features photographs of people, places, events, and animals from the late 1800s to today. Readers are encouraged to critically examine the photos and discuss the photographers’ intentions and artistic view of the subjects. Glossary.

Great photos and questions to consider about them. ( )

The stories behind twenty-seven iconic photographs with brief discussions of their artistic and/or historic relevance. Thomson groups the photos into the four thematic sections of portraits, nature, documentary, and art. I particularly like the questions Thomson poses to readers challenging them to consider such concepts as aesthetics, composition, perspective, and intentions of the photographer. ( )

“Photographs can be beautiful or harrowing, honest or manipulative, dramatic or comforting.”

Ruth Thomson’s "Photos Framed: A Fresh Look at the World’s Most Memorable Photographs" is a nonfiction survey book about the evolution of photography from 1844 to 2011 that simultaneously showcases 27 of some of the most memorable and famous photographs from those years. Thomson instructs, “For each of these twenty-seven images, zoom in on photographic elements, blow up details of the subject matter, think about the big picture, and pan out on the photographer,” and if you do this, “Photos Framed will open your eyes to the medium of photography and its power to tell a story,”.

"Photos Framed" is a survey book in that it provides an overview along with specific information about a topic, which in this case is an overview of photography combined with famous photographs, but does not necessarily elaborate or cover every single aspect of the information. The book is also well-illustrated (i.e. the photographs), appeals to a broad age range of readers, and provides a brief introduction to the topic as a whole and within each different section/classification of photography. Within the introduction, Thomson describes the book, stating, “Divided by themes, this book tells the stories behind some memorable photographs spanning the history of photography, chosen for the vividness or importance of their subject matter, their pioneering photographic technique, or their historic significance,” in which she also reveals the criteria she used to select the photographs (2). The introductory pages also contain a section off to the side called “Photo Thoughts” which asks thought provoking questions, such as “What is the main focus of each photograph?”, “What might have been left out of the image?”, and “Which of the photos makes the greatest impression on you? Can you think why?” Thomson includes a “Photo Thoughts” section for each individual photograph throughout the book, asking the reader to think further, make inferences, and develop feelings towards each picture. The “Photo Thoughts” serve somewhat as a guide to how each photograph and its accompanying text should be read and considered.
As a survey book, the content covers a fairly broad range of types of photography along with pictures from the years 1844-2011. The book is divided into four major sections: Portrait, Nature, Art, and Documentary. Within each of these sections are famous photographs that showcase the highlighted subject, such as Sunflower No. 4 by Thomas Struth under the “Nature photography section or Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych under “Photography as Art”. The introduction spans each section, giving a brief overview of each, citing specific pages and images that display the different types of photography shots she will later elaborate more on, and gives historical background, past and present. For example, under the section “Documentary photography” Thomson details the types of photographs this classification of photography contains: “Images that provide visual evidence of particular cultural, political, or environmental situations or events are called documentary photographs. Many documentary photographers work on long-term stories about specific groups of people, including refugees, remote communities, tourists (p. 57), workers (pp. 39 and 53), the rural poor (p. 41) and those in wartime (p. 43). Their images are often shocking, attracting public attention and empathy,” (3). The depth of each section is displayed over the variety of photographs, shown in landscape or portrait orientation. Each section focuses and elaborates upon how each photograph conveys certain information about a specified time period, situation, or event.

Ruth Thomson’s qualifications contribute to the overall accuracy of "Photos Framed". Known as “an award-winning author editor of educational books on art and history,” the book also tells us that Thomson has an MA (Master of Arts) in museum and gallery education. The accuracy of the book is almost unquestionable, with sources cited at the very beginning and the photographs being famous and information being readily available about them.

Style in "Photos Framed" is seen in the level of clarity Thomson uses in her concise, clear language in the descriptions of the photographers and information about the photographs. Thomson’s sentence structure and vocabulary are somewhat complex, but they build upon one another to enhance understanding, as opposed to making it too wordy or complex to understand how the two correlate. The tone is informative throughout.

In terms of organization, "Photos Framed" is enumerative in structure. The sections, or subtopics, are pertinent to the main topic and logically placed to explore the different facets of each through the showcased photographs. Thomson gives very thorough clarification for why each photograph is placed in a particular section and consistently conveys meaning for all photographs. For example, as Thomson explains in the introduction, one of the elements of documentary photography is photographs taken during wartime, which we see on page 42 in Cecil Beaton’s Air-Raid Victim, London Blitz. The photograph shows a little girl with a bandaged head clinging to a doll, which Thomson tells us is, “Three-year-old Eileen Dunne, one of the injured,” who, “was photographed in her hospital bed by Cecil Beaton. Featured on the cover of Life magazine, simply captioned ‘Air-Raid Victim’ this poignant image of a suffering innocent summed up the random violence of war. It brought home to Americans the reality of the Blitz and the need to help Britain in its fight against Nazism,”. Through this background historical information, it is evident that this photograph is logically placed within “Documentary photography” for its wartime nature.

