2 comments about The Colors of Fall: A Celebration of New England's Foliage Season.

1. Having been to see the New England autumn colors myself, and taken some (amateur) photos, I wanted a compilation of professional photos to remind me of the "oooh" and "aaah" feeling I had. This book had quite a few really nice photos, but I expected a more wide-view show of the variations of color. There were too many close-up photos of rivers & rocks with some colorful leaves; I would've preferred a grander panorama of colorful trees in different stages of the season. There was too few photos of lakes reflecting colors, for example. I wouldn't say I totally regretted buying this book - it was Okay, but it could've been better.



2. This is a book for people who love the fall season in New England. New Hampshire photographers Jerry and Marcy Monkman have masterfully used their cameras to capture the beauty of autumn in this region of the country in their book THE COLORS OF FALL. The two are authors of Appalachian Trail guides to the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Arcadia National Park (as a matter of fact, they love Arcadia National park so much, the even named their first child Arcadia). Their knowledge and love of the area is evident in the photos presented in the book. Some of the shots are of familiar places, others are less well known. Many of the photographs contained in this book are grand scenic shots of the mountains in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, or the raging rivers in New Hampshire. Yet they also include close ups of smaller detailed subjects that are often ignored when we make foliage trips. Many of these shots demonstrate the Monkmans mastery of the camera.

   Those who have not had the opportunity to visit New England in the fall can take a vicarious trip with this book. For those of us who live in New England, the book gives us the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of this place we call home.

1 comments about A Night at the Motel.

1. What is sleazier than a hot tryst in a hot-sheet motel?..Virtually nothing...but this picture essay permits the sleaze to sizzle and stimulate, as well as, visually satisfy.

3 comments about Weegee's New York: Photographs, 1935-1960.

1. I am a sucker for/fan of those old vintage '30s, '40s, and '50s NYC photos and movies where the men wore hats, ties, and suits and the women dressed up. This book has all of that: a definite must have for the aficionados of the way we used to look, act, and dress, as well as those who love photographic crime story images. This is NYC from Weegee's camera and it is a NYC that, although I am too young to have lived in that era, projects a thousand words with each riveting image. This book sits on my coffee table. I will purchase similar books to lay around my apt. and provide guests with items that guests will have a hard time resisting.



2. With 335 photos, this large size paperback is one of the better books you'll find of Weegee's work. Divided into eighteen photographic chapters (with one image per page) it really is an impressive selection, especially as it covers his output from 1935 to 1960.
   
   The chapter on crime has the largest selection (thirty-one) with the predictable dead and bloodied bodies surrounded by police and public. Weegee claimed he (and several Speed Graphic cameras) covered hundreds of murders for the New York tabloids, he knew that that the only thing that mattered to the 'tabs' were the headlines and photos, the story could fill any space that was left. The other chapters cover ordinary New Yorkers in mostly nighttime settings.
   
   The perfect complement to this book is Miles Barth's 'Weegee's World' (ISBN 0821226495) which admittedly does have many of the same photos but also has three long essays about this unique photographer. I have another book about Weegee, a very poor reproduction of his 1945 title 'Naked City' (ISBN 0306812045) and again most of the photos are in the New York book.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.



3. This book is amazing piece of amercian history. New York history. Frozen moments of ordinary people and their enviroment. Really must have one...

5 comments about China.

1. A beautiful book disfigured by Amazon's packaging. The tight plastic shrink-wrap bent the corners of the book, greatly reducing its value as a part of my collection. This isn't the first time that a photo-book from Amazon has arrived already marred. It's a shame.



2. As a record of this time in the world's history ... the dismantling of local industry around the world in tacit acquiescence of China's future dominance ... I can't think of a more significant body of work in the medium. The images herein are truly breathtaking for their scale. Burtynsky has a privileged view and uses crisp large-format photography to lend authority to his vision. The monumental is not without a humanizing touch as can be seen best in his beautiful ship-building images. This is a wonderful book with images that one can marvel at for their execution whilst viewing with trepidation for their portent. The printing and presentation complements the images.



3. Large format, interesting photographs of China. I was worried his work might not translate in a book, but if you like his work, not to worry about that.



4. I realy like Edward Burtysky as a photographer and this book shows sokme really nice photo's. But for some reason some of his photo's took me by surprise as I saw them in a completely different lightfrom other photos of which he took. it's a bit hard to explain but it almost seems like two different photographers were sharing this wonderful, 147 pages, Hardcover book.



5. Nice and wonderful.
   If you like large format details
   this is to see
   
   BUT I'm very angry because the package by amazon wasn't efficently prepared to the reality of post office.

5 comments about Digital Portrait Photography of Teens and Seniors: Shooting and Selling Techniques for Photographers.

