The AIPAD Photography Show, which ran the week of March 16th, was something of a book fair as well. There was hardly a gallery represented that did not show books by their artists along with limited edition portfolios alongside the work itself.

Among the two days of talks and presentations held in the gorgeous fin de siecle Veterans’ Room over the weekend was the panel discussion, Pictures Into Pages. Moderated by art dealer Steven Kasher, the panel was made up of some of the top figures in photo book publishing including Eric Himmel, Vice President, Editor-in-Chief, Abrams; Lesley Martin, Publisher, Aperture Foundation; Anthony Petrillose, Managing Editor, Rizzoli; and Gerhard Steidl, Publisher, Steidl. One of the main subjects on the table was the future of the pBook (physical book) as high quality illustrated eBooks loom large on the horizon. While this is an important trend and a highly significant one in terms of marketing photo books, the AIPAD audience seemed more interested in actual photo books as objects, rather than the virtual incarnations that are likely to start appearing soon.

Meanwhile, out on the aisles, photographers and publishers were busy making their efforts known. Among them are (above left): Mary Virginia Swanson and Darius Himes, showing Publish Your Photography Book (Princeton Architectural Press 2011) to gallerist Catherine Edelman. Center: Phil Toledano  displays his case study page in said volume. Right: The ever-sardonic Elliott Erwitt shows off one of his books, at Stephen Daiter Gallery.

Above, left: Pages of one of the 11 books published by Rinko Kawauchi since 2001, at Galerie Priska Pasquer. Center: Alex Soth pages through an advance copy of Alex Webb's new book, The Suffering of Light (Aperture 2011), at Weinstein (Minneapolis) Gallery. Right: Cover and inside pages of One Day In November (Kehrer 2008) by Jessica Backhaus, at Lawrence Miller Gallery.

In the coming weeks, DART will take a look at some of the most interesting new and recent books, including books launched through innovative publishing ventures as well as a number of photo books that have made a lasting impression. Among the titles to be featured are:

Publish Your Photography Book by Darius Himes and Mary Virginia Swanson (Princeton Architectural Press 2011)

Homage: Remembering Chernobyl by Jim Krantz. Available April 26th from Jimkrantz.com and elsewhere, tba. A substantial portion of proceeds to benefit the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Power: Photographs by Platon, with an introduction by David Remnick (Chronicle 2011)

Illuminance by Rinko Kawauchi (Aperture 2011).

Thomas Joshua Cooper: Shoshone Falls (Radius Books 2011)

The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photography Books of the Twentieth Century (Andrew Roth 2001)

John Gossage: The Thirty-Two Inch Ruler/Map of Bablyon (Steidl 2011)