Books on the history & ecology of an area I'm photographing help me to look for patterns in the otherwise chaotic clutter. For Florida, first person accounts such as William Bartram's Travels, or ecological studies such as Marjory Douglas Everglades-River of Grass.
As far as inspiration, books by Robert Adams & John Szarkowski stimulate my visual thinking; while those by Sontag, John Berger & others challenge my motivations. I don't seem to have time for novels anymore (degree in literature ;-( even though they can be helpful in understanding an area. |