5 comments about Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers.

1. If you aspire to be a professional photographer you must read this book. Elyse Weissberg shows why she was so in demand and respected in the industry with this informative and honest book. Great insight on creating a good marketing plan to being critical of your portfolio. She pushes you to be critical of your work and work ethic. I couldn't recommend this book highly enough.



2. After reading this book, I have a solid marketing plan for my fledgeling photography business. I feel more confident and prepared to face the challenge of breaking into the market. The book helped me to define my career goals more effectively, and revealed a number of terrific resources I was previously unaware of.



3. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well laid out, thoughtfully written and had specific tips and techniques that could be applied immediately. In fact, I was going through the process of updating one of my portfolios and this book was a great help. I highly recommend it!



4. Very good book with alot of in-depth information. Well worth purchasing to expand your knowledge in this area.



5. I first looked at this book in the library and then later put it on hold for the next available copy and it's going to take months before I get to read it again since there is such a long waiting list for the book. I think it is the best book I've seen so far on Marketing and Promotion for Photographers. Elysee Wiesberg what a gem you are for passing on this invaluable information! Good practical information and advice for the business side of photography. Glossy issue with great photos. I think I'm going to buy it since it will make a great reference book.

3 comments about The Book of Photography.

1. Stop!
   Are you looking for a book that can inprove your photos?
   This is THE book!
   I read more than 20 books and this is the best, for beginners and advanced photographers. It is a book for study over years! Or for a quick use!!!
   You can see some os my photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oscarburd/sets/1524858/ .
   Enjoy the book and the photos!



2. I've never had a John Hedgecoe book that I didn't love and the same holds true for the new edition of "The Book of Photography".
   
   John Hedgecoe has been writing books on photography for decades and doing a great job of it. He began with what I like to refer to as his mentorship books in 1976 with the now classic "The Book of Photography". This new edition of that classic is no exception -- it continues to serve as a guiding light for those who want to learn the art of photography.
   
   While "The Book of Photography" is not an encyclopedia of photography, it is an indispensable, superbly written, reference book for the beginner and more advanced amateur photographer - even professionals could learn a thing or two. The book is profusely and beautifully illustrated with color and black and white photographs, schematics, and advice that guide the would-be photographer through the fundamentals and more complex techniques used in photography.
   
   Apart from Hedgecoe's beautiful photographs, he covers the very basics of photography and photographic equipment, including the various types of cameras from film to digital cameras, film types, lenses and filters, optical principles, depth of field, camera formats, flash, indoor/outdoor lighting, and much more. Hedgecoe then follows this up with what I consider the most important aspect of photography -- developing the creative mind and eye. Hedgecoe helps the reader to understand and work with composition, color, lighting, and the subject - seeing a picture where others see nothing - this is the essence of creative photography. Then he goes on to various specialties in photography, such as, portraiture, still life, landscape, nature and so on. This edition also covers digital photography and the equipment needed to take advantage of and enjoy this relatively new form of photography; he also covers the differences between film and digital photography -- the pros and cons. Hedgecoe also writes about the use of special effects to enhance photos, effects using the camera, accessories, the darkroom, and the computer screen.
   
   What John Hedgecoe does in this book is to provide detailed explanations with examples that allow the shutterbug to take full advantage of his or her camera and equipment and to take the picture-taking experience to a whole new level while having fun. His writing is clear and practical; readers who follow his straightforward suggestions will have very little difficulty in creating eye-catching, stunning photographs.
   
   Readers will not go wrong buying "The Book of Photography". It will serve its owner well; it is an excellent choice for the beginner and makes a great refresher and reference book for the advanced photographer. If the format were smaller, it would be in my camera bag.



3. I decided I wanted to get more in depth with photography and sought after a good guide to help me get started. I did not want something too basic to begin as I knew I would just get bored. Also didn't want anything too advanced as to just confuse and frustrate me. This book is a perfect example of a photographers guide. He doesn't just talk about techniques and show examples. He actually has all the details involved. Studio setups are illustrated clearly and easily. He also has a photo of himself taking the pictures. He tells you the camera and lens used and you get a real sense of how he uses his camera.
   
