Sebastien Girard's Trilogy

French photographer Sebastien Girard has produced a trilogy of attractive self-published works. They are unified not only by a distinct photographic style, but also by the similarity of the size and bindings. The first, Nothing But Home, involves photos from around Girard's house and was published in 2009.

The second, Desperate Cars, followed in 2010.

Sébastien Girard // Desperate Cars from haveanicebook on Vimeo.

Finally, in 2011, he released his take on the plant kingdom, Under House Arrest. A video of the book is available here.

Conditions by Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann

My vote for the most interesting, but largely overlooked, photobook of the past few years is Conditions by Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann. It uses an innovative structure to physically capture a key aspect of the book's meaning. According to the publisher

The book examines what it means to choose one’s own way of life. It portrays people who lead a free and independent life, and who have to learn how to cope with freedom, to find their own unique way. "Conditions" shows pictures of people who long to be socially accepted without having to conform, people who are “on the road”, searching, hoping and doubting.

"Conditions" does not guide the viewer. It does not tell the viewer how it should be read, looked through or perceived. There is no clear starting point, there is no definite order. The viewer is asked to find her own order, to find her own path through "Conditions", resulting in a personal journey... The reader is looking at the reality of Marroquín Winkelmann´s life, she sees places and faces, and she is asked to develop her own attitude towards them.

 
"Conditions", Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann from Meier und Müller on Vimeo.

How Terry Likes His Coffee by Florian van Roekel

How Terry Likes His Coffee is back in print! The first edition, published in 2010, was selected by Martin Parr as one of the best books of the decade. The second edition, limited to 1000 copies, is available here.

Van Roekel describes the book this way:

"My work evolves about the way we experience everyday life and how that affects the way we deal with each other. My images are documents, taken from a candid reality. But what they really seem to document is the way our perception of the world around has been colored by years of media input.

For fifteen months I explored five different offices throughout the Netherlands. The book narrates on feeling disconnected from your daily surroundings but at the same time longing for a real personal connection with another human being. I suggest office culture and our society as a whole is pre-occupied with a rational way of interpreting. I’ve searched for the invisible barriers and the will to break them."

A video of the book is available here.

See You Soon by Maxwell Anderson

We met during late spring.
She was sitting alone, smoking a cigarette and gazing at the sky.

I was immediately compelled to photograph her.

We had a few chance meetings.
She enjoyed wandering by the Thames at night.
I started to join her.

She came to live with me in my small flat in Peckham.
We didn't go out much, sometimes we would just read together.

At the end of summer she had to leave London when her visa expired.
After I watched her walk through the departures gate at Heathrow, I drove home.

The sky was beautiful.

I imagined what a beautiful last view she would have of England.
I realised how much I would miss her.

I haven't seen her since.

Currently out of print.

Maxwell Anderson - See You Soon from Lorenzo Ricciarelli on Vimeo.