5 comments about Photo Transfer Handbook: Snap it, Print it, Stitch it!.

1. In that this was written in 1999, and this is now 2003 - this
   book IS well written for anyone that wants to attempt photo
   transfer. I've done considerable research on this, read far too
   many articles with conflicting information on the process, attempted too many techniques with poor results.
   This is exactly as intended - a handbook, it compares the various techniques with results.
   Many resources now have websites and there are more products on the market. The biggest hurdle between 1999 and 2003 is the digital camera and the advancement of computers and printers. So with today's technology and computer saavy, photo transfer can easily be done and this book is a useful tool for reference and guidelines.



2. I found this book was not as advertised. I expected a variety of methods and products. Perhaps this is all that was available in 1999. There are a great number of products and techniques currently available that are not mentioned in this supposed "handbook" It containes the same info transfer paper packages contain, a gallery of projects and some bad quilting advice. I was very disappointed.



3. I purchased this book in the hope of discovering a new way of transferring computer-generated line drawings or pictures onto cloth in order to then embroider the images. I had experimented with two types of computer transfer papers and found them totally unsatisfactory for my needs (stitching on rubberized fabric is not my idea of fine art). This book was simply filled with crafty ideas about what could be done with these unsatisfactorily transferred images ... something even worse than T-shirts. I think the rag dolls with photographs of people's faces said it all.



4. I purchased this book in the hope that I would discover a new way of transferring computer-generated line drawings or pictures to cloth in order to then embroider the images. I had experimented with two types of computer transfer papers and found them totally unsatisfactory for my needs. Stitching on rubberized fabric is not my idea of fine art. This book simply offered previously unimaginable things I could do with this type of unsatisfactorily transferred image ... something even worse than T-shirts. I think the rag dolls with photographs of people's faces said it all. Yuck! If I could have given it 0 stars, I would have!



5. This is a wonderful book for anyone who has ever wanted to transfer a photo. The book is in full-color with many photos. Clear step-by-step instructions are included for both the transfer process & projects.

   Instructions for both creating & applying a transfer using either a laser copier or computer printer are covered. Tips on choosing images, troubleshooting, adding & removing color are also included.

   Next, there are inspirational galleries of beautiful family quilts, studio quilts, & creative clothing. Captions below each piece describe the creation process. One of my favorites is a Tuscany castle scene.

   A few projects follow, including a photo pillow & three quilts. There is also a great resource list that includes many places to buy the transfer paper, as well as mail order photo transfer & film services.

1 comments about The Best of Wedding Photography.

1. Bill Hurter's CHILDREN'S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY covers all the basics of how to photograph children, from using studio lighting for formal and informal results to posing tips for all ages, age-specific psychological insights for talking to kids, and design techniques for making albums polished keepsakes.

5 comments about Untamed.

1. I bought this book as a bargain and in the description it said the condition would be knew and the only difference would be that it may be marked as a bargain. However, the condition of the book was really bad and it was so damaged that many pages were lose and the binding was completely broken. I will never buy a bargain book from amazon again, even though the book itself (if it was in good condition) is awesome.



2. First saw these photos on a trip to Stockholm. Huge photo posters were on display in a park and this book along with the photographer's other books, posters and postcards were for sale. We've all seen photos of animals before but these are quite "up close and personal." There is a "Wow" factor with what he has captured -- whether it be an action shot of wildebeest and zebra hurriedly crossing a river or a panda up in the tree to get a better look. This is not a book you'll look at once but time and time again.



3. Steve Bloom has taken pictoral essays to new heights. In September 2007, a stroke of Irish luck led me to his exhibition in Dublin, Ireland. I spent a mesmerizing hour wandering St. Stephen's Green Park admiring his outstanding mini-billboard sized photographs and felt cheated when I ran out of time. So I bought the book, it sits on my coffee table, and I enjoy it day after day. Untamed is not a collection of animal photos. Instead, Steve gives us a greater understanding of the beast through a series of incredible exposures. Anyone who enjoys wildlife and excellent photography must own this book. It would make an excellent gift for those who share a passion for the wildlife that is vanishing before our eyes.



4. Steve Bloom is by far one of the best animal photographers! The pictures he captures are incredible. Untamed is a great/huge collection of awesome pictures. The pictures and pages in the book are all high quality. Well worth the money.



