Amphora Editions

http://www.amphoraeditions.com

Our inaugural publication is "Me and Mortensen: Photography with the Master," by Robert Balcomb. In 1956 Robert Balcomb studied with American Master Photographer William Mortensen in his Laguna Beach studio. This long-awaited book on Balcomb’s time with Mortensen is a richly illustrated, inside look at one of the world’s finest Pictorialist photographers of the last

century. The author delves into the lessons that he learned from the Master, and describes how he took the teachings and made them his own over a successful fifty-four-year career as a fine portrait photographer. In addition to the numerous photos and illustrations accompanying the text is a gallery of over 80 portraits, still lifes, and pictorials from Balcomb’s long career, and six Mortensen prints—some being published for the first time. There is not a great amount of information written about William Mortensen, one of the true American masters of photography, and so this long-awaited book from this former student is a treasure trove from an insider’s point of view, a man who was considered by Mortensen himself as his protégé. Mortensen’s ethic was the polar opposite of Ansel Adams’—the pre-eminant photographer of the time—and that of the entire Group f/64, who believed in photorealism without manipulation of any kind. The result was that Adams, with the help from prominent photographers such as Beaumont Newhall, Willard Van D**e, and Edward Weston, were successful in ostracizing Mortensen and having his name omitted from significant histories of photography. This book is an attempt to remedy that. Balcomb’s studies and close association with Mortensen, along with his subsequent fifty-four-year career as a highly acclaimed portrait photographer, are chronicled in great detail in this important book. Testimonials:

"Every now and then there comes along a photographer who, in every sense of the word, is an 'artist.' Robert Balcomb is that man: He has accomplished with his camera what Master painters have done for centuries."
—John Isaac, former Head of the United Nations Photography Unit. "Your portraits are original works of art, on a plateau of their own. They are insightful... they are creative... they are alive... they connect the observer to the person on the paper, emotionally."
—Al Stewart, photographer, trumpeter for Benny Goodman, Louis Prima, Charlie Barnet, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy May, Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Della Reese, Judy Garland. From the Foreword: "Of all Mortensen‘s students, I have always felt that Robert Balcomb‘s work comes the closest to capturing the feel, both technically and emotionally, of his later images. For that he is to be congratulated. Robert truly took up the torch of Mortensen‘s work, while clearly making his work his own. That is a difficult thing to do."
—Larry Lytle, Mortensen scholar, contributing author to
Mortensen—A Revival, Center for Creative Photography,
Tucson, Arizona. http://www.amphoraeditions.com