"Photos Framed" is also very well-organized and easily navigated by its access features, featuring a Contents Table with clearly labeled page numbers for the introduction, sections of photography, each individual photograph, a glossary, and an index. In particular, the 32 word glossary is extremely helpful and relevant to the book as it contains mostly photography specific vocabulary in order to further clarify words used in the book. For example, a word defined in the glossary is “futurism”, which the book defines as, “an artistic movement that started in Italy in about 1910. Its artists were inspired by, and tried to express, the dynamism of contemporary life and the speed and force of modern machinery,” (Thomson, 58). Futurism is mentioned under “Photography as art” in reference to Io + Gatto (I + Cat) by Wanda Wulz whose photography was a part of the futurist movement.

The format of each section and photograph is consistent throughout the book, as seen when each photograph is displayed on the second page, in either landscape or portrait form, and the first page following a specific format. For example, on page 6, the first thing read on the page is the title of the photograph, which in this case is Pablo Picasso which is then followed by the year it was photographed. Immediately under the title, is the name of the photographer, with their heritage and date of birth and death, if applicable: Gjon Mili (Albanian-American, 1904-1984). Located under the title and photographer name, is the subtitle in bold and larger text called “The photograph”, where Thomson explains how the photograph came to be taken or what historical context surrounds it and the technique the photographer used to capture or develop it. For example, “Mili was given an assignment by Life magazine to visit Picasso, the famous Spanish artist, in the South of France. He showed Picasso his photos of ice skaters leaping in the dark with minute lights fixed to their skates. These gave Picasso an idea. Using a small electric light in a darkened room, the artist quickly drew the swirling outline of a Minotaur—half bull, half man—in the air. Of course, this fleeting work of art disappeared almost as soon as it was made, but Mili captured it on film for posterity. He was able to capture the entire movement of Picasso’s light drawing by using a very slow shutter speed (the time that the shutter remains open),” (Thomson, 6). Next, in the same format, is the subtitle “The photographer”, in which Thomson describes what techniques they were known to use or specialized in or various other information. For example, “Originally trained as an electrical engineer, Mili was a self-taught photographer. Renowned for his innovations with strobe lighting and long exposures, he specialized in capturing a sequence of actions in a single photo, making time appear frozen. He used this technique to make studies of moving dancers, athletes, musicians, and skaters,” (Thomson, 6). At the very bottom of each page is the subtitle “Photo thoughts”, where Thomson asks thought provoking questions meant to guide the reader and lead to further understanding of the photograph. Located on the side are two boxes, one titled “Blow Up” and the other “Zoom In”, which include different facts or questions about the photograph. An example of a “Blow Up” box is where Thomson asks, “Picasso drew the Minotaur with a single unbroken line. How did he draw its eyes?” This is accompanied by a zoomed-in shot of the face of the Minotaur (6). The “Zoom In” box usually states a fact that requires looking at a close detail of the photograph, then learning something about it, such as, “The plates and dishes on the shelves and the jugs on the floor were all painted by Picasso. He created a huge number of ceramics while living in the pottery town of Vallauris between 1948 and 1955,” (Thomson, 6). On the following page, the photograph is shown and takes up most of the page, followed by a quote underneath it.

After reviewing "Photos Framed" and noting UNO’s lack of books on this particular topic, I absolutely recommend that this nonfiction historical photography survey book be added to the collection. When searching Destiny for books on photography, I noticed that most of them are not about photography over time, only one or two specified topics, with the exception of one, which is Black Artists in Photography 1840-1940 by George Sullivan. For example, some of the books currently in the collection are Pictures, 1918 by Jeanette Ingold, Lincoln through the Lens by Martin W. Sandler, and Snapshot by Kenneth P. Czech, which all focus on one short time span. Not only do I recommend this book be added as an expansion of UNO’s books on photography, it is an excellent book that eloquently showcases famous photographs concurrently with history and photography.

As far as incorporation into my classroom, which will ideally be high school, grades 11-12 English Language Arts, I am not sure how I would be able to use this book. However, I see great value in its use in the history classroom. "Photos Framed" is largely based around the specific history of each photograph, such as The Royal Wedding by Hugo Burnand—“an official photograph of the wedding of England’s Prince William and Kate Middleton,”—or Meily Mendoza Singing to Her Doll by Cristina Garcia Rodero, whose photographs “commemorate the five hundredth anniversary of Baracoa, Cuba’s oldest colonial settlement, founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1511,” (pp. 12-15). History and Social Studies could use these photographs and information about the time to further engage students with the visual representations and help them make connections with the history, instead of simply lecturing or telling them about it. I believe this book would be appropriate for any children ages 5 and up, depending on how it is used.