Weegee / Courtesy Steven Kasher Gallery

Water Spray, ca. 1940. Vintage gelatin silver, printed c. 1940, 10 x 12 inches.

Matthew Brandt / Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery

Matthew Brandt, American Lake, WA C1, 2011, from the series Lakes and Reservoirs. C-print soaked in American Lake water.

Sally Mann / Courtesy Etherton Gallery

Shiva at Whistle Creek, 1992. Gelatin silver print, 8 x 10 inches.

Julia Margaret Cameron / Courtesy Hans P. Kraus Jr. Inc.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1868 Albumen print from a wet collodion negative, 35.5 x 26.3 cm.

Most of us have become too accustomed to seeing photos from the comfort of our desk, as we quickly scan a glowing screen. Obviously, there are huge benefits to your favorite photographer being one Google search away, but it is important to remember that small details and subtleties can get lost in the inherent limitations of pixels and small monitors. Visiting the AIPAD (Assoc. of International Photography Art Dealers) photography show in New York City is a great reminder of the beauty of experiencing the printed image and the significant role photography has played in documenting history.

The show brings together top photo galleries from all over the world, as far away as China and as close as 57th street, each featuring their own specialty, from late 19th century photography pioneers to contemporary ones.

Henri Cartier-Bresson / Courtesy John Cleary Gallery

Rue Mouffetard, 1954, printed c. 1995. Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches.

After walking through each gallery's booth, you end up with a survey of photography's diverse history, seeing many familiar names and iconic prints along the way. A beautiful Ansel Adams print is followed by a couple from Henri Cartier-Bresson, including his famous one of a man jumping over a puddle in Paris. Some names you may have seen published in PhotoBlog, including the vivid work of Alex Webb as well as that of Tim Hetherington, whose powerful portraits and film on American soldiers in Afghanistan earned him an Oscar nomination (he was killed almost a year ago while covering Libya).

While the AIPAD show makes you appreciate the physical print and its tangibility, it is also a glimpse into the world of art collecting. Little red stickers placed alongside a print's details, are a reminder that all the photos on display are for sale (in the case of the ones with the stickers, they have been sold). Whether you are there to shop or to appreciate, if you are in the NYC area the show is a refreshing visit and an excellent excuse to step away from modern technology to appreciate the older one.

Visiting AIPAD: The AIPAD show is open through Sunday, April 1 at the Park Avenue Armory; Admission is $25/daily; for more information visit the AIPAD Photography Show website.

Massimo Vitali / Courtesy Bonni Benrubi Gallery

Porto Miggiano, 2011. Chromogenic print, 86 x 72 inches.

Vivian Maier / Courtesy Steven Kasher Gallery

Untitled (Couple Embracing with Checkered Clothing), ca. 1960s. Gelatin silver print, printed 2011, 20 x 16 inches.

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Cindy Sherman / Courtesy Museum of Modern Art

Untitled Film Still #21, 1978 - Sherman's "Untitled Film Stills" series, comprised of 70 black-and-white photographs made between 1977 and 1980, are made to resemble publicity pictures taken on movie sets. The images represent clichés from films of the 1950s and 60s: career girl, bombshell, housewife and so on.

Cindy Sherman / Courtesy Museum of Modern Art

Untitled # 213, 1989 - Sherman's history portraits make allusions to paintings by Raphael, Caravaggio, Fragonard and Ingres.

From an eerie clown to a society doyenne to a nubile milkmaid, photographer Cindy Sherman has masqueraded as a series of characters in front of her own camera, producing books and exhibitions that have gained international attention. Now, for the first time in 15 years, work that spans the master of disguise’s entire career, from the mid-‘70s to the present, will be on display in one place: New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

“I think Cindy Sherman is more contemporary than she’s ever been,” says Eva Respini, associate curator at the Museum of Modern Art. “I think we’re in a media-saturated society, where everyone can be their own star, and everyone is taking pictures of themselves and posting them to Facebook or any other kind of social media outlet, and I think her work definitely picks up on that, and responds to that.”

To create her photographic portraits, Sherman works unassisted in her New York studio. She is the photographer, model, art director, make-up artist, hairdresser and stylist.

“The really important thing about her work is they’re not self-portraits,” notes Sarah Evans, assistant professor of contemporary art history at Northern Illinois University. “They’re portraits of the types of images that surface in our world. She’s mirroring the media in a way that’s especially important for women.”

Slideshow: Three decades of Cindy Sherman

From an eerie clown to a society doyenne, photographer Cindy Sherman has masqueraded as a series of characters in front of her own camera.

Launch slideshow

Sherman will not admit to being a feminist, according to Evans, but her work has been interpreted as having strong feminist themes.

“Many feminists,” Evans added, “have adopted her work as one of the most historically significant examples of feminist art.”

Cindy Sherman, which includes 180 photographs spanning the artist’s career, will be on display at New York’s Museum of Modern Art from Feb. 26-June 11, 2012. The exhibit will then travel to San Francisco, Minneapolis and Dallas.

Cindy Sherman / Courtesy Museum of Modern Art

Untitled #96, 1981 - Part of Sherman's centerfolds series, this photograph sold for a whopping $3,890,500 in May 2011, making it the most expensive photograph ever sold. It held that record until November 2011.