Retro Photo: An Obsession; A Personal Selection of Vintage Cameras and the Photographs They Take

In this visually stunning book on vintage cameras, photographer Ellwand, who is also well known as a children’s book author, provides a highly personal history and celebration of camera design. Drawing on his own personal collection of over 100 vintage cameras, Ellwand organizes the book into four chapters based on film format. Each chapter includes striking images of actual equipment as well as the photographs made with each of the cameras, interspersed with factoids illuminating the exposure processes. The design and layout of the book is also remarkable for its attention to detail, with colorful inside covers revealing all shapes and sizes of film boxes to reinforce the nostalgia for the medium. Captions are concise and informative, easily accessible to those new to the field as well as seasoned professionals looking for manufacturing or design history. Ellwand provides an enthusiastic, idiosyncratic look at photography’s vintage history, enhanced with gorgeous and charming images documenting both elegant camera design and a photographer’s talented eye. Photos. (Oct.)