   There is a section on different cameras including 35 mm, medium format and 4 x 5 large format. Brief descriptions but still helpful. Studio design is covered, darkroom, etc.
   
   Very valuable resource for an interested photographer. I am planning on purchasing his basic book next as this book has definetly convinced me to buy many more.

5 comments about Berlin: Portrait of a City.

1. A great book and great pictures. Berlin has deeply changed in the last 150 years and all this has been documented precisely by great photographers: this the easiest way to show how. Texts are exhaustive too into describing "typical" life of a city.
   Maybe Berlin has changed more in the last two decades then ever before: the last chapter of this book could be more fascinating and explorative, including the fact that there are a lot of pictures about it but it'd had took another book, perhaps. Maybe Berlin has changed again yet and is changing again now... so I'm waiting for a second edition.



2. This is a beautiful book! The photos are not only outstanding but they have zero pixillation. You can discern details such as the company name on the back of a horse drawn cart in a crowd. The turn of the century through the 1930's I thought were the best. You can stare at one and with out much effort find yourself slipping away into the photo.
   
   The National Socialist period is not covered in depth nor do I think it needs to be. There are far an away plenty of books for that on the market. This is a book that can not be digested in one sitting. Take your time and look at each photo. The small details are fascinating.
   
   My only problem with the book is the blue page stock that some of the entries is written on. It made it difficult to read the text. That is a minor quibble, especially in a book like this. If you buy a used copy make sure you check the price of shipping as this book weighs as much as a small childs school backpack.



3. What a book! My mother as well as her sisters were born in Berlin during and after World War II, so I grew up hearing family stories of this amazing city. This book provided a tremendous visual aid to all these stories. Looking at the images I could picture my grandmother as a young woman, and my aunts and my mother in the postwar years.
   If you have any connection to this amazing city, this book will bring tears to your eyes, for all the hardship and challenges it has faced, and with what fantastic grace it reemerged like phoenix from the ashes.



4. I purchased this as a gift for my little (20 yo) brother's birthday. He was born in Berlin. First of all this book is HUGE! I love that the explanations of the pictures are written not only in English, but in German. What a fantastic masterpiece.



5. I left Berlin, early in 1937, aged five and a half, not to return until 1983, as a visitor, but I have childhood memories of the city, some of which go back to before I was three. Reinforcing those memories were tales I heard from my parents and the occasional, non-war-related movie. To see pictures of the streets and the faces, the clothing and the shop displays going back to before the First World War has been a source of continuing fascination for me. As is only proper in a book of this sort, the horrors that beset Berlin under Hitler and during the Second World War are also given their proper place in this book, a reminder that even one of the world's most sophisticated cities can be all but destroyed in degeneration and nevertheless, with appropriate assistance, as, for instance, the air lift, be resurected and restored. The photos were excellent, and the commentary, in English, German and French, insightful and instructive. Priced in the mid-thirties, the book sold at a substantially lower price than it did at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

5 comments about Thoughtless Acts?: Observations on Intuitive Design.

1. A book that makes you aware instead of being in automatic pilot. Sit in a restaurant, at a park, or simply on a bus and start thinking about this book and how people behave. Great for account planners.



2. Overall concept is interesting. What we observe, how we are conditioned, how we respond to our environment but quality of book could have been taking further. Instead of being paperback size, it could have been a larger coffee table book with higher quality photos to illustrate points. Rather than having to refer to back of book to understand why image was included, it should have been on the same page as the picture.



3. Yet another lousy book by IDEO. The whole book is nothing but photos. The title "Observations on Intuitive Design" implies to me that they are Jane Fultons observations. Sadly they are not. They are YOUR observations from looking at the pictures. And I paid for this. No written content (to speak of). I'll save you some money; take your camera into a supermarket, a compusa, and a walmart and snap away. Then go home and review them. Done and I saved you some cash. The arrogance of these guys. They slap their name (IDEO) on a collage and call it observations?



4. Excellent book that illustrate the little things that miss our senses and observation day in day out.
   
   Opens up a world of thought for everyone around, expecially designers.