5. This is an absolutely gorgeous book, oversized and chock full of awesome photographs of all sorts of creatures. Bloom works in the wild, from a distance and close up enough to devote a full page to an elephant's eyelid. He works in Antartica, in the Amazon, in Africa, Asia, all across the world, with herds of animals and with singles, young, old, and in between. Some of the photos are panoramas, with 2 pages opening towards the middle to full effect.
   
   I first saw the book displayed on a table in an interiors store, and fell in love with it, came home and ordered from Amazon to save $$$. Now it's on the table in *my* living room. Eventually I will give it to my son to go through and share with my now-4-year-old grandson.

2 comments about You Can Paint Watercolors.

1. I wish I'd found this book when I was just starting. I'm an intermediate watercolor student who loves books on technique and buys them frequently. But even as someone who's been painting on and off for a few years, I delighted in finding Mr. Crawshaw's book at the library recently. It's chock-full of simple but useful demos--starting with a carton box, for instance--and progresses to fruits, vegetables, still lifes, animals, landscapes, people and water. The text is minimal and practical. Just last week I painted some fruits from his exercise and they were the best I've painted. An instructor teaching true beginners should at least know about this book, and beginners or even intermediate students looking for some simplified exercises from which to practice should try it. I may even add it to my collection.



2. The author/artist has the gift of taking complex painting subjects (landscapes, animals, people) and expressing their nature in simple strokes of watercolor. The effect is far from simple; it's that stripped-down-to-the-essentials that makes watercolors so appealing yet difficult to learn. One or more strokes of the brush, and you've gone too far and the painting is overworked and wrong. This book will help you over that perenniel problem.

   Mr. Cranshaw's book is full of examples on which you can learn, copy and base your own outdoor and studio painting. His sense of fun is never far away. I have other books from this author and I did some really great paintings of cattle immediately and easily after reading and trying his methods. If you want to simplify and improve your watercolor, get some good techniques for plein-air (outdoors) work, I can't recommend this book enough.

5 comments about Weeki Wachee, City of Mermaids: A History of One of Florida's Oldest Roadside Attractions (Florida History and Culture).

1. A highly detailed account that is part of a published series from the Florida University System. It has terrific detail and the writing style is enjoyable. Chock full of photos! Gives a perspective on the park that tells the positive and negative impacts on Florida of these attractions. I liked that it also gives a perspective on development of other water attractions in Florida and the people. I never knew that Ricou Browning, who played the underwater role in "The Creature from the Black Lagoon," had so many other accomplishments and played a large role in the Florida springs attractions. I really enjoyed this book and I believe it is a real bargain for the price. Recently, I visited the park and if you get to Florida I can recommend Weeki Wachee Springs for a great fun-filled day!



2. I ordered this book by mistake thinking I put it on my wish list, and am sooo glad I got it!! It is a wonderful book not only about the mermaids of Weeki Wachee, but also a history of Florida and the Roadside shows. It brings one back to a simpler, more wonderful era. Very moving and nostalgic. Now I must make a trip to Weeki Wachee. Great book for mermaid lovers.



3. Book was recommended by a former Mermaid from Weeki Wachee - it's a great book, well done - wonderful pictures and history from the area.



4. I grew up in a small town just a few miles from the Springs in the 40's and 50's and Weeki Wachee was our old 'swimming hole' where the men of the town would go clean out the 'grass' every summer so we could all swim and play even tho the water was ice cold and we would shiver and shake but refuse to get out and warm up. I remember a lot of the things happening that are included in the book and knew some of the 'mermaids' since I went to school with them and our P.E. teacher was also a mermaid. I spent many summers trying to learn how to eat a banana and drink a grapette under water(I never did accomplish this). This book brings back lots of memories and I think anyone who can 'remember when' would enjoy it and also anyone wanting to see a slice of 'old Florida' would also enjoy this book. I took my grandchildren back to the Springs last summer where we saw the mermaid show twice and once again swam in the icy water. They tried to be mermaids for weeks after and were enchanted with the 'mermaid' idea just as I was back in my day.



