1 comments about Ranch Style: The Artistic Culture and Design of the Real West.

1. I thought the book was beautiful. But I was looking for a book on decorating my home the ranch style look. So although the pictures were great if I was looking for that kind of thing. It was not exactly the book I needed. Wonderful pictures!!

1 comments about Digital Photography Visual Quick Tips.

1. Visual Quick Tips is definitely is on my "don't leave home without it" list. It is an essential part of anyone's photo bag. For the beginner to expert, Visual Quick Tips stimulates your creativity, reminds you of solutions, and increases the "dynamic range" of your thinking! It is like having a professional photographer readily available as a mentor whispering in your ear "Try this". Easy to read, easy to find your topic, it concisely gives you the answer on how to get a WOW picture.
   I have a library of photography "how-to" books, but this one, on two, pages, taught me more about depth of field and assessing the shooting conditions then all of them combined! Sometimes you need a book not to just give you the answers, but to help you ask the questions that will let you take better pictures.
   Just when I thought it covered everything, I got to the back chapters on organizing, printing and creative ways of sharing photos! This is one book that will be well used! And the best part is its size is so easy to slip into a pocket or small camera case. I highly recommend it to all digital photographers! I know you will enjoy it. Joyce Carmel

1 comments about Jerry Uelsmann: Photo Synthesis.

1. This is the third book I'vepurchased by Uelsman and his work never ceases to amaze me.His vision in the darkroom is beyond anythingI've ever seen but hope to increase my knowlage by observeing his.Keep those photos comeingJerry.Your work is nothing short of brilliant!!!Thanks for shareing your work with us.

1 comments about Photo by Brady: A Picture of the Civil War.

1. Although collections of Matthew Brady's work abound, most are targeted at adults or armchair war historians. The American War Between the States was the FIRST war that civilians could "follow from home" and the first to be photographed. This book brings the war out of dry history books and into harsh reality for young readers. Nice addition to a buff's library as well.

No comments about Home Studio Home: Providence, RI (Place Space).

2 comments about Landscape Within: Insights and Inspirations for Photographers.

1. This is an extraordinary book. It covers so much and pushes the reader to a deeper understanding of the creative process.



2. Even though this book has weaknesses, I feel that it's an important book for any advanced landscape photographer to read, and perhaps other advanced photographers as well.
   
   The book has two different parts that are only vaguely related. One part is a collection of Ward's landscape photographs. The other is a philosophical examination of creativity and vision in landscape photography. It is this series of essays that I find most intriguing.
   
   The author initially discusses the nature of photographs; that they are not real and that they capture time. He suggest that while most landscape photographers are interested in the grand vistas, most might be better served by concentrating on the intimate landscape because there are more opportunities there for discovery. He also suggest that one of the best procedures one can follow in landscape photography is to go slowly and delay taking the photograph as long as possible to let your vision crystallize. Eventually the author takes a semiotic approach to landscape photography. (Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols as means of communication.) Ward notes the importance of realizing both the connotation and denotation of photographs as signs or symbols. Along the way, Ward provides a history of landscape photography, with particular emphasis on developments relating to creativity and vision.
   
   One of the main problems of Ward's essays is that they never do reveal to us what the nature of photographic vision and creativity is. That may be because this is something unknowable and ineffable. Yet thinking around the edges of these profound ideas may help the photographer to develop them, and that makes this book worth reading.
   
   It's a sign of the difficulty of the subject that I often felt Ward had not made the right choices in the design of his book such as leaving the discussion of how we perceive things to the last rather then presenting it in the beginning of the book.
   
   Turning to Ward's pictures, which are scattered throughout the book, they are terrific. They demonstrate a vision and beauty we could all emulate. I have said elsewhere that editors feel that books of great pictures do not sell, and so they ask great photographers to write "how to" books. That conclusion was too focused. Books of great pictures do sell, provided that the pictures tell a story, or that there is a synergistic effect in the way that the pictures are presented. But Ward seems to reject that approach. Although quotes from the text appear alongside his pictures, the pictures do not illustrate the text, except in the broadest possible way. And Ward refuses to provide technical data on his pictures, saying this is a "why book", not a "how to book". He seems to be challenging the reader to construct his or her own book!
   
   The bottom line on this book is that there seems to be no silver bullet for creativity and vision. Perhaps the author should have called this a workbook, because even after reading the stimulating ideas, one will have to do plenty of psychological and, dare I say, spiritual work to develop the landscape within.

3 comments