books
BARCELONA - Vision on the metropolis from a different perspective
This story about the metropolis of Barcelona was engraved with light over a period of fifteen years. It shows one of the largest conurbations in Western Europe and there is a lot to see. A relevant visual cross-section of its geographic, cultural, social and urban development scope makes Barcelona by definition overwhelming and therefore requires a broad perspective.
Planned and random routes were pursued for this story. The photo series is not chronological, the city is not peeled off like an onion, cardinal directions are not logically followed; the rounds made through the city have crossed and overlapped. Coincidence played a role in finding subjects, but each image was consciously chosen. The depth and variety, and the contrast or rather visual rhymes in the book make it suitable to carry the reader along the vast city.
For the first time, Barcelona has been captured solely through the misuse of 'tilt-shift' architectural lenses. This allows both perspective and plane of focus to be manipulated in three dimensions. The result grabs the viewer’s attention, creates connections between elements in the foreground, center and/or background of the photo and makes the experience of the place or scene unexpectedly different or even more intense.
By adding personal portraits of more or lesser-known residents, an unusual view on well-known themes and showing many unknown locations in the far corners of the metropolis, a different, fresh perspective emerges. Finally, the book compensates for the reputational damage caused by the sickening tourism in Barcelona, so that even connoisseurs and residents will view the city with new affection.
First edition: September 2026 Language: English - Catalan - Spanish Photographs: 500 Pages: 408 Size: 247 x 335 x 39,5 mm (3 kg) Edition: Hardcover ISBN: 9789462265868 Year: 2026 Photography: Rob Becker Publisher: Lecturis Design: Beeldverhaal International distribution: Idea books, https://www.ideabooks.nl/contact/
How They Look - Photographers’ Portraits
For this portrait monograph Rob Becker decided to literally focus and shine a light on a single profession: his own. Inspired by his curiosity about the women and men whose photographs he has studied and admires, he has made portraits of photographers from all fields of the profession and from 30 countries around the globe. Bound in this selection are portraits of Michael Wolf, Alec Soth, Daido Moriyama, Martin Schoeller, Lynsey Addario, Albert Watson, Brent Stirton, Robin de Puy, Todd Hido, Jacob Aue Sobol, Joel Meyerowitz, Nadav Kander, Barbara Davidson, William Klein, Koos Breukel, Sanne De Wilde, Peter Lindbergh, Raymond Meeks, Magnus Wennman, Nick Ut, Sebastião Salgado, Hisaji Hara, Kadir van Lohuizen, Steve Schapiro, Miles Aldridge, Paula Bronstein, Pentti Sammallahti, Michel Comte, Erwin Olaf and many others.
First edition: September 2019 Language: English Photographs: 127 Pages: 160 Size: 168 x 240 mm Edition: Hardcover ISBN: 978-94-6226-358-1 Year: 2019 Photography: Rob Becker Publisher: Lecturis Design: Beeldverhaal, Amsterdam International distribution: Idea books, https://www.ideabooks.nl/contact/
Ballet in the studio
For this book, 60 dancers, ballet masters and choreographers of nineteen nationalities were portrayed. Most of them are working at the National Ballet of the Netherlands, but in the book are also dancers of Scapino, International Dance Theater and the Nederlands Dans Theater.
Away from stage, decor, theater lights, costumes and make-up, the dancers are photographed in a very personal way. The photographs show personalities, not roles. All movements and poses are executed in the dance studio, the place dancers spend most of their time to train and rehearse.
The series contains dancers from all ranks of ballet: from young professionals of the corps de ballet to world famous principals.
Some names: Anna Tsygankova (cover), Maia Makhateli, Jozef Varga, Artur Shesterikov, Larisa Lezhnina, Young Chu Goy, Alexandra Radius, Hans van Manen, Juanjo Arques, Michaela DePrince, Floor Eimers.
In the middle of the book, the photographs of dance moves are interupted by a special section of portraits (head shots), printed on uncoated paper. This part of the book enhances the personal approach of the photographer and also gives room for portraits of ex-dancers, choreographers and ballet masters who do not dance on stage anymore.
First edition: December 2016 Language: English Photographs: 171 Pages: 192 Size: 240 x 340 mm Edition: Hardcover ISBN: 978-94-6226-206-5 Year: 2016 Photography: Rob Becker Publisher: Lecturis Design: Fabrique International distribution: Idea books, https://www.ideabooks.nl/contact/
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The Amsterdam Krulletter
What are the origins of the curly letters that can so often be found adorning café windows across the city of Amsterdam? Who painted them? How old is the style and where were they designed? Do the letters represent an expression of the Amsterdam graphic tradition? And what are the links to calligraphists from the Dutch Golden Age? The Amsterdam curly script delves into this Dutch tradition of letter design, which was overlooked until very recently. Over a period of seven years, letter designer Ramiro Espinoza interviewed letter painters and their families, researched photo collections in the Stadsarchief Amsterdam and gathered evidence in order to provide answers to the most important questions relating to this relatively unknown area of Dutch popular graphic culture, and to stimulate awareness about its cultural relevance.
In beautiful black and white, photographer Rob Becker documented all existing windows in Amsterdam, Maastricht and Gent in order to capture the ambience and context in which the curly script flourished. His photos form not only a report of the topic in general, but they also form a true artistic homage to the Amsterdam ‘brown’ cafés.
Authors: Ramiro Espinoza & Rob Becker Language: Dutch & English Pages: 212 Size: 170 x 240 mm Edition: Hardcover ISBN: 978-94-6226-117-4 First impression year: 2015 Photography: Rob Becker Publisher: Lecturis Design: Ramiro Espinoza