The illustrations were what kept me going and I was intrigued to see what this photographer's personal journey had been. However, the writing while nice felt a big languid in the sense that it was slow and didn't grab my intention. The photographs are beautiful though and I think it's a good read to pass the time but may be too slow for others.

'Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide' by Isabel Quintero with art by Zeke Peña is a biographical graphic novel about a photographer from Mexico who has been featured in the Getty Museum.

Gabriela Iturbide was born in Mexico in 1942. She had a childhood that would seem to dictate a certain course in life. After her young marriage and the birth of two children, her life took a different course. She found herself inspired by black and white images and waiting for just the right shot. Some of these shots are reproduced in this book. They show a desert landscape with hundreds of birds in flight, or lambs going off the slaughter. She has gone to places like East L.A., India, and even Frida Kahlo's bathroom to get her pictures. Her style shows a poetic soul trying to capture the world around her.

I really liked this story. Gabriela Iturbide shoots in black and white, so the art is all black and white. The book is written with the artist in mind. The graphic novel finishes with a brief biography and a list of further reading. I loved that the artist's actual photos were included in this book.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Getty Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Photographic is absolutely beautiful, and I'm glad I picked it up. Before this book, I had no idea who Graciela Iturbide was. This biographical novel written by Isabel Quintero outlines Iturbide's life through her own photography and illustrations by Zeke Peña. Choosing to write her biography as a graphic novel was the certainly best option because it does a wonderful job of highlighting her photographs. Additionally, all the illustrations in the book are done in black and white to align with Iturbide's style of all black and white photography.

After tragedy strikes her family, Iturbide turns to photography as a way to connect herself to the world and make sense of the unknown. Being a woman in Mexico in the mid-1900s presents her with challenges in pursuing her passion, but she never lets that stop her. From her mentorship with Manuel Álvarez Bravo to her travels through North America to photographing the late Frida Kahlo's house, this book tells you everything you need to know about Graciela Iturbide's incredible life.

I feel like the storyline wasn’t substantial enough to allow readers to connect with the artist. I did enjoy the women supporting women, mix media uses, and the trailblazer components though. If there was more detail, this would have been a knockout.

First let me Thank Netgalley for this digital copy. I loved the story line. How she had found not only herself but the world through her camera and artistry. It was inspiring. The illustrations were really nice and leaving them black/white was an amazing choice. The one thing that did bother me was the real life pics of dead animals. It made me feel a bit uneasy and icky. I understand that it is a different culture but I must state my opinion. I would recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated with her work or wants to be a photographer. I would warn them of the content though.

I will admit, I don't usually like reading biographies. However, I will happily devour graphic novels, and this one sits at the intersection of those two genres. Photographic explored the life of Graciela Iturbide, a Mexican photographer. Her work has been in museums and galleries internationally, and I'm glad I got to know her through Photographic because I might not have heard of her otherwise.

I loved the illustration style. It was simple, yet detailed, and I liked how it blended with some of her photos to provide more context for the biographical part of the story. A series of chapters explored Iturbide's life in periods, divided by her subjects as an artist. The book read more like a story than a biography, so I was able to see the world how Iturbide saw it, and I like that. It's especially important for biographies to draw readers in, lest they stop reading because of disinterest. Photographic is eye-catching, and I was always eager to see the next representation of Iturbide's work.

At times, the text of the biography tended towards the vague and philosophical, but I was able to keep reading since with graphic novels, the art is also a tool for storytelling and as such, the story still captivated me. One of my favorite parts was when Iturbide's trip to India was described. She had gone with the intentions of finding things in common between India and Mexico, but was surprised to find out how different the two countries are. I liked reading about how she used art to make those connections, and express her opinion as well.

All in all, I can appreciate this new take on biographies. I would probably read more of them if they were as easy on the eyes as this beautiful book is.

A graphic novel about the life and work of a photographer is something of an odd idea. And yet with “Photographic”, writer Isabel Quintero and artist Zeke Pena have created a compelling and fascinating glimpse into the world of Graciela Iturbide, a photographer I was not previously aware of. The writing is poetic, the drawings are expressive, and story they tell inspires me to learn more of the gifted and unique Graciela Iturbide.

It is a very short read, I finished it in less than an hour. I have never heard of Graciela Iturbide before rading this graphic novel and bbecame very interested in her work. The novel is very short but they give advice on what else to read if you're interested. The illustrations are beautiful, the language is beautiful. I would advice this graphic novel to anyone interested in art/photography and also interested in strong female characters.

Interesting spin on a biography. It was not what I was expecting but I enjoyed it. This book does not have a lot of actual photographs of the artist's work. It is written as a comic book, which makes for a quick read. The illustrations are beautiful and everything is in black & white, just like the artist's photographs. This book tells of the artist's journey in developing her craft. It highlights the social aspect that she experienced and sheds light on how she sees the world. Lots of symbolism and social messages embedded throughout the book. A unique book that is worth the read. It may just make you stop and ponder this crazy life we live in.

I tried very hard with various programs, but I couldn't open this file. Sorry!

Photographic is a biography of Graciela Iturbide told in graphic form.
I found it to be a very enjoyable read and, even though I was surprised to see that the inside content of the book was black and white, I feel that it was a good creative choice, given that Iturbide always shot in black and white.
I admit I had never heard of her before reading this, but I'm glad I did, as it gave me a very interesting perspective on her creative process and the way she saw life in general.
There were various themes depicted in her photography throughout the years, since she often drifted towards what she felt was calling to her, per se.
This book not only describes Iturbide's life, but offers much more than that. It provides views on culture, tradition, freedom, creativity and nature.
The writing of Isabel Quintero was very poetic (I presume also to match the mind of Iturbide herself), and Zeke Peña's illustrations were very good, invoking the feeling of the photographer's art.