5. At my initial experience of going through this book, I must say that it has too many pictures/photos which one cannot comprehend at first glance. Though they are obscure by nature, but in fact, there are some real meanings toward each situation. It requires some proper thought and understanding of "how" and "why" we go through certain 'thoughtless acts' in our daily lives, and that's exactly the case Jane Fulton Suri has presented in this book. The IDEO process through its power of observation helps to "peer" deeper in those 'un-thought off' understandings in the pictorial situations. However, in order to grasp the meaning behind those pictures/photos, we have to somehow breakdown the boundaries of thought, and unleash our imagination to the next level to comprehend its obscurity. To summaries it all, this book is basically to feed our creative-thinking (and definitely not rational-thinking) process so that we can experience and learn to make products/services better and more versatile.
   
   However, I could have given this book a complete 5-star, with the exception of its price.

5 comments about Orleans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre.

1. This beautiful book with a purpose deserves the 10 national awards it has won. It is poetic, haunting, poignant and touching. The prose and the pictures transport you to another place. Anyone who loves New Orleans will not want to miss having this book on his or her coffee table! But read it, too! The author won the PMA Benjamin Franklin Award 2007 for "Best New Voice Nonfiction" and the book also won the "Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book." A treat for all the senses, the eyes and the heart.



2. No ordinary coffee table photography book, "Orleans Embrace With The Secret Gardens Of The Vieux Carre" is a 388-page memoir of the New Orleans French Quarter featuring 49 historic black-and-white photographs and 320 full color illustrations. While the overall book draws from the previous work of Roy F. Guste, Jr., the photographs by Louis Sahuc are bonded with a personal and compelling narrative text by T. J. Fisher. Readers will encounter a work originally intended to be of local interest, but in a post-Katrina world, has emerged with universal attraction as a memorial and a motivation to restore a once great American city to its unique and original glory. Enthusiastically recommended, "Orleans Embrace With The Secret Gardens Of The Vieux Carre" will prove to be of immense interest to several categories of readership including: gardening enthusiasts, historians, architects, photographers, and anyone who has every walked along the avenues and admired the parks, gardens, and buildings of the New Orleans French Quarter.



3. WOW...what a big beautiful book! For anyone who has a connection to New Orleans...buy it...give it...treasure it...well written, throughly researched, amazing photos and layout...sure to be an award winner! Thanks for putting your heart into this volume!



4. This is a great book: it is a passionate "love song" dedicated to New Orleans. The photos and text will tug at your heartstrings.



5. Read this book. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Power of Now 2009 Wall Calendar.

1. Words fail to describe what the time spent with The Power of Now has meant to me but I'll try. This book became my guide to a place that allowed me to tie together everything in my life and brought me to peace at a time of huge turmoil and really for the first time in my life. My spiritual beliefs also were brought into focus and made stronger. I have purchased copies of this book for some of my friends who were on their way to enlightenment and they too are finding a way peace that they have never had. You won't be sorry for the time you spend with this book.



2. xcellent book,i bought this for my daughter after her baby was stillborn and she found it helpful



3. There are no words that could describe this book! It's the most meaningful and the most important book for your soul/Being/life after the Bible! An absolute must for your awakening! Make sure you get and read the other books by Eckhart Tolle after this one, especially "The New Earth..." !!!!!!!



4. I had heard so much publicity for The Power of Now and truly wondered if the book would hold up to the rave reviews. I am so pleased to say that I am thoroughly enjoying this book. The Power of Now is completely changing how I am walking through this life. Thank you Eckhart Tolle for enlightening me to living in the "Now!"



5. Eckhart Tolle is an important Spiritual Teacher of our times, and his book "The Power of Now", is absolutely Life Changing.

5 comments about The Confused Photographer's Guide to On-Camera Spotmetering (The Confused Photographer's Guide to . . . Series) (The Confused Photographer's Guide to . . . Series).

