For FURTHER EXPLORATION, here are my recommendations for reading in several categories... and for listening... some related videos... and Artist Profiles to learn/read/hear more about the singers featured in the site's photographs - and more.

When you're ready to begin, scroll down. Or at the top of the page, just choose a category in the menu boxes, click on the arrow, and then select a title. Have fun!

Comments or questions about any of the recommendations you find here?
please e-mail me.

ANNE ARDEN McDONALD
Installations and Self-Portraits

Coffee-table in size, generous in its white space, detailed and nuanced in the printing, this collection of Anne Arden McDonald's self-described "staged portraits" is an invitation to explore one's other selves, as she reveals facets of her own personality. Some are joyous, as if her soul is in free-fall; most give a feeling of being trapped, and whether that refers to the body or to the spirit is for the viewer to decide. All are composed of so many layers as to defy comprehension in only one or two viewings - this is a book to be thougtfully paged through over time.

The Foreword by Leslie Findlen, Points of Departure, is as magical as the imagery, and makes the reader/viewer believe in a world where we can all search for - and find - the limits of our personalities.

I first met Anne when we were both members of the FAB, and though our work could not possibly be more different, I have always been awestruck by hers. If you want to see what "fine art photography" is about, this is a wonderful place to begin.

visit AAM's website   |   book available from photoeye

- Anne Arden McDonald

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A HISTORY OF WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHERS
by Naomi Rosenblum

Fabulous book - a comprehensive history of women's accomplishments in photography from the mid-1800s to the present. The author explores the work of some 240 photographers, most of whom are left out of other histories: Anna Atkins, Julia Margaret Cameron, Frances Benjamin Johnston, Tina Modotti, Lisette Model, Margaret Bourke-White, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Susan Meiselas, Cindy Sherman, more.

-- back in print ! --   PhotoEye has it: see below

When you click on the Books menu at the top of the page and select PHOTOGRAPHY, you'll find a great selection of portrait collections - people are what I shoot, and that's my main interest. But there is more to photography... for an overview, I recommend the book above or, by the the same author: A World History of Photography

also worth a look:
Seizing the Light: A History of Photography
by Robert J. Hirsch (1999)

QUARTETTO GELATO

Gypsy violin - opera - accordion & woodwinds - tango - folk song - mournful cello - and the tenor voice.

An improbable combination, yes... but definitely not impossible, as these four artists from Canada prove in their smashing debut album, showing us that classical music (among other things) can be fun.  It would take ages to tire of their music... and then there are more CDs.

www.quartettogelato.com
for their touring schedule

IN THE NEWS   |   FEATURED    |   ML HART BOOKS   |  TOP OF PAGE

THE GOVERNESS

directed by Sandra Goldbacher
with Minnie Driver and Tom Wilkinson

Intriguing story of a spirited young Jewish woman in mid-1800s London who takes a job as a governess on a remote Scottish island. She develops a complex intellectual and erotic relationship with the master of the house, a naturalist exploring the earliest days of photography. Wonderful sequences of making photographs, with all the attendant technical problems and triumphs. Emotionally vivid characters you won't soon forget... great period feel to it all, but still very much connected to us today.

More focus by the writer/director might have elevated this to a Great Film - instead, it's "merely" a really wonderful movie, one to get lost in. Highly recommended.

On DVD. Click on title to order directly.

WINGS
photographs by Veronique Vial

Working behind the scenes at the extraordinary Cirque du Soleil, photographer Veronique Vial presents portraits of the artists in character and in rehearsal. From that description, it seems obvious that she does what I do with the opera... and yet, you'll find that her portraits are dramatically different.

The faces are haunting, and the book itself is magnificent - 83 photographs are sumptuously (really, it's the only word) reproduced in this superbly designed book.

THE RED VIOLIN

directed by François Girard - with Samuel L Jackson

Engrossing film despite a somewhat predictable story line, it's told in a seemingly disjointed, Rashomon-like fashion, following a remarkable violin as it is transferred from one musician to another across centuries. It's successful at holding your interest and creating memorable images - which is more than you can say for most films and almost all television these days. The characters are strongly, passionately portrayed, and you never lose interest in wondering where the violin will end up, or with whom.

Some have criticized the ending as being out of character with the rest of the film, but that's only true if you look at it as an "ending" rather than a beginning to another story. Find this film - and surrender to the music of the night. Definitely recommended.

On DVD. Click on title to order directly.

Also highly recommended:  The History of Theatre, narrated by Derek Jacobi - same webpage - on CDs or cassettes.

More than 5 hours on 4 CDs
narrated by actor Robert Powell with 75+ musical examples illustrating how opera has adapted and survived for 400 years.
click on picture to order directly from AudioBooksOnline.com

amazon.com is the biggest and often the best - your purchases made by a click-through from these pages provide pennies to help support this website. Many of the links on the CDs and DVDs will take you to amazon.

Looking for something a bit out of the ordinary? take a look at these favorite sites for books, videos, and music.

ML Hart's first book, The Art of Making Opera: two seasons with San Diego Opera, recently published  to world-wide acclaim from critics and audiences alike, has been making news: At its annual awards ceremony, the San Diego Press Club presented an award of First Place for Best Non-Fiction Book.

The judges praised the book as being "a well-documented behind-the-scenes look done with depth of understanding, and a gallery of action photos that tell the story of opera production. Ms. Hart has produced a distinguished book with heart."

Those singers don't just step out of a limo, walk onstage and sing... Here's the real story of how opera is put together, from the orchestra to the stage crew, from administration to singers... and you in the audience. It's an in-depth look backstage at San Diego Opera, but it applies to opera everywhere. Behind-the-scenes and in-performance photographs in black & white, with "insightful" and "revealing" text, say the reviews.

It's the perfect gift!
Foreword by conductor Richard Bonynge
- beautifully printed and bound -  French fold dust jacket -
heavy paper stock with 350+ duotone photographs

Bernd Feuchtner
OPERNWELT Magazine
[Germany]

This is more properly a novice's guide to opera, with short sections covering different types of opera, stories of famous operas, singers and what all goes into the production of an opera - costumes, music, makeup... you get the idea. Densely illustrated with photographs, most in color, from Covent Garden... and some of ML Hart's photographs from San Diego Opera. In addition to that great feature... this is one of the better overall-look books of this type.