The most exciting new photography books

New season means new photography books. With some hailing a renaissance in self-publishing – see below for one volume dedicated exclusively to the art of DIY – the menu of fresh editions on offer around the world is growing ever-more diverse. From Japanese puritanism to suburban secrets and life during the Ukrainian revolution, here are our picks for this season’s best new photography books.

MY LAST DAY AT SEVENTEEN BY DOUG DUBOIS

American photographer Doug DuBois planned to spend a month in Ireland, but when he came across a group of teenagers living at a housing estate in Russell Heights, Cobh, he knew he had to stay. Funding his project through Kickstarter, DuBois captured the everyday shenanigans of this young community over more than five summers, gradually delving deeper into what he describes as “a world of the not-quite adults, struggling – publicly and privately – through the last moments of their childhood.” My Last Day at Seventeen is available through Aperture.

SELF PUBLISH, BE HAPPY BY BRUNO CESCHEL

Why go the long way when you can do it yourself? According to Bruno Ceschel, founder of the online collective Self Publish, Be Happy, the last five years have seen an economic and cultural revolution in the realm of self-publishing that’s radically shaking up the ways in which young photographers are putting out their work. Packed with inspirational imagery and previous success stories, this forthcoming volume from Aperture doubles as a manifesto for the art of DIY and a how-to guide to becoming your very own photo book editor.

FEMALE CHIC. THEMA SELECTION – DIE GESCHICHTE EINES MODELABELS BY GINA BUCHER

Who would have thought one of the most visionary fashion scenes of the 1970s belonged to the lazy Zürich neighbourhood of Oberdorf? Thema Selection was the boundary-pushing label that made an unlikely impression on the international fashion scene after Vogue caught wind of its androgynous designs back in 1974. This new book by Gina Bucher recounts the history of the label and the personalities surrounding it. Available later this year from Edition Patrick Frey.

I HEART GIRL BY JESSICA YATROFSKY

Brooklyn-based photographer, Jessica Yatrofsky, says her new book, I Heart Girl, "celebrates the female form and explores how women express their gender in the current cultural landscape." A timely and ever-important rejection of the boring beauty standards imposed on women everywhere, this beautiful edition will be available from Powerhouse in October.

EARLY WORKS BY IVARS GRAVLEJS

Early Works is the hyperactive teenage scrapbook of Riga-based photographer Ivars Gravlejs. At 11, Gravlejs got his hands on a camera, which he soon discovered was a terrific way to terrorize his teachers. “I often felt nauseous before going to school because of the humiliation that I faced from my teachers,” said Gravlejs. “The only way to survive school was to do something creative – to take pictures and make movies.” The result is this perfectly chaotic snapshot of life as a Latvian school kid in the 1990s. Get it at Mack Books.

SUMIMASEN BY IPG PROJECT

The debut volume from New York-based artist duo Tamara and Yoshi Kametani (aka IPG project) explores Japanese notions of sexuality, identity and privacy through the eyes of Mayura – a porn actress living in Tokyo. Titled Sumimasen, Japanese for “I am sorry”, it riffs off a common phrase used to express both apology and gratitude, signifying a behavioral norm that keeps intimacy safely locked away from public view. Published by Éditions du LIC, Photo-eye recently released a signed version.

TAKING OFF. HENRY MY NEIGHBOR BY MARIKEN WESSELS

Art Paper Editions recently released this strange photo story of sexual frustration and failed marriage, compiled by Dutch artist Mariken Wessels. On a trip through the US, Wessels encountered amateur photographer Henry, who had amassed a huge (and slightly pervy) collection of pictures of his former wife and lifelong muse, Martha. Granting her full access, Wessels has combined Henry’s photographs and collages into this indefinable edition that sits somewhere between family album and shadowy nude portraiture.

OUR SINCERE TOILS BY TOMMY SUSSEX

While Athens may now have taken precedence over Kiev in the headlines, the Ukrainian people continue to feel the effects of the 2014 revolution. Our Sincere Toils chronicles UK-based photographer Tommy Sussex’s travels through the country in the past two years, capturing both the heat and aftermath of the initial uprisings. Said Sussex: "Spending time with Ukrainians my own age, I began to understand the problems and restrictions they faced. It made me want to gain an insight into how ordinary Ukrainian people sought to free themselves from corruption and exploitation.” The book is available from Aussie publishers Bloom. 

WAY FAR BY RYAN MCGINLEY

Gearing up for his second release for Rizzoli, Ryan McGinley’s next book, Way Far, will continue building on his by-now signature theme: absurdly beautiful people road-tripping – mostly naked – through American summer landscapes. Due out in October, only a minimum amount of info has yet been made available, but there is little to suggest it won’t be as dreamy and generation-defining as McGinley’s previous work.

SUBURBAN BY JIMMY DeSANA

For Jimmy DeSana, a fixture on the 1970s East Village art scene and once the roommate of Laurie Simmons, suburbia was the ideal space for testing conventional norms and stereotypes. In his series Suburban, which is now being published by Aperture in a new book edited by Simmons, he used household objects to experiment with the human form, all bathed in a neon spectrum of gelatinous light. The result is equal parts uncanny and mesmerising.