries, and eateries, all spilling out onto the sidewalks like a tiny lower east side with hordes of friendly people shopping, strolling, hanging out. Queen Street, bordering the tall buildings downtown, is another matter; trendy and on the rise. A few old shops remain, but not for long. I arrived to warm weather with a new digital camera and a stranger's fresh eyes. I'd always heard that Toronto was gray and staid; if you wanted color, go to Montreal. As it turned out, I couldn't have asked for anything more. I print my own archival pigment prints on fine matte papers. For inquiries and prices please contact me at rpkphoto@comcast.net. Try the slideshow feature (at the upper right); it takes a few moments to load, but is otherwise excellent. Feel free to comment (below) /or to email me at rpkphoto@comcast.net. Click on "Rodger Kingston (rpkphoto)" (above) to return to my home page.

Toronto Summer, 2004

In July 2004 I visited Toronto to see my old friend, Indian filmmaker Bikram Kahn. He lived near Kensington Market, where I spent a lot of my time. The Kensington Market area has a cobbled-together look, like a movie set from the 1940s, with fruit stands and clothing stores, junk shops, butcher shops, bakeries, and eateries, all spilling ...

Updated: Aug 08, 2007 1:15am PST

Bethlehem : The great American photographer Walker Evans spent several days in Bethlehem and Easton, PA in late October and early November of 1935, photographing for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). In the process he made several of his finest photographs. Bethlehem became a center of heavy industry during the industrial revolution. Founded in 1904, Bethlehem Steel became a major American steel producer. It supplied armor plate and ordnance during World Wars I and II, and was the first to produce the steel I-beam, which made our modern urban skyline possible. Ultimately the second largest steel producer in the US, Bethlehem Steel ceased operations in its Bethlehem plant in 1995. In September, 2008 Amey Senape, of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, brought me to Bethlehem to lecture on Evans and his work. In addition, to compliment the lecture, Curt Rowell, an old friend who has lived in Easton for the past decade, organized a guided bus tour of the sites where Evans made his FSA photographs; and at the beginning of September and running through the end of the month, John T. Hill and Sven Martson, of Martson Hill Editions, mounted an exhibition of Bethlehem area Evans FSA photographs at Time Zones Gallery, in Bethlehem. Together these events focus on the fact that Bethlehem is the only place where sites Evans photographed in some of his most important images are still substantially intact. That so much of Bethlehem is essentially as it was seventy five years ago is what draws me there. During my visit to Bethlehem and Easton I spent every spare minute out photographing. I had two capable guides in Amey and Curt: they knew just where to take me. The weather was mostly high overcast, providing the soft, shadowless lighting that Evans used so effectively. In the course of only four days, I photographed everything in this gallery. It was an absolutely joyful, even transcendent experience. I saw photographs almost everywhere I looked, and quickly realized that I needed at least four weeks, not a mere four days, to do any sort of justice to Bethlehem and its surrounding area. I am exploring ways to make that happen, and would welcome ideas that any of you viewing this gallery might have. I can be reached at rpkphoto@comcast.net. Archival inkjet prints in several sizes, printed by myself, are available from me directly; contact me at my email address, above. Try the Slideshow feature above at the far right; it works very nicely. Comments are welcome. Click on "Rodger Kingston (rpkphoto)", at top left, to return to my home page.

Bethlehem

The great American photographer Walker Evans spent several days in Bethlehem and Easton, PA in late October and early November of 1935, photographing for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). In the process he made several of his finest photographs. Bethlehem became a center of heavy industry during the industrial revolution. Founde ...

Updated: Oct 05, 2008 10:04am PST

On Simon's Pond : For many summers my wife Carolyn and I have visited Michael and Carol Simon at their farm near Belfast, Maine. The Simons bought the 88 acre farm in 1990 and over the next several years built a beautiful frame house, where they have now retired after careers in academia. Mostly forested, the property is dominated by a one-acre pond, complete with its own island, just below the house. Everywhere I look I find evidence of a Simon sense of order and artfulness, from the landscaping of the property to the fine woodwork to the arrangement of canned goods and dishes in kitchen cabinets. There is also much that can't quite so easily be photographed, from fine cooking to memorable conversations with much laughter. I especially enjoy just sitting and watching the pond, either from a chair on the porch or from beneath a massive old pine tree a few feet away. It changes constantly at the whim of atmosphere and light, and I can see how Eduard Steichen became so taken with photographing over and over, and in every season, a small shad-blow tree outside a window on his Connecticut farm. For now photographs of Michael and Carol are scarce in this gallery; during this two day visit I concentrated on the house and pond. There will be other opportunities.

On Simon's Pond

For many summers my wife Carolyn and I have visited Michael and Carol Simon at their farm near Belfast, Maine. The Simons bought the 88 acre farm in 1990 and over the next several years built a beautiful frame house, where they have now retired after careers in academia. Mostly forested, the property is dominated by a one-acre pond, compl ...

Updated: Aug 09, 2008 9:14am PST