1. This book is like many of the photo books I've read lately, not much substance. It's got a nice flashy cover, but there really isn't much useful info inside. It seems like thats the trend I'm seeing in many of the new photography books that are being pushed. They put some flashy pictures in them here and there, many of them are not even the authors pictures, and write some fluff and make some money.



2. This book has provided me with better insight to shooting seniors and or teens. I feel confident about what I learned in Patrick's book and hope it shows in my photography.



3. This book will give you a lot of good ideas for senior photos. Definately worth ordering



4. If you are trying to get into Senior Photography, or if you are trying to expand your Senior clientale then this book is for you.
   
   This book walks you through everything you need to know for Seniors. How to photograph them, composition,& marketing.
   
   Another great book by Patrick Rice!!! A must have for all professional photographers.



5. A very good book and worth purchasing. It is recommended for anyone that is starting out in the business and needs some direction. I have gotten some very good ideas from the book. I wish it had a little more explanation on how to achieve some of the effects in the pictures that are in the book. However that is why I am looking for a good photoshop book. There is a lot of good info in the book.

3 comments about The Early Years.

1. This is a beautiful little book. I have admired Kertesz's photos, and my favorite, a street in Prague, is in it. But I must emphasize that it is little! The photos are only a couple of inches in size, so it is hard to really see them! I hadn't noticed how small the format of the book was when I ordered it.



2. Andre Kertesz passed away in 1985. As Kertesz' friends and associates were cleaning out his apartment, they found a collection of contact prints that he made as a young man. "The Early Years" was published twenty years after his death and is a compilation of the best of his contact sheet photos from the period of 1912-1925.
   
   What is so extraordinary about this book is just how small it is. Many of the published images are 1" x 2". The largest prints are probably 2" x 3". Although the photos are tiny in size they are nevertheless very sharp. The other extraordinary thing about this work is that Kertesz' genius is so readily apparent even as a very young man. There are photos he took as a teenager that have already have that mature Kertesz feel about them. Some of the photos are simply extraordinary.
   
   This is a book for someone who already knows Kertesz photography and appreciates his aesthetic. This is not a book for the novice. This book was a real pleasure and I look forward to find other books of his early work with larger prints. Recommended.



3. Andre Kertesz is perhaps the greatest photographer of the the twentieth century, certainly the pre-eminent photo-journalist of his era. No other photographer has some many great works, covering such all aspects of photography (portrait, landscape, urban, etc, over some many decades. This superbly presented "small" book, details his early work in loving detail. One sense the sensuality and freedom of his early years, living untrammeled in the first decade or so of the last century in Hungary. There is a freshness, unbridled enthusiasm for life in these early works. Yet so too is his trademark playing with light and shadows, and the solo figure set in contrast, hinting at both menace and loneliness. A lovely volume and a joy to look at.

2 comments about Photographing In The Studio: Tools and Techniques for Creative Expression.

1. This is the best studio lighting textbook I have ever found. It's well written, concise, and well illustrated. Kolb and Overturf do an excellent job of explaining everything from the most basic lighting setup to the most complex. Natural light, hot lights and strobes are all covered. In addition there's a significant amount of information on set construction and excellent suggestions for designing your own studio. Best of all Kolb has put a great deal of effort into explaining why one would want to choose a particular approach to lighting a subject. The underlying message being - just because you can doesn't mean you should.
   
   Unfortunately the publisher has chosen not to reprint this book. As the current used prices indicate - it's in demand. Someone in the McGraw-Hill sales department needs to take notice. Too bad they're not because I'm trying to adopt a new book for my large format photography and lighting class and no other seems to fit the bill quite as well.



2. This is an excellent studio photography textbook.It does not use the dry "how to" approach which is the downfall of many photography books.Full of stimulating theory and helpful specifics this book has changed the way I work in the studio and teach photography.

2 comments about Karl Lagerfeld: Metamorphoses of an American.

1. OK. mr. lagerfeld is not the talent of a bruce weber or greg gorman that both did solo books on their favorite muses. but for god sake's why does a photographer that takes THOUSANDS of photos of a modern male model and shoot so many nudes not include one frontal nude in a 4 volume set? it can't be the fault of the german publisher's that are so liberal...and doubt that it is mr.keonig himself that walked the fashion runway in nyc nude!
   and please understand...it's not that i say this because i didn't get to see mr. keonig's penis for $85.00. if all i cared about was full frontal nudity i'd buy playgirl (which i don't.) what I HATE is the length mr. lagerfeld goes to to cover or obscure the nudity...not only is it not artistic, it takes away so much from the photo. it looks STUPID for a model to hold his penis with his cupped hand, or airbrush a dark are when it's clearly a frontal nude.
   
   maybe mr. lagerfeld thinks the penis is "dirty" or not beautiful. or worse, could it be that he took hundreds and hundreds of nudes of one male model but is too selfish to share what he so obviously fell in love with? it permeates the stereotype for a lot of americans that the penis is "taboo". shame mr. lagerfeld, shame!