1. As a guide for using your in camera spot-meter I think this book is great. The illustrations are easy to understand and well explained. Spot-metering can be tricky, but this book takes all the guess work out of it. If you follow the illustrations carefully, you will enjoy and improve your photography. The main thing here is practice, practice and more practice. You have to be patient and visualize in your minds eye want you want and follow the techniques. Even though the book uses for instruction purposes slide film, once you learn and practice, I believe you will improve a great deal even if your camera has all the bells and whistles. The camera meter is just a tool, you have to decide what you want and that involves good technique. Happy shooting to all!



2. Until I had this book one takes photographs that the camera takes. After reading this book you can be in control. The Author gives a very detailed and easy to understand explanation of why some photographs don't turn out the way we expect them to and tells you how to manipulate the new electronic exposure meters built in to today's cameras.
   
   I recommend this book to all budding photographers. That's the only way to pay tribute to this book and author.



3. After reading this book, I feel as though a veil has been lifted. I always wondered why my photos, although looking good, just lacked a certain "something". My camera, a Rebel Ti, does not have spot metering. Now I am able to understand how to do spot metering with a partial metering system.
   
   I never thought about "tonal" quality as it applies to a photograph. Now I can look at the computer generated settings and make the necessary manual adjustments to take tone into account.
   
   Very good purchase.



4. I have read this book withing two days.
   I am somewhat experienced at taking pictures but this method is easy to follow and remember.
   
   After reading this book I went out during the night to take a picture of a bridge in the city of Warsaw. The picture was perfectly exposed and it did not need any adjustments from its raw settings.
   
   Some people might find that this is sometimes too easy or repetitious but I suppose this is what is needed to get the points accross.
   
   One last word about the excellent tips at the end of the book and the appendices. I really appreciated the tips on how to photograph silhouette of a person, see through cloth lit from behind or fireworks.
   
   I truelly recommend this book if you want to see the light with exposure.



5. This book covers in details all one will ever need to know in order to get the correct exposure from the camera. Don't get confused by the title, it's not how to use the spotmeter, it's rather how to evaluate tones and make manual corrections (override the meter reading)to get the proper exposure. Those that don't have the spotmeter (like Canon Rebels), can use the partial metering, just zoom all the way through, to narrow the angle.
   
   Yes this book is oversimplified, as some readers have already stated, so even the second graders would be able to read and understand it :) There are too many explanation and repetition, author even assumes that you have a hard time to make a division by 2 :)
   
   On the other hand I've found analogies (like FedEx and Train examples)very helpful. The book really does what it promises to, to help the reader to understand how to get the correct exposure. No matter what you level is, you will definitely understand the concept, author makes it extremely simple.
   
   I would highly recommend this book for beginners, or those that never shoot on fully manual. For people that understand the 18% gray and know how to override camera settings, there is nothing new.
   
   Compared to other Bahman Farzad book "The Confused Photographer's Guide to Photographic Exposure and the Simplified Zone System". Those books are 98% the same. The later is some what expended version of the "The Confused Photographer's Guide to On-Camera Spotmetering". I would recommend against buying both of those books no need for that. I think the later book (the extended one) is a better choice, as it also has a new and updated edition available on February 2007.
   
   Compared to "Understanding Exposure" by Peterson. Peterson book doesn't go into much details, I felt like author tries to stay away from complex subjects, it's excellent book never the less, but not for beginners. Those books can't be compered directly, since they cater for different audience. For those that never used fully manual, I would recommend to start with Farzad book and then progress to Peterson book.

5 comments about California's Central Coast: The Ultimate Winery Guide: From Santa Barbara to Paso Robles.

1. Received the book quickly, and the product looked brand new. Highly recommend this vendor.



2. Mira Advani Honeycutt describes the central coast, its wineries and the people that live there in a personal and endearing way. Her book makes me want to get off the fast track, take time and relax in the beautiful and lush area that is the central coast and learn more about wine.



3. If you are planning a trip to the Central Coast and hungry for information, this is one of the first books to consider. The text is friendly, fun, and easy to read, as author Mira Advani Honeycutt does a wonderful job of teaching without preaching and devoid of pretense. What I find particularly helpful is the way the information is organized and the order it is presented -- breathtaking color photography is the perfect complement to Mira's literary style. A great gift for the Holidays!



