2 comments about Leigh Bowery Looks.

1. I was suprised by how small this book was when I got it, but it proved to be a non-issue. This book is amazing! It offers a peek at an incredible artist's life work and displays it extremely well with gorgeous photos. I highly recommend it to photo fans and fashionistas alike!



2. It certainly fits all the criteria for Art, despite the fact that these "looks" aren't framed and hanging on a wall in some gallery, but rather worn by the always beautiful, legendary Leigh Bowery. These photographs, however, most certainly could be. And don't let this paperback's relatively small size fool you. These portraits are rich and vivid, showing not only an incredible amount of detail and color, but also giving a definite sense of character and performance from Bowery. This man lived for dressing in these outlandish costumes. They are not simply "shocking" they are genuinely thought provoking. They play with and skewer concepts of gender, of beauty and of propriety. That is the true genius of Bowery. Kudos must obviously go also to the photographer Fergus Greer for capturing Bowery in these fantastic poses and in such amazing lighting. A wonderful book that is thankfully now back in print, "Leigh Bowery Looks" is an invaluable piece of performance art history not to be missed by anyone interested in fashion or photography.

2 comments about Martin Parr.

1. This is only my fourth time reading this collection cover to cover; I cant get enough of it. Williams' insightful essays broken up with the pertenant images following makes for a throughly enjoyable read, covering Parr from the early days to current. Williams pulls from lots of outside resources, making this a very well rounded look at his life time of work. If there is one Parr book to own, it is this beautiful Phaidon collection, cant reccommend highly enough!



2. In the last chapter of this fascinating book author Val Williams says of Parr 'He is a cunning photographer, sidling his way into situations where he shouldn't always be, looking as ordinary as the people he photographs'. How true and this could well explain how he manages to take such interesting photos of people and situations.

   This thick, chunky book gives a good cross selection of Parr's work, from the superbly observed black and whites of working class life in the seventies and eighties to the capturing, in color, of the middle classes in the nineties. I think Parr works best when he photographs the British and is able to see and capture social situations that most of us miss. There are twelve color shots of street scenes in Boring, Oregon, (chosen, naturally, because of the town's name and Parr's three books, called Boring Postcards though these have no connection with the place) and they are just like any other photographers vernacular work, if Boring had been in England Parr would have found some class differences to make the photos say plenty.

   Author Williams writes in depth about Martin Parr and his work and with several hundred photos this book is an excellent visual biography of one of the best British documentary photographers working today. BTW, the back of the book includes a few pages of Martin's collection of ephemera, knick-knackery that has taken his fancy, a tin of Heinz Barbie pasta shapes, a set of Russian coasters showing trucks or a set of Spice Girls chip packets and more, I have a similar collection of things that have caught my eye over the years, is this a trait of creative folk?

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.

2 comments about Time: Annual 2007 (Time Annual: the Year in Review).

1. It is a great book to review the "major" events of a given year with good text and photos. I give one to each of my grandchildren with a personal note on what I observed about each one for that year.



2. I started collecting "Life ~ The Year In Pictures" in 1985 and looked forward to the annual edition. In recent years, I feel the change to hard-cover has lost some of the originality of the earlier issues. As with everything, the cost increase does not equal the increase in quality; the quality of early issues is gone. I miss the old "Life" and much prefer the magazine format. It seems that as this publication grew in popularity, it was issued later and later each year (missing one year altogether)and now we have an "editors idea" of what happens when you fix something that isn't broken. Very disappointing in recent years!

3 comments about Planet Ocean: Voyage to the Heart of the Marine Realm.

1. We recently went to an aquarium and our 2 year old daughter was fascinated. We purchased this book because we wanted something that had lots of pictures for her to look at. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that each of the pictures had its description on the page itself. No hunting for the names of the animals when our daughter asked what they were. This book has a great variety of pictures of animals, not too much text and I recommend it for young children just discovering ocean creatures.



2. There is no lesser a word for this book than amazing. I have seen a number of photographic works on the ocean; and this, by far, exceeds all the others I have enjoyed. The pictures or unbelievable, spectacular, and what I would call the work of photographers of genius. All this for a reasonable price. If you love that essential part of the world which keeps us alive, you will not want to miss this one.



