What happens when a childhood of Taoist ghost stories becomes the foundation of a photobook? For photographer Marshall To, it meant turning memories of rituals, talismans, and frightening tales into something real on the page. Photography Book Spotlight

November's newsletter features Alec Soth on meaningful photography, plus insights from Eric Meola, Phil Penman, Richard Misrach, and more. Book giveaway inside.

Even the most accomplished artists feel like beginners sometimes. Drawing from years of experience and his visits to art programs across the United States, Soth offers a rare glimpse into the struggles and joys of making art at any stage of life. Photography Book Spotlight

In the orchard at dusk, Pia pressed the shutter. Pia Guilmoth had been standing there for a long time, waiting without knowing what might happen. Story Behind The Photograph

Can a photo book capture the weight of unspoken trauma? Amani Willett believes it can. Photography Book Spotlight

What turns a childhood magic trick into fifty years of legendary photography? For Eric Meola, it started in a basement darkroom at age twelve. Interviews

Michael Turek shows us a way of seeing how photography can be playful and serious at the same time. This interview explores the ideas, experiments, and stories behind his work. Interviews

Traveller traditions survive in horse fairs, and Frederik Rüegger documented them. These events are the last places where Europe's nomadic communities can live without restrictions. Photography Book Spotlight

When Bad Pictures Make Great Stories. Steve McCoy started photographing his family in ordinary, sometimes funny situations. Story Behind The Photograph

Street photography isn't about luck; it's about method. Most photographers walk the streets hoping something interesting will happen in front of their camera. Interviews

Photographing North Korea means working under constant watch. Two government guides followed London-based photographer Tariq Zaidi everywhere for two years, monitoring every frame he captured. Photography Book Spotlight

Photography can still reveal what politics hides. In his book Strange Love, Seamus Murphy photographed life in both the United States and Russia. Photography Book Spotlight

‘Chicken Girl’ vanished, resurfaced, and became a record cover. Steve McCoy took the photograph in Skelmersdale in the 1980s, working with people in their everyday spaces. Story Behind The Photograph

Two photographers prove there's no single path into art. Sandra Cattaneo Adorno picked up her first camera at 60. Gulnara Samoilova fell in love with photography at 15 in Soviet Russia. Interviews

Brooklyn's Prospect Park became Jamel Shabazz's classroom, refuge, and legacy. Most photographers chase subjects across cities, but Shabazz found everything he needed in 580 acres of green space. Photography Book Spotlight

Phil Penman has captured 30 years of the world's streets. His camera has documented everything from 9/11 to quiet moments in Tokyo alleyways. Photography Book Spotlight

Gregory Crewdson makes photos that look like movies.He builds scenes in small American towns where the streets, houses, and people look normal but something feels strange, like a moment from a story you cannot fully explain. Interviews

Patrick Lefèvre transforms Iceland’s brutal cold into gentle beauty. His book Vetur shows winter not as a postcard, but as a place of silence, emptiness, and strange softness. Photography Book Spotlight

What happens when the President won’t pose for the cover? It sounds like a small problem, but in the White House it becomes a battle. Story Behind The Photograph

Every bad picture is a step toward a good one. Martin Parr knows this better than most photographers. Interviews

In 1985, photographer Stephen Shames was documenting the quiet crisis of child poverty in the United States. This photograph was made in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles, where an informal encampment of unhoused families had gathered along the beach. Story Behind The Photograph

The most powerful image sometimes isn’t the one you expect. It can be the photograph that feels small, almost like a mistake. Story Behind The Photograph