Blind Corners

"Blind Corners is a book every photographer should own." — W. Scott Olsen, Frames

For many years, photographer Michael Collins had wondered what exactly it was that he found so mysterious about photography. In this series of linked pieces, Collins offers a reappraisal of humble—and often ubiquitous—photographic genres that he believes are worthy of greater understanding.

From restoring abandoned photos, whose subjects are lost to time, to a quotidian history of the studio portrait; from tracing the origins of the panorama within the wider field of art history to an experiment in photographic portraiture using gorillas, Collins reveals what it is about photography that continues to fascinate us."There are great many books of photography. There are a handful of really good books about photography. Blind Corners, a short book bound with the elegance of a Notting Hill Edition is one of those books that will strike deep. It gives language and examples to the complications and wonders and joy of what we do." — W. Scott Olsen, Frames

"Collins concentrates on some of his favourite pictures, but the essays in Blind Corners are not simple appreciations. The book is part meditation, part polemic . . . In large part, he succeeds in reinvesting photography with some of its original magic. The photographs in the book help. These are interspersed through the text and printed on matte paper, so that the grain is sometimes visible through the image. It’s a nice effect, reminding you of the physicality of the picture . . . Blind Corners is a quiet, somewhat eccentric success." — Aaron Labaree, Literary ReviewMichael Collins was the first contemporary art photographer to be exhibited at The British Museum. The recipient of numerous Arts Council England grants, his work is in many British and overseas collections including the V&A, The British Library, and other private collections. He has been the picture editor of the Telegraph magazine and the photography critic for the Daily Telegraph and has written for many publications, including the Guardian, the Financial Times, the Independent and Granta. His most recent book of photography is The Nuclear Sublime.

Will Self is a journalist, columnist, and author of more than two dozen books of fiction and nonfiction, including eleven novels. His most recent book is the collection Why Read: Selected Writings 2001-2021. He lives in London.