Keld Helmer-Petersen

Keld Helmer-Petersen is the oldest and most internationally renowned Danish photographer. His first photobook, 122 Colour Photographs, is considered unique for its time, and he made a name for himself when LIFE Magazine published several pages from the book in 1949.

His style is modernistic and experimental with a lyrical simplicity. It depicts the beauty and fascination that his eyes and mind capture in his immediate surroundings, often turning them into graphic structures. His use of colour is masterly, and the landscapes and portraits own a quiet and simple beauty.

The preface, A way of Seeing, is by the English writer and photographer Gerry Badger, and the introductory essay is by Finn Thrane, the former head of the Museum of Photographic Art in Odense. Every chapter has a short introduction by the photographer himself; the book concludes with an interview between Keld Helmer-Petersen and Martin Parr.