Photobooks of 2018: Todd Hido

Jasper by Matthew Genitempo
I wish every time I approached a table of photobooks, that something as amazing as Matthew Genitempo’s Jasper would be there waiting for me. It is throughly classic in its seemingly documentary approach, which is very welcomed these days. The way that Genitempo captures this rural and clearly isolated stretch of the American landscape and the people who inhabit it is truly touching.

Past K-Ville by Mark Steinmetz
Mark Steinmetz is one of the sharpest photographers ever and he has been that way for a very long time. Past K-Ville which was shot from 1992-1997 is one of my favorite books of his. It shows a full range of his abilities, shooting subjects at night and capturing the awkwardness of people that feel like they are on the outside of something. Maybe they are loners? Or just looking poignant? Whatever it is, the attention that Mark has paid them is thankfully and permanently recorded.

Halfstory Halflife by Raymond Meeks
Full disclosure— Raymond Meeks is one of my very good friends. We have had an ongoing trade for years now, based solely on the deep respect for one another’s work. There are so many pictures in here that I long to have, as I am in love with the way Ray has taken the local swimming hole, identical to the one I used to frequent as a kid in Ohio. He turned it into a theater of levity and form. That which reaches the heights of Aaron Siskind’s series, The Pleasures and Terrors of Levitation.

Remembering the Future by Albarrán Cabrera
This is such a beautiful and curious book, printed with gold and metallic ink’s. I sure as hell hope this is what the future looks like, which I doubt, but if it is I can’t wait to get there.

Czech and Slovak Photo Publications 1918-1989 by Manfred Heiting
Manfred Heiting’s latest volume and scholarship on photobooks is focused on Czech and Slovak publications from 1918-1989. Holding it in my hands, I am reminded of the fact that one of the most catastrophic loses in the history of photography has recently occurred. Heiting’s entire collection, considered to be the most complete in the world, containing at least 36,000 books, was lost in the Woolsey Fire just a month ago here in California. To my knowledge, no one has ever pulled together a vast and perfect collection of books, that many of us would have never known about if it were not for Heiting’s passion. It may be that all that exist are the many publications that have come out over the past several years from his library. If you do not have them, I’d buy them all. It may be the only time you will ever see that depth of research regarding the photobook.

Todd Hido photographer and collector, has published more than a dozen monographs and his latest book Bright Black World was released this fall. As a collector, Hido has over the last twenty-five years created one of the most notable photobook collections, which will be featured in Bibliomania: The World’s Most Interesting Private Libraries.

Images: top – Jasper by Matthew Genitempo (Twin Palms), below – Halfstory Halflife by Raymond Meeks (Chose Commune)