2. 1/. this book does prove again that the model Brad Kroenig is extremely photogenic.
   2/. the content inside this book doesn't justify the power from the gallery exhibition where it got its title from, a slightly larger size may be?
   3/. mr lagerfeld is definitely not a very good/precise photographer (not to mention the technical side) rather than an artist instead. however u can definitely felt the intense emotion the photographer had on the subject earlier in the project.
   4/. Same as I felt from the gallery exhibition, the photographer was never very honest about what he sees, u can see this when he was doing all these full frontal nude with the genital smuched. WHY SHOW THESE SHOOTS INSTEAD when u can do an obscured nude instead. In which I guess, is exactly why the photo looks a bit tired sometimes, TOO 1950s, TOO familiar and NOT UP TO DATE at all. can't imagine if mr lagerfeld was using the same mentality on his fashion design business, but again, working as a team leader and working as an individual is always a completely different story I guess......
   CONCLUSION: Perfect for giving away as Christmas / birthday gift but probably not for collecting. the visionaire Emperor's New Clothes issue is better in those aspects.....

5 comments about Born into Brothels: Photographs by the Children of Calcutta.

1. Born into Brothels shows what can happen when children in desperate circumstances are given the opportunity to talk about their lives by making pictures. The pictures that the young people make provide evidence that a camera in the hands of a child can be an empowering device that provide the voice that they might otherwise not have. A powerful testament to the power of photographs and the power of pictures.



2. I bought this because I wanted to preserve my impressions after viewing the DVD. The DVD was exceptional as is the story of these children and how quick they were to pick up a camera and be able to do something with it. I'm still working on that. This is a nice companion to the DVD but if I had it to do over again I would probably pass.



3. After watching the DVD and looking at this book, it has compelled me to take action... It's incredibly moving and very powerful!



4. Zana Briski came up with a unique idea. Give the children in Calcutta's red-light district their own cameras and let them take pictures of their lives. The result was a documentary of extraordinary children born into the most wretched of circumstances where the girls were destined to enter their mother's trade of prostitution and the boys would join related criminal enterprises. The award-winning film documentary has now produced a unique and extraordinary coffee-table book of photography showcasing Zana Briski's own work in collaboration with these children's photography over a period of seven years. This is also the story of how Briski began holding photography workshops to instruct these children in the basics of photography from lighting and composition to editing and narrative sequencing. Some of these children became so skilled and adept that their developed and developing photography skills could eventually be the source of their emancipation from the lowest rung of Calcutta social and cultural ladder. Highly recommended reading, "Born Into Brothels" would make a stellar addition to academic and community library Photography collections, Indian Studies reference shelves, and Women's Studies supplemental reading lists.



5. BORN INTO BROTHELS is a welcome addition to the books on color photography. Granted these shots are extracted from the award winning film, a feature documentary exploring the sad and at times sordid lives of these eight children born to prostitutes in the red light district of Calcutta, India. But what photographer Zana Briski has captured in richly brilliant colors is not focused on tragedy or the smarmy aspect of the places in which these children live. Instead she has found the beauty in the innocence of these children, living in a closed world without much hope of escape - except through the gracious ingenuity of Briski who held classes, teaching these children how to use the camera, offering a transient glimpse of a world they might never know.
   
   The children are extraordinarily photogenic, but the dazzling colors of the cloths, jewels, streets, glitter and scents from the spices are palpable. This book stands alone on its merits of color photography: the fact that it holds the message it does makes it incredibly touching and unique. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, August 05

5 comments about Stables: Majestic Spaces for Horses.

1. If you want to know how beutiful horse stables can be this is a book for you. Makes my house look shabby. The pictures are wonderful.
   A beutiful addition to any horselovers library. Can make a wonderful gift.
   
   Enjoy!



2. The pictures are amazing, the stables exotic. This book is different in a sense that it offers horse lovers a chance to see not only beautiful pictures of horses but gorgeous images of breathtaking and pristine stables, many with exquisitte and unique architecture. Information is presented from a unique perspective to those who love the majestic. Good price too ... here at Amazon. I originally saw the book listed for 40 dollars in a catalog and was willing to pay that price, but did an Amazon search and got it for much less.



3. the book is gorgeous, just what was advertised. It was a gift for someone is the race horse business; she said the quality of photographs was magnificent adn the accompanying text well-written and informative.



4. A great coffee table book for the horse lover in the family. The pictures of these fairy tales stables around the world will make you want to go out an buy a lottery ticket.



5. I had seen a brief write-up in a magazine and searched for the book on Amazon. The photography is absolutely stunning. The different locations featured in the book make it interesting and the stables are all unique. Visitors to our own farm immediately pick-up the book. And, it was a great hit with our Pony Club kids. I would recommend this for anyone who loves horses or has an interest in architechure.