3. What an absolutely beautiful book! The pictures and resolution are amazing. The only complaint I have is that I like to see a few more side texts or full pages of brief information about what it is I am looking at. Other than that, it is a great addition to anyones coffee book collection.

5 comments about Los Angeles Then and Now (Then & Now Thunder Bay).

1. We had this book at school. The teacher used it for our history class and it was really good. He said it was good history guide, but it also had interesting facts. I really loved the photographs. My Grandpa lived in Los Angeles then. My Dad bought him this book and he said it was the best book he'd seen on Los Angeles history.



2. I was given this book by a friend when we were in a Hollywood book store because he thought this was a book all about Hollywood. He then went back and bought me Rosemary Lords "Hollywood Then and Now". The error because the cover of the Los Angeles book has a photo of the Chinese theater in Hollywood on the cover. This book, side by side with the Hollywood book is not very different in content. In fact, it contains some of the same locations as the Hollywood book.

   I was raised in Hollywood and Los Angeles and love the history of the area. The archival photographs are quite nicely reproduced, however, the current-day photographs are very poor. I enjoy digital photography and was in Hollywood a few weeks ago and visiteds some of the same historic scenes from this book. I quite easily found the angle of the original shots found in this book.. why this book showed those same shots but taken from different angles than the original photos is beyond me. The modern photos in this book are also very unflattering, out of focus and even amateur in appearance... not much more than snapshots.

   The worst thing about this book are the many obvious mistakes in locations and historic details just as the Hollywood contains. Very disappointed!




3. Of the 69 Then and Now photos, 30 were basically the same because
   the view had not changed over the years. I lived in LA for over 30 years and there are so many areas that have changed completely it's a shame that they weren't used.



4. This is a wonderful book. It's absolutely captivating. Once you start looking at the pictures, you can't put it down. I love the photographs as well as the historical narrative. I'd recommend this book to anyone. I only wish it were longer.



5. I am a Los Angeles history buff (specialty, the early 1900s), so I bought this book for my library, but I was really disappointed in it.

   For one thing, it is very badly edited; grammatical errors (mostly misplaced or dangling modifiers) abound. I mean, for such a handsome book, it really deserved a go-through by a professional editor.

   Secondly, who really needs a photo of the present-day Roma restaurant at the corner of Hollywood and Wilcox (complete with a guy in a cowboy hat hurrying to beat a flashing "Don't Walk" light and a lineup of late-model cars waiting to cross)?

   Or who needs a shot of the Virgin megastore where the historic Schwab's restaurant used to be? And on and on . . . Some of the "before" shots are worthwhile, but most of the "after" shots are really pedestrian -- including that hustling cowpoke.

   The best pic is on the cover -- the opening of the movie "Hell's Angels" at Grauman's Chinese. There are some other good older pix inside, too.

   As has been mentioned, this book is way too heavy on Hollywood, and the depth of the research by the author can be measured by the number of times she mentions the names of Hollywood movies. I am suspicious of some of the facts in the book, too, although I can't quite pin down the reason right now. Maybe it was all those grammatical errors.

   Finally, this book was printed in China, and I have nothing against the Chinese or their desire to earn big bucks from the rest of the world, but couldn't the author have found a printer right here in the U.S. to do this book? "Produced by PRC Publishing Co." PRC, get it -- "People's Republic of China"?

   So, don't make this your coffee table gift. If you want a so-so addition to your library of L.A. books, buy it second hand somewhere or pick it up off the remainder table. It has a very nice cover, but you know what they say about books and their covers . . .

5 comments about Evening Dress.

1. The book is exquisite! I own one and have given it to friends as a birthday gift - and they all love it.



2. I would absolutely agree that this book is beautiful, lavishly illustrated and elegantly produced. The text is well-written and informative, too.
   
   However, as a self-styled 'history of the evening dress', it is far from comprehensive and does much less than the title suggests. The author deals with pre-twentieth century fashions - everything from the Ancient Egyptian to the late-Victorian - in what is, in effect, merely an extended prologue. Early designers like Charles Worth and Rose Bertin are skimmed over or ignored entirely. Nor do the illustrations in this section particularly excite me - one only needs to think of the sheer volume of exquisite fashion plates and period portraits by the likes of Lawrence, Winterhalter, Sargent and Boldini which could have been employed so much more effectively than the images appearing here.
   
