--- product_id: 51022296 title: "Magnum Contact Sheets" price: "€ 82.87" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.be/products/51022296-magnum-contact-sheets store_origin: BE region: Belgium --- # Magnum Contact Sheets **Price:** € 82.87 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Magnum Contact Sheets - **How much does it cost?** € 82.87 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.be](https://www.desertcart.be/products/51022296-magnum-contact-sheets) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Few photography books can lay claim to being truly groundbreaking. The first edition of Magnum Contact Sheets was one of them. This exceptional book, presented here in a new, accessible format for the first time, reveals how Magnum photographers capture and edit the very best shots. Addressing key questions of photographic practice - was the final image a set-up, or a serendipitous encounter; did the photographer work diligently to extract the potential from a situation, or was the fabled 'decisive moment' at play? - this book lays bare the creative methods, strategies and editing processes behind some of the world's most iconic images. 139 contact sheets, representing 69 photographers, are featured, as well as zoom-in details, selected photographs, press cards, notebooks and spreads from contemporary publications, including Life magazine and Picture Post. Further insight into each contact sheet is provided by texts written by the photographers themselves or by experts chosen by members' estates. Many acknowledged greats of photography are included, such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt and Inge Morath, as well as Magnum's latest generation, such as Jonas Bendiksen, Alessandra Sanguinetti and Alec Soth. These photographers cover over seventy years of history, from the Normandy landings by Robert Capa, the Paris riots of 1968 by Bruno Barbey and war in Chechnya by Thomas Dworzak to images of Che Guevara by Rene Burri, Malcolm X by Eve Arnold and clasic New Yorkers by Bruce Gilden. This landmark book, published just as the shift to digital photography threatens to render the contact sheet obsolete, celebrates the sheet as artifact, as personal and historic record, as invaluable editing tool, and as a fascinating way of accompanying great photographers as they work towards, and capture, the most enduring images of our time. Review: Beautiful book arrived in perfect condition - I've been after this book for a while so when I won some money on a Photo competition I didn't give a second thought about buying it. Despite other comments to the contrary, my copy arrived in perfect condition and it's only protection was a small amount of brown paper around the sides and top. It was despatched through Hermes not Royal Mail so maybe that helped. I also don't see any problems with the page binding. It's not a book you can really look at properly unless you've got a flat surface to put it on but the binding seems to be quite strong to me, so they've either improved this or people were trying to read it while riding a bike or something ;) I haven't had a chance to properly look at the book content yet, but first impressions are that it's a marvellous, beautiful book that I'm sure I'll keep returning to. It will take pride of place in my bookcase, although perhaps on a lower shelf as it's HUGE! UPDATE 29/10/2012 I've now had a chance to flip through the content so I thought I'd update the review. The quality of this book is astounding. Despite the fact it's full of beautiful big photos on quality paper (150gsm matt art) many of which you will have seen before if you're serious about photography, I am a little disappointed with the selection of some of them. Given that each photo is accompanied by a narrative about how it came about, in some cases I would have preferred to see other, and in my opinion better, photos by the same photographers. Although that's not to cast the selection with any negativity. They are all superb in their own way and there is a vast array of subjects throughout making it an incredibly interesting read. I've seen other reviews mentioning that you will learn from this book and it will improve your photography, but what you will not learn is anything about equipment used or exposure settings and the like. This is not a "how to" guide to taking photos. What you will learn is whatever you as an individual take from it by combining the narrative with careful examination of the contact sheets and the selected photo. To give you an example, one section, 1976, is a photo entitled "The Teds" by Chris Steele-Perkins showing a Teddy Boy about to comb his hair. The contact sheet shows a series of 5 or 6 photos on the same roll with the Teddy Boy at various stages of carrying out this action. So why did the shot get selected? The photographer writes: "The first frame is the one that grabs you immediately, as it's quite decisive [The teddy boy is actually combing his hair], but I preferred the later one because it's of that moment when something is about to happen, yet is suspended, unresolved in time and that injects a little tension into the image" This was one of the first narratives I read, and for me it was like an epiphany! I would have selected the first one myself, but the photographer is right, I'd never considered that the moment of something about to happen is more powerful than the event taking place. If I get nothing else from this book I have at least learnt that one thing. Another thing you will learn is that there such a thing as a "decisive moment", but often in order to find it you have to work a scene, approach it from different angles, take multiple shots and above all don't be afraid to make mistakes. It's a fascinating book for anyone with an interest in Photography and one I know I'll keep returning too. Review: Wonderful! - A must-have book for any photographer or photography enthusiast! Full of wonderful imagery, and just being able to view the photographers’ processes before they get to a final image is just fascinating. The book might seem pricey, but it’s well worth it! