Mrs. Newton

Rating:
Summary: A Lot of Book for the Money
Review: Our favorite photographs of ourselves are usually taken by family members and friends. Regardless of their technical quality-- that depends on the prowess of the photographer-- they often remain those pictures we come back to again and again. The reason is obvious: we are often more relaxed and natural around people we know, and they are better at capturing our essence if that can be captured in a photo. I suspect that June Newton aka Alice Springs and Helmut Newton felt the same way about many of these photographs included in this very fine collection. Some of my favorite shots in this coffe-table sized book are those that each of them took of the other. Helmut's portrait of June as Joan of Arc (p. 43) is fantastic. Mrs. Newton was obviously a great beauty in her youth. The photograph on page 211 of Coral Browne, Audrey Wilder and June is stunning. There are also candids taken by Mr. Newton of his wife nude. She in turn shoots Helmut working, clowning, relaxing (pp. 80-81, 86-87) and pensive: "From My Bed In The Clinic" on page 247.

I was not previously familiar with Ms. Newton's photographs, most of which fall into the category of portraits and many of them celebrity portraits. While she is no Helmut, many of these portraits printed here are very fine. Most of them appear to be shot in available light, something that requires all the skills a photographer can muster. Many of them, particularly those of celebrities, according to the text, were shot in less than desirable circumstances and often had to be done very quickly. She obviously can hold her own as a good photographer although I'm sure it didn't hurt her any to learn from someone as talented as her husband.

Mrs. Newton in a well-written narrative takes the reader from her childhood in Australia to her marriage to Helmut and their travels in Europe, Australia and the United States. She's obviously a character in her own right. How many women as public as she would discuss a facelift in their memoirs, for instance?

Through much of her professional career, Mrs. Newton has used the pseudonym "Alice Springs". According to her at the urging of a friend, she produced a map, shut her eyes and aimed a pin that landed at the "Center of The Continent - Alice Springs." A beautiful story but a little bit too coincidental to be believable. What would have happened if the pin had landed on, say, "Kangaroo Island" or Mollymook"? Whether or not that little anecdote is true, however, doesn't detract from this beautifully printed book, another fine edition by Taschen. There's a lot of book here for the money.