I loved learning about Graciela Iturbide. She's a photographer I had, unfortunately, not heard of before now. I loved that the storytelling mixed beautiful line art with actual photography. I really love birds and photographs of birds so this book inspired me to look up Iturbide's work.

I was really grateful this book did a wonderful job of introducing me to a creative woman from another culture. Loved it!

A graphic novel biography of an innovative photographer best known for her photos of Mexican communities.

The text in this reads like poetry. It’s a lyrical explanation for how Iturbide sees the world and what motivates her. It’s a poetic explanation of the various cultures and places she’s photographed and how they’ve influenced the way she sees the world (and how she hopes she’s influenced the world to see these cultures). It’s actually pretty deep for a nonfiction book. I can see literature classes having a great time analyzing this text and teasing out its literary devices. For that reason, this is a graphic novel best appreciated by those mature enough to follow and parse the text and understand the significance of Iturbide’s photographs. I can see less mature readers getting lost in the complexity. (There’s also frequent phrases in Spanish so the reader either needs the ability to read Spanish, use context clues to figure out the meaning, or have the patience to frequently pull out a translation app.) The illustrations are all in black and white in honor of Iturbide’s preference to work in only black and white photographs. Some of her actual photographs are included and many of the illustrations replicate or give nods to other photographs. A fascinating read. Recommended to literature classes, those interested in Mexican cultural studies, art classes, and photographers.

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content or decency issues. (Though erotic art is mentioned at one time, but not explained at all and not shown.) Slaughtering goats is photographed with some illustrations of the killing, some description of the blood in the text, and two actual photos that aren’t bloody.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital ARC of this lovely graphic novel.
The life of photographer Graciela Iturbide is told through a combination of her black and white photographs, poetic descriptions by Isabel Quintero, and the crisp black and white illustrations of Zeke Pena.
Iturbide defied tradition by attending film school after marrying and having three children in her early 20's. After losing her daughter, she turned to photography to heal and learn more about herself.
She traveled across Mexico, the United States, and later India to capture life and traditions with a special emphasis on women / feminine nature.
I enjoyed learning about this celebrated Mexican photographer who has spent her life capturing honest portraits and authentic moments at home and abroad.

I was provided an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Before requesting this book I didn't know anything about Graciela Iturbide and if it wasn't for the camera on the cover I wouldn't even know she is a photographer. I know little to nothing about photography and I was never interested in learning more. I don't know what pulled me to request this biography because I usually don't read non-fiction and if I read it, it's about someone I'm really interested in. I think it was because I've never seen biography being done in the format of graphic novel. And I think this one was beautifully done and I'm happy to have a chance to read it. Writing was really poetic and pictures told beautiful story on their own.
My only complain is that it felt a little too cold and objective and I wanted to know more about Graciela, not only about her art and where she traveled.

I admit upfront that this book wasn't what I expected. I had assumed it was an illustrated children's biography and found it to be a much more detailed and informative read. It isn't quite what I was looking for on my blog (appropriate for age 8 and younger) but it was so good I still wanted to make sure to give it a review.

I love the art style, the inclusion of the real photos, and found the entire story fascinating. I feel like it is a perfect example of using graphic storytelling to add power to a storytelling. The author frequently uses real quotes and tells the story of Graciela Iturbide with a great deal of admiration and honesty. This is definitely a book I would recommend for about 12 and up, and I intend to buy a physical copy not just for myself but also to loan out.

This is a biography of Graciela Iturbide which was beautifully told in graphic novel form. The gorgeous illustrations drew me in, and the story kept me interested. I loved that this book included a few snip-its of the Iturbides work, and the story behind some of her most famous photos. I will definitely be suggesting this to all my non-fiction graphic novel loving friends, as well as asking my local library to consider picking up a copy or three for our community to enjoy as well.

5 stars

Synopsis: This is the story of Graciela Iturbide, who was born in Mexico in the 40s and did what a woman was supposed to do at that time, and married young. She had a family, but when one of her children died, she started to look for meaning and solace, and found it in photographs, and travelling to tell stories with her photographs.

The story: This follows Graciela's life closely, picking out the most significant moments in her life, as well as her most famous, and most personal photographs. The story conveys the grief, and the search for more, as well as the willingness to be part of the story, and to stand outside of it. Graciela went where she was asked to go, but she always went on her own terms, and didn't let the standard dictate what she she and documented.

The art: the art was amazing, especially when compared with the real photographs. When they weren't Graciela's photographs, they were simple and told the story well.

Graphic biography sprinkled with the artist’s original work.

I love reading books that introduce me to things I never knew of before, in this case, I am sad to say I had never heard of Graciela Iturbide before. The graphic novel is short and explores the life and beginnings of Graciela's work. The graphics are beautiful and I loved the actual photographs inserted after a graphic illustration, it almost made it feel like the book came to life? It was cool.

The book was inspirational and enlightening. I loved how Graciela interprets her work and isn't afraid to take risks and travel. Isabel Quintero did a fantastic job carrying the message across and I hope we get to see more graphic novels like this about real life people. I loved it and would definitely recommend you pick it up.