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 111,765 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 69 in Photojournalism (Books) 273 in Photography Collections & Exhibitions | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 977 Reviews | ## Images ![Magnum Contact Sheets - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/815CI-Cn8LL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautiful book arrived in perfect condition *by P***L on 27 October 2012* I've been after this book for a while so when I won some money on a Photo competition I didn't give a second thought about buying it. Despite other comments to the contrary, my copy arrived in perfect condition and it's only protection was a small amount of brown paper around the sides and top. It was despatched through Hermes not Royal Mail so maybe that helped. I also don't see any problems with the page binding. It's not a book you can really look at properly unless you've got a flat surface to put it on but the binding seems to be quite strong to me, so they've either improved this or people were trying to read it while riding a bike or something ;) I haven't had a chance to properly look at the book content yet, but first impressions are that it's a marvellous, beautiful book that I'm sure I'll keep returning to. It will take pride of place in my bookcase, although perhaps on a lower shelf as it's HUGE! UPDATE 29/10/2012 I've now had a chance to flip through the content so I thought I'd update the review. The quality of this book is astounding. Despite the fact it's full of beautiful big photos on quality paper (150gsm matt art) many of which you will have seen before if you're serious about photography, I am a little disappointed with the selection of some of them. Given that each photo is accompanied by a narrative about how it came about, in some cases I would have preferred to see other, and in my opinion better, photos by the same photographers. Although that's not to cast the selection with any negativity. They are all superb in their own way and there is a vast array of subjects throughout making it an incredibly interesting read. I've seen other reviews mentioning that you will learn from this book and it will improve your photography, but what you will not learn is anything about equipment used or exposure settings and the like. This is not a "how to" guide to taking photos. What you will learn is whatever you as an individual take from it by combining the narrative with careful examination of the contact sheets and the selected photo. To give you an example, one section, 1976, is a photo entitled "The Teds" by Chris Steele-Perkins showing a Teddy Boy about to comb his hair. The contact sheet shows a series of 5 or 6 photos on the same roll with the Teddy Boy at various stages of carrying out this action. So why did the shot get selected? The photographer writes: "The first frame is the one that grabs you immediately, as it's quite decisive [The teddy boy is actually combing his hair], but I preferred the later one because it's of that moment when something is about to happen, yet is suspended, unresolved in time and that injects a little tension into the image" This was one of the first narratives I read, and for me it was like an epiphany! I would have selected the first one myself, but the photographer is right, I'd never considered that the moment of something about to happen is more powerful than the event taking place. If I get nothing else from this book I have at least learnt that one thing. Another thing you will learn is that there such a thing as a "decisive moment", but often in order to find it you have to work a scene, approach it from different angles, take multiple shots and above all don't be afraid to make mistakes. It's a fascinating book for anyone with an interest in Photography and one I know I'll keep returning too. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wonderful! *by G***L on 6 May 2024* A must-have book for any photographer or photography enthusiast! Full of wonderful imagery, and just being able to view the photographers’ processes before they get to a final image is just fascinating. The book might seem pricey, but it’s well worth it! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ conflicted photographer *by B***E on 22 March 2022* i sortof think magnum is kindof problematic. however. i saw an exhibition of these contact sheets at FOAM in Amsterdam and I think it's an excellent and interesting way into how other people see things, how we edit in the moment and later. I"m not all that into docu stuff, but this is great. ## Frequently Bought Together - Magnum Contact Sheets - Magnum Streetwise - Alex Webb: The Suffering of Light --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.be/products/51022296-magnum-contact-sheets](https://www.desertcart.be/products/51022296-magnum-contact-sheets) --- *Product available on Desertcart Belgium* *Store origin: BE* *Last updated: 2026-06-22*