   The main body of the book only deals in detail with post-WWI fashion - each decade, from the Twenties onwards, merits an individual chapter. Although, for the simple reason of space, this makes sense, I'm frankly incredulous that the elegant and extravagant Edwardian Era - the age of Poiret, Lucile and the Callot Soeurs - rates only the briefest of mentions.
   
   High quality images of vintage gowns from top-notch museum collections are employed throughout the book but the choice is once again both disappointing and limited - I'm familiar with many of the collections in question and the dresses featured are neither beautiful or inspiring, particularly in relation to some of the gems that were by-passed. Ultimately, however, this could simply be a matter of personal taste. More irritatingly, in a book that professes to be a 'history', an inordinate amount of space is devoted to contemporary takes on the flapper frock and Seventies disco number. This is all very well in an issue of 'Vogue' but I'd have liked to have seen much more emphasis on what was ACTUALLY worn back then, rather than on modern interpretations.
   
   'Evening Dress' will look lovely on a coffee table. But, as a serious history, it falls far short of the mark.



3. I'm in love with this book. Every time I look at it I want to drop everything and join the fashion industry. It is also a great source of inspiration for anything.



4. the book was excitment plus. all the glamouous dresses and the models. It is a superb glamour book. Any one who love clothes, fashion and style should have this book. the Great day of the glamour dresses is almost extinct. This might bring it back. Why would a woman not want to look like the pages of this elegant book? clinta ingraham



5. I had been eyeing this book for about a month at the bookstores before i finally decided to purchase it for myself. There are lots of colorful pictures; GREAT for inspiration for fashion design students. It also has great fashion illustrations of the dresses which are also VERY helpful. There are even little tips in the description of the garments which are helpful sometimes. I am very satisfied with the purchase of this book and do reccomend it to fellow fashion students. If you like looking through Vogue for inspirations, this book has beautiful pictures.

No comments about Macromedia Flash Mx: Design & Application (Iperformance Series).

1 comments about KODAK New Pocket Guide to Digital Photography: Quick advice on getting great pictures!.

1. Good info for folks who are into digital photography for a while. A little to technical for novice users. User manuals would be more helpful for novices.

5 comments about America by the Yard: Cirkut Camera: Images from the Early Twentieth Century.

1. This is a wonderful book not only for photographers, but also for those interested in timeless pictures of Americana. I found the subjects to be most interesting, as they are indeed captured moments in our history.
   
   The book is also of special interest to those interested in Cirkut cameras; I own one and was very glad to be able to obtain such a specialized book that demonstrates what the cameras were capable of in skilled hands.
   
   The book is very impressive, with multiple fold-out pages that do justice to the ultra-wide format photographs that are reproduced. The printing is first rate and everyone that I have shown the book to has been pleased with it.



2. The above headline pretty much sums it up. Sorry for ending with a preposition ( I should have said "an" to be silly).



3. I've never seen a photo book quite like this. This is an oversized book and when many of the prints are folded out, they really are a yard long. While many of these picture are not artistic masterpieces, they are masterpieces of documentary phototgraphy. The level of detail these photos contain is something to see and you get a very good feel for the time and place of the picture.



4. I have an interest in panoramic photography, currently own a Widelux camera (can take a 120 degree pano on 35mm film), and am looking to buy a Kodak Panoram which performs similarly but on 120 format film. If I could afford a Cirkut camera, and the film and chemistry costs, I'd have one.
   
   I'm also a history buff.
   
   "America by the Yard" combines history and panoramic photography in a series of stunning images that seem to draw the viewer in. Consider it a series of graphic, high-resolution photos showing America growing up from circa 1900 to almost 1950.
   
   The photos have so much detail, and so much width, that the photos continue to reveal new details each time I "read" it.
   
   When showing the book to friends and co-workers, it has the same effect on them: lots of "oooohs" and "aaaaahhhhs" and exclamations.
   
   An amazing book. I can't reccomend it highly enough.



5. The author obviously has a deep respect for the history of photography. The images, reproductions, and explanations are excellent. This is a beautiful book that every panoramic photographer could relish for many years to come.