5. Lu Vickers has captured the history and essence of a very special Florida attraction in this book. This book offers a glimpse into a fascinating place during a very interesting time in Florida's tourist history, where the unusual was the draw. It has obviously been written with great care and attention to detail, and is a beautiful homage to the legacy of Newt Perry's vision & creation. We are very lucky to still have this historical and unique attraction~ perhaps this book will help to further encourage locals and tourists alike to take a trip and visit this special Florida icon. Doing so will help to make the experience of watching such graceful and talented performers available for future generations.
   ~Marina~MeduSirena~

5 comments about Breaking Bounds: The Dance Photography of Lois Greenfield.

1. Sometimes, one might wonder if there's anything new and exciting that a photographer can do with the human form. The answer is yes.

   This volume collects 87 black-and-white photographic images taken by Greenfield from 1982 to 1991, in which she collaborated with a talented group of dancers for impromptu movement. The pieces were not choreographed, but were the results of ongoing experimentation with motion and light.

   The results are amazing. Fluid. Organic. Motion captured in a frozen moment, and stillness seeming to burst with unceasing energy. Bodies hang in mid-air, in mid-flight, solo or entwined or complementing each other in a synergy of arts ... a living sculpture caught in time.

   It's hard to describe what Greenfield has seen through her lens. The dancers exhibit incredible feats of balance, emotion and passion for the dance. In some they're wearing tights and leotards, in others they're costumed as if for a show. In many they're not clothed at all, showing off their flexing muscles and rippling skin as they move through the dance. And the camera captured it all.




2. Sometimes, one might wonder if there's anything new and exciting that a photographer can do with the human form. The answer is yes.
   
   This volume collects 87 black-and-white photographic images taken by Greenfield from 1982 to 1991, in which she collaborated with a talented group of dancers for impromptu movement. The pieces were not choreographed, but were the results of ongoing experimentation with motion and light.
   
   The results are amazing. Fluid. Organic. Motion captured in a frozen moment, and stillness seeming to burst with unceasing energy. Bodies hang in mid-air, in mid-flight, solo or entwined or complementing each other in a synergy of arts ... a living sculpture caught in time.
   
   It's hard to describe what Greenfield has seen through her lens. The dancers exhibit incredible feats of balance, emotion and passion for the dance. In some they're wearing tights and leotards, in others they're costumed as if for a show. In many they're not clothed at all, showing off their flexing muscles and rippling skin as they move through the dance. And the camera captured it all.
   
   by Tom Knapp, Rambles.NET editor



3. I owned "Airborn" before purchasing this one, and I loved it so much that I sought out Breaking Bounds. I did not hesitate to buy it when I saw it on amazon[.com]. I am a dancer, and the photography of Lois Greenfield embodies the intention and choreography of the dancer so well, that it is unique. I prefer the material in "Airborn," so if your thinking of buying this book and dont have the other, take a look at the other one. I think there are much more interesting and provoking images in "Airborn". A downside to Breaking Bounds is that there are no descriptions or captions, other than the artist's name, attatched to the picture. I would like a brief explanation of the picture, as Greenfield does in "Airborn."



4. This book's photography are excellent and exemplify the beauty, symmetry (asymmetry) of modern dance. All those interested in celebrating the human form will find this book fascinating, even if modern dance is not in their background. My favorite photograph is on p. 73, as it brings out the dancers in mid-flight, totally out of equilibrium, as though Doris Humphrey herself was arranging the scene.......



5. This book is perfect for display on the coffee table. Friends who look through it are as fascinated by Greenfield's work as I am. The frozen moments and the print quality make this a beautiful addition to any photo book collection. A MUST HAVE FOR LOVERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND DANCE!

No comments about Miroslav Tichy (Fototorst).

2 comments about Come Again.

1. I won't lie, I bought this, flipped through it once and then salted it away in my collection. I love it. I think it is great. I like how he breaks things up, put it all together, and sends it up the flagpole.



2. Robert Frank, a photographer's photographer, and really the Bob Dylan of the medium, has a stark and taciturn way of seeing things that is manifest in this book. It is published at the launch of a 5 year program for Gerhard Steidl, the finest publisher in the world, to release new Frank books, re-release old ones beautifully, and reveal undisclosed bodies of work, and will include all of Frank's films.
   
   The invitation to photograph Beirut was tendered to a number of world famous photographers in 1991 by the Harriri Foundation, including Koudelka, Burri, Depardon and Basilico, and these Poloroids that Frank made there were pasted into a graph-paper notebook. This artful facsimile is a tactile and visual delight.
   
