قسم ألمقتنيات - new acquisitions

Not so sure why I do this, but there it is:

Première biennale des photographes du monde arabe contemporain - exhibition catalogue - great variety, and a mixed bunch qulitiy-wise, for the first edition of this festival in Paris showcasing photography from and of the Arab world. One of the photographers included/exhibited is Daoud Aoulad-Syad, who also just put out book I grabbed off the shelf. It's hard, actually well-nigh impossible, to form an opinion on each phtographer's wok from this catalogue as it features just one or a couple photographs from each. My favouite is the very fist, by Khalil Nemmaoui, of a horse tied to an olive tree in the Moroccan hills. I like that the photographer doesn't intend anything else beyond taking a beautiful image.

Génération Tahrir, Pauline Beugnies, Ammar Abo Bakr, Ahmed Nagy - sort of an extended, illustrated recounting of the egyptian revolution, just started it.

Arctique, Vincent Munier - you've just got to admire this guy's sheer balls, grit and ability to take such stunning images in such atrocious conditions. Wildlife photography at its very, very best. Includes a separate, slim band meant as a "making of".

Voyage en quête de lumière, Roland et Sabrina Michaud - fantastic, classic pictures from remote locations all over the world, texts - all the makings of a beautiful book to make you dream of adventure and far-away places.

Souveraines, ces peubles où les femmes sont libres, Pierre de Vallombreuse - have to admit was a tiny bit disapointed by the photos themselves (though I'd loved the first book of his I bought, Hommes Racines. Still, a fascinating subject and, with the accompanying texts, a really ood book.

L'homme sans gravité, David Burnett - this guy's an artist, plain and simple (dixit Raymond Depardon who authored the brief epilogue). I'm normally indifferent to sports photography, but this is an emphatic exception.

Daoud Aoulad-Syad (by himself - monography) - beautiful, evocative, often enigmatic and melancholic BW images of his native Morocco.

Afghanistan, Simon Nofolk - Norfolk is apparently a landscape photographer, set out to photography the scars of war in this beautiful land cursed by history.

Inde, Steve McCurry - no introduction or comment needed really, stunning images from India by this master colourist.