Review: Photographs 1943-2013 by Keld Helmer-Petersen

One of the most important Danish photographers…

Keld helmer-petersen: Photographs 1943-2013
Keld Helmer-Petersen: Photographs 1943-2013

Keld Helmer-Petersen (KHP) was once described as “the best photographer you have never heard of” by the British magazine Creative Review in 2007. I really think that short sentence says it all. In my humble opinion, KHP should be right up there with Ernst Haas and Saul Leiter, but I guess fame does not always work that way. Keld himself was a humble guy and found it a bit funny when he suddenly got some fame at the age of 87!

Keld helmer-petersen: Photographs 1943-2013
Keld Helmer-Petersen: Photographs 1943-2013 – the ability to find the extraordinary in the ordinary is perhaps one of the qualities of KHP that I admire the most.

The book in review here presents the full range of Keld Helmer-Petersen’s work across 7 decades. Each chapter has a short introduction with Keld’s own words introducing what you are about to see. In addition to this, there are two longer introduction sections at the beginning of the book.

Keld helmer-petersen: Photographs 1943-2013
Keld Helmer-Petersen: Photographs 1943-2013 – HKP pioneered the use of colour in his work, and the book contains a lot of the images from the book “122 Colour Photographs”.

Towards the end of the book there is also a transcript form a short interview with KHP that I found to be an interesting read.

Keld helmer-petersen: Photographs 1943-2013
Keld Helmer-Petersen: Photographs 1943-2013 – the graphical dimension in KHP’s work stands out very clearly in the black and white images – here from the praise of the railway.
Keld helmer-petersen: Photographs 1943-2013
Keld Helmer-Petersen: Photographs 1943-2013 – here an example of some of the later work of KHP. I must admit that I like his earlier work more, but it does show another dimension of his astonishing talent.

If you are interested in KHP’s work and want a book that gives a comprehensive view into his work across 7 decades, then look no further: this is the book for you. However, if you like me are more fascinated by his earlier work, say the classic “122 Colour Photographs”, may be a better alternative to look into.

Related reading

Review: The Unseen Saul Leiter by Margit Erb & Michael Parillo

Review: Ernst Haas by Photofile

Review: All about Saul Leiter, collected by Margit Erb

Review: Still lifes, California by Rudy VanderLans

Author: Frederik Bøving

Frederik is a photographer, blogger and youtuber living in Denmark in the Copenhagen region. Outdoor photography is the preference, but Frederik can also be found doing flash photography applied to product shoots and stills.

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