   I bought a number of copies because it is a small edition and I expect it to be out of print and valuable very quickly and it is marvelous to have copies of precious books to present to friends as gifts.

3 comments about The Moment of Seeing: Minor White at the California School of Fine Arts.

1. Here is a book that takes one back in time to learn about the beginnings of the serious study of
   photography as a fine art shortly after WWII at the California School of Fine Arts. It is a
   ground breaking drama in which we learn, in almost diary form, about the struggles of
   Minor White as Director and the experiences of some of his prominent faculty; Ansel Adams,
   Imogene Cunningham, Dorothea Lange, Lisette Model and Edward Weston. It is profusely
   illustrated with many vintage photographs and documents. The authors have done a supreme
   job of bringing us this historic book.



2. Most of what has come down to us about Minor White as a teacher and thinker is based on his East Coast career from the late 1950s to the 1970s. This well edited, richly illustrated book deals with Minor White's time at the California School of Fine Arts (San Francisco), where he founded the photography program with Ansel Adams in 1946 and taught until 1953. There are fascinating details here about what was arguably the America's first really rigorous photography curriculum, and about the reception and teaching of people like Dorothea Lange, Imogen Cunningham, and Edward Weston long before they were enshrined in the canon of modern photography. A concluding series of portfolios in this book reminds us that much of Minor White's best work was produced during his early Californina years, and attests to the quality of the work of his first students. This is an valuable book in its own right, but also an excellent companion to the indispensable Minor White: The Eye That Shapes.



3. This was an excellent book documenting the work of Minor White and highlighting some of his former students of photography.

3 comments about Digital Photography Just The Steps For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. This was very helpful and answered the questions I had. I have several 'For Dummies' books and they have all been helpful.



2. This was a good introduction for those of us who were maybe leery of the digital camera revolution. It explains what to look for in a camera, how to use it and how to download to the computer. It's basically a more indepth camera user's guide. It, like the other book on the subject I own and reviewed (Perfect Digital Photography), talks about how to Photoshop your pictures after downloading them.
   
   All in all, it is maybe a smidge too basic, but a good intro to digital photography.



3. I think I finally found a book I could give my dad if and when he ever decides to buy a digital camera... Digital Photography Just The Steps For Dummies by Frederic H. Jones. It's a very attractive work that doesn't stray from it's purpose.
   
   Contents:
   Part 1 - Acquiring Digital Photos: Selecting a Camera and Accessories; Setting Up and Using the Camera; Snapping Digital Pictures; Viewing and Transferring Images; Digitizing Existing Pictures
   Part 2 - Editing and Enhancing Digital Photos: Manipulating Image Attributes; Fixing Common Image Problems; Repairing Digital Images; Adding Photo Editor Special Effects; Adding Photoshop Elements Effects; Using Layers
   Part 3 - Choosing and Using a Printer; Organizing and Sharing Photos
   Part 4 - Special Projects: Taking Close-Up Photos for eBay; Restoring Old Photos; Documenting Your Travels; Creative Mini-Projects; Index
   
   The author's intent is simple: write a book for people who just want to do stuff with their camera and don't want to read 500 pages to figure it all out. Jones writes this book as a series of "steps" attached to each "thing" that you would want to do. Lengthen depth of field? Five steps to follow. Reduce battery usage? Two steps. Scan a photo using Windows scanner wizard? Nine steps... All very easy to follow and you'll get results in short order.
   
   For the software manipulation of your pictures, he uses Adobe Photoshop in most of the examples. At first I thought that if you had some other package, you could just find the menu option that does the same thing. But for the type of reader that would have this book, they probably just want to follow directions and not dive deeply (yet?) into their graphics software. So if you don't have Adobe Photoshop, you may not get as much out of this book as you could.
   
   Another thing I like about this book... It should appeal to a couple different types of photographers. The person who is making the leap into digital photography can use half the book to figure out how best to take pictures. The other person who has the camera but wants to start manipulating their pictures can use the other half to get some great digital images to show off to their friends. And if the bug bites and you get totally wrapped up in this subject, you'll have a solid foundation on which to build...
   
   Nice book, extremely practical, and very easy to use...