STANLEY KUBRICK: DRAMA AND SHADOWS: PHOTOGRAPHS 1945-1950, by Rainer Crone (Phaidon, £39.95): THE name Stanley Kubrick is synonymous with cinematic perfection.

Renowned for subjecting film stars to take after take to achieve the desired result, he has produced blockbusters including the Shining, Clockwork Orange, Lolita, Dr Strangelove and Full Metal Jacket, which have become etched in the collective consciousness.

The roots of Kubrick's masterly talents lay in the basic tenets of photography, which he nurtured as a staffer working for the New York-based Look magazine. This fascinating book is the first publication of those early photographs, many of them never seen before. Taken between his graduation from high school and the time before he made his first films, the images offer a fascinating insight into his nascent skills. Kubrick's break into the industry came as, walking past a news stand after the death of President Roosevelt, he sensed an opportunity. Persuading the vendor to look sad, he encapsulated the moment and sold the photograph to Look.

About 350 photographs from his time at Look are organised into 37 photographic stories, with the book divided into four thematic chapters: Metropolitan Life, Entertainment, Celebrities and Human Behaviour.

Kubrick's compositions are stark and have a psychological intensity, with people always at the centre of his attention. His flair for narration comes across in a particularly poignant series depicting the life of a lowly shoe shine boy. Kubrick follows him through the day conveying a sense of irony and drama. It ends with emotional pictures of the boy tending his pigeons on his apartment rooftop before releasing them into the sky.

His pictures of the Broadway musical High Button Shoes demonstrate a close attention to the manipulation of light and shadows, which was to become one of his hallmarks.

The pictures have been selected and edited by art historian Rainer Crone, a Kubrick expert who examines his photographs in relation to not only his later films but also the history of twentieth century art and photography. This book does full justice to the genius of Kubrick. One not to be missed.

Published: 07/02/2006