I developed a real preference for saturated colors during my years of shooting Velvia. Today, I’m back to color and, well, over-saturating many images. Friends and family—mostly family—aren’t overly impressed with my saturation, so I turned to the Leica M11 Monochrom. Recently, I’ve started buying photobooks, and to my amazement, I discovered desaturated images—many from Kodachrome—that are absolutely stunning. Having shot Kodachrome for many years, I was surprised at how muted these prints are. Perhaps my heavy saturation is simply an effort to make the image stand out when my composition, lighting, and subject matter wouldn’t hold their own. In other words, a compensation for a lack of talent.
Anyway, these three photobooks are absolutely stunning. They’re currently available on Amazon and other booksellers, and they aren’t overly expensive. Yes, Saul mixes in a few saturated images, but these books are beautiful.
