Books published by publisher Aperture Press

The best way to learn is by doing. The Photographer's Playbook features photography assignments, as well as ideas, stories and anecdotes from many of the world's most talented photographers and photography professionals. Whether you're looking for exercises to improve your craft—alone or in a group—or you're interested in learning more about the medium, this playful collection will inspire fresh ways of engaging with photographic process. Inside you will find advice for better shooting and editing, creative ways to start new projects, games and activities and insight into the practices of those responsible for our most iconic photographs—John Baldessari, Tina Barney, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Jim Goldberg, Miranda July, Susan Meiselas, Stephen Shore, Alec Soth, Tim Walker and many more. The book also features a Polaroid alphabet by Mike Slack, which divides each chapter, and a handy subject guide. Edited by acclaimed photographers Jason Fulford and Gregory Halpern, the assignments and project ideas in this book are indispensable for teachers and students, and great fun for everyone fascinated by taking pictures.

Go Photo! features 25 hands-on and creative activities inspired by photography. Aimed at children between eight and twelve years old, this playful and fun collection of projects encourages young readers to experiment with their imaginations, get messy with materials and engage with the world in new and exciting ways. Indoors or outdoors, from a half-hour to a whole day, and whether alone or with friends, family or an unsuspecting pet, there is a photo activity for all occasions. Some don't even require a camera! Each project also features a series of pictures and handy tips to help guide the reader step-by-step, building a visual language and encouraging creativity as they go. Accessible, fun and practical, the activities in this book have been brought together to engage children in the fun and wonder of photography.

Aimed at children between the ages of eight and twelve, Seeing Things is a wonderful introduction to photography that asks how photographers transform ordinary things into meaningful moments. In this book, acclaimed and beloved photographer Joel Meyerowitz takes readers on a journey through the power and magic of photography: its abilities to freeze time, tell a story, combine several layers into one frame and record life's fleeting and beautiful moments. The book features the work of masters such as William Eggleston, Mary Ellen Mark, Helen Levitt and Walker Evans, among many others. Each picture is accompanied by a short commentary, encouraging readers to look closely and use their imagination to understand key ideas in photography such as light, gesture, composition-and, ultimately, how there is wonder all around us when viewed through the lens.

Silver Winner of the 2018 Feathered Quill Book Award for Animals--Children's and Young Adult. Bronze Winner of the 2018 Feathered Quill Book Award for Children's Picture Books. Winner of the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Best Children's / Juvenile Nonfiction. Finalist for the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Children's Picture Book (6 Years & Up). Silver Medal Winner of the 2017 Readers' Favorite International Book Award for Children / Animals. Nominated for the 2016 Dog Writers Association Award for Best Series of Illustrations or Paintings."His legs are too short! ... His head is too big!"Soren the French Bulldog is an unlikely champion in the athletic sport of dog agility, or so many people think. But Soren has something that his critics can't readily see: belief in himself. With that, and the support of his friend Deb, Soren sets out to prove that champions come in all shapes and sizes.Soaring Soren is the inspiring true story of a little dog with a big dream, and an even bigger heart.In Soren's honor, a portion of the proceeds from this book will go to a charity that rescues French Bulldogs in need.

Winner of the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Children's / Juvenile Nonfiction. Silver Medal Winner of the 2017 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award for Children / Animals. Nominated for the 2016 Dog Writers Association Award for Best Series of Illustrations or Paintings.“His legs are too short! … His head is too big! … He is simply not built to jump!”Soren the French Bulldog is an unlikely champion in the athletic sport of dog agility, or so many people think. But Soren has something that his critics can’t readily see: belief in himself. With that, and the support of his friend Deb, Soren sets out to prove that champions come in all shapes and sizes.Soaring Soren is an inspiring true story about pursuing a dream. Soren is irresistible and determined. His quest for an agility championship is exciting. But most endearing is the love and trust between Deb and her dog. It is sure to melt the hearts of children and adults alike.In Soren's honor, a portion of the proceeds from this book will go to a charity that rescues French Bulldogs in need.

In this story of his first sixteen years, Robert ­Maiorano tells how a small boy who once wanted to be a ­Brooklyn Dodger became a world-renowned dancer. He ­describes the years of hard work, the arduous training, the ­frustrations, triumphs, and disappointments before he was accepted into the New York City Ballet. He details the fast-paced life of his tour with the company in ­Russia, where as a sixteen-year-old he danced for Khrushchev on the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Robert's story is one of many contrasts-of hope and despair, of love and sorrow, and of the two worlds in which he moved: the ­gang-ridden Brooklyn of the fifties and the brilliant, ­demanding, exciting world of the ballet.

"Loren Spiotta-DiMare has captured the essence of Reckless in a way children will adore. Thoughtfully written and beautifully illustrated, Sgt. Reckless will leap off the page and into your child's heart, and become their favorite hero." -Robin Hutton, Author of New York Times bestseller Sgt. Reckless: America's War HorseShe's a decorated Marine, a combat veteran, and a horse. Meet Sergeant Reckless!Sergeant Reckless is the remarkable true story of a horse who overcame great odds to become a hero. Raised and trained to become a racehorse in Seoul, Korea, Flame is destined to be a winner. But when the Korean War breaks out on the day of her first official race, her life changes forever. Flame's owner, Kim, flees to a safer place along with his family and beloved horse. When he returns, he meets an American Marine, Lieutenant Pederson, who purchases the little sorrel mare to serve with the Recoilless Rifle Platoon. The Marines rename her Reckless, and her amazing second career begins.

Photographs by W. Eugene SmithIllustrated biography by Ben MaddowAfterword by John G. MorrisLet Truth Be The Prejudice documents the life and work of W. Eugene Smith, a man whose work expanded the range and depth of photography, bringing new aesthetic and moral power to the photo essay. Smith was born in 1918 in Wichita, Kansas, and raised according to traditional American values, believing in the nobility of America and the injustice of war. He began taking pictures with his mother's camera while still a boy and continued this practice throughout his schooling. In 1937 his burning ambition took him to New York City, where his rise as a professional photographer was meteoric.Before he was twenty-one, Smith had placed hundreds of photographs in the major picture magazines of the time. Dramatic composition, a hard-edged brilliance, and a mastery of lighting were evident even in this early work. But the moment of true ground-breaking would occur during World War II. It was when Smith went ashore with the Marines at Saipan, Guam, and Iwo Jima that his work and his sense of moral responsibility came together. He wrote: "Each time I pressed the shutter release it was a shouted condemnation hurled with the hope that they might echo through the minds of men in the future-- causing them caution and remembrance and realization." Breaking from the concerns of the mass media, his personal priorities were born. Smith's war photographs earned him repeated and justified comparisons to Mathew Brady. His coverage of American prisoner-of-war camps helped convince the Japanese that their fears were exaggerated, and stopped the suicide of thousands of terrified citizens upon the advance of American troops. This would not be the last time that Smith's work would change as well as document history.After the war, Smith became a staff photographer at Life magazine, where he created many of his most famous photographs. The essays "Country Doctor" and "Nurse Midwife" influenced an entire generation. Smith moved from mine villages in Great Britain to Albert Schweitzer in French Equatorial Africa to a sweeping study of Spanish village life. At a meeting of the Ku Klux Klan he created haunting images of hatred, fear, and bigotry, which beautifully counterpoint the humanity of his great Life0 essays. Smith also showed his skill at portraiture, shooting many of the luminaries of the time.His frustrations with commercial publishing finally led to a split with Life magazine in 1954, a true case of "artistic differences." He devoted his remaining twenty-four years to independent projects. It was a period of intense personal suffering and poverty. During these years he pushed one project, "Pittsburgh," virtually to the breaking point and along the way created photography's greatest urban landscape.His last great essay, "Minamata," depicted both the human suffering caused by mercury poisoning in a Japanese industrial port, and helped put an end to that pollution. A severe beating by factory thugs aggravated his already failing health and on October 15, 1978, he died. Over the span of forty driven years, Smith dreamed on an epic scale and his accomplishments were heroic. He once wrote: "Never have I found the limits of the photographic potential. Every horizon, upon being reached, reveals another beckoning in the distance. Always, I am on the threshold."Here is the definitive work on Smith's life and work, containing his major photo-essays, the portrait work, and spanning his brilliant career from his days aboard an aircraft carrier, through the breadth of Pittsburgh, to the human suffering explicit in his last great essay in Minamata. All these images have been painstakingly reproduced to insure the greatest quality in testament to Smith's genius.Moral passion and photographic truth were inseparable to Gene Smith. He pursued both and the measure of his greatness is that he compromised neither. His achievements were realized at no small cost to himself and those around him. In the accompanying biography, "The Wounded Angel," author Ben Maddow takes the measure of the man and looks unflinchingly at the muses and demons that drove W. Eugene Smith to the fulfillment of his dream of greatness. Maddow's biography is the first published in-depth portrayal of Gene Smith's life. It is a dramatic saga made all the more vivid by Maddow's commitment to the facts and his subject.

A tea party? An old photograph and a dusty trunk in the attic? How exciting! "We don't have anything fun to do," Paige says to her Grandmother Mimi one warm and bright summer afternoon. Paige and her cousin Cameron could play house with their dolls, or checkers, or cards, or a favorite board game, but they are bored! Then Mimi has an idea. "Let's have a tea party," she exclaims. But the girls have never been to a tea party. "Oh, it will be so much fun," Mimi says, "Come with me..." Their adventure starts in the attic where Mimi leads them to a dusty old trunk. What will the girls find inside? Everything they need to host the best tea party ever!

PLEASE NOTE THERE IS A NEWER EDITION OF THIS BOOKFeathered Quill Book Award Winner: Best Children's Animal Book, Silver Medal for Early Readers (6-8 Years), Bronze Medal for Humor and winner of the "We Love Animals" Award.Joel can't wait to visit his grandparents in Florida for spring break--but will he be bored in their quiet retirement community? Word is there are some new neighbors moving in next door...they're LARGE, they're wrinkled, and they're retired...RETIRED CIRCUS ELEPHANTS that is! Join Joel, Grandma Gussie, Grandpa Morris and their new neighbors for the least boring spring vacation EVER!Oy, Elephants! Things are about to get interesting in the neighborhood!You won't want to miss this stunningly illustrated, joyful celebration of family, community and the special relationship between grandparents and grandchildren.Ages 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

High school sweethearts Melanie Thomson and Adam Gerhart seem destined to spend the rest of their lives together. From her job at an upscale art gallery to their cozy Manhattan apartment, Melanie is having the time of her life. But their perfect world is shattered in an ­instant when tragedy strikes. Now, at the crossroads of love and loss, Melanie fears she may lose Adam forever. Will she struggle against her fate? Or will she awaken to the ­realization that love was there all along?Return to Dawn is a contemporary romance set in New York City. It is a story of passion and broken hearts, of courage and reawakening. It will stir your imagination and set your heart aflutter.

Every day is a gift. Every change is a lesson. Every new beginning is a blessing…When Mr. Smith rescues a tiny gray kitten stranded in his old oak tree, he has no idea how his life is about to change. Lonely since the passing of his wife, Mr. Smith blossoms under the loving care and attention of the devoted new friend he names Miss Marvin. But life has it ups and downs. After a fall, he and Miss Marvin learn they must leave their beloved house, their stately oak tree, and the tire swing in the shady back yard for a new home in an assisted living facility. Afraid of leaving his memories behind, Mr. Smith soon learns through the eyes of Miss Marvin that many wonderful experiences lie ahead.A Visit From Miss Marvin is a book for all ages. Children, adults, and seniors will learn there is joy in every stage of life, and that every new beginning is truly a blessing.