4. While this book has excellent reviews of some of the larger wineries in this area, I was surprised to see the omission of some smaller, very notable wineries on the Central Coast. For example, Per Pacco Cellars in San Luis Obispo isn't mentioned, and they have one of the finest Pinot Noirs on this strip of coastline. Aron Hill Vineyards is another small, family owned winery with a Cabernet Sauvignon that's outstanding, and Cayucos Cellars has a Syrah that's a powerful contender for the perfect wine with a holiday Prime Rib roast.
   
   That said, the reviews given in this book are very informative and extremely well-written. I loved the section about local foods and how that plays a role in your Central Coast wine country tour. The book gives many tips on where to eat, where to find picnic supplies, and lists various events at the wineries highlighted. For those elements alone, I'd love to give this book a higher rating.
   
   My concern is someone planning a trip here will overlook some outstanding, smaller wineries... all of which have tasting rooms, very friendly staffs and remarkable wines. If I may be so bold, buy this book for a list of the bigger wineries, but try to stop all along the way during your stay on the Central Coast to scout out others, and be sure to ask the locals for tips on where to uncover hidden gems.



5. Mira's book has been one of my best buys on wines. Not only does she provide insight into the range of wines from the region, she also dives deep into the ontogeny of the culture that surrounded the birth of the wine-making ideology and existing processes.
   
   This book makes for an informative and enjoyable read - Mira has a charming, engaging and easy literary style.

2 comments about The Step-By-Step Photography Workshop.

1. This book is very similar to the very popular book "Understanding Exposure", yet I like it more because it provides more examples and techniques in my view. If you are advancing from point-and-shoot to SLR or DSLR camera, or simply want to learn about photography, that's the book for you!



2. This is a book that will definitely help you take your photography to the next level. I found the book to be rewarding on three levels:
   
   1)Step-by-step guidance on the key aspects of photography
   a)From a concise discussion of what equipment to purchase and how to carry it, through excellent illustrations on composition, landscapes, and nature and wildlife
   b)Discussion of straight forward techniques that will immediately improve your pictures: e.g. correct fill flash settings that result in removing shadows while adding sparkle in the eyes of the subject (human or animal)
   2)Expanding creativity
   a)Translating lines and shapes into an image
   b)Using exposure to affect moods
   c)Shooting with a telephoto lens to isolate and create an image
   3)Viewing gallery illustrations
   a)Over 50 techniques are illustrated and visually demonstrate the results of taking photography to the next level
   b)Each picture is captioned with critical statistics: lens used, f stop, film, etc
   
   This book was easily worth the $18.00 I paid. Adam, thanks for a great book!!

5 comments about How Video Works, Second Edition.

1. This is a great overview of modern video technology and achieves the authors' goal, namely "easy to understand explanations of the entire world of video."
   Each chapter is pretty much self-supporting, so you don't have to read the entire book cover to cover. Having said that, the book is a fairly quick read. The copious illustrations are clear and the use of real world equipment is helpful to those that may be exposed to it.
   This isn't the book to give detail about ever single aspect of a topic, but it certainly gives you enough to make use of the more specialised texts.



2. This book will help the novice understand the basics of video. It covers everything in video to allow for a broad knowledge into this field.



3. When i started to read this book, I could no longer stop with to reading it.
   It's reads so nice and everything is explained so clearly.
   That is what i've to say about it.
   If you want to know more about video, go buy this book. it really helps alot.



4. "How Video Works" was just the right book for me. For the reader who has little knowledge of video, or who wants a comprehensive review souce that treats the subject from the ground up, this is an excellent choice. Video is a feature of my business, but I am not a technician. This book gave me the understanding I needed to be effective when discussing video and made an immediate impact on my ability to work with customers. It is an excellent reference, well written, and easily readable by both the technician and non-technician alike.



5. This book really helped me understand all the parameters of video and audio and all the different formats, particularly the new stuff like hi-definition. it made something that seemed complicated easy. A great read for anyone who is interested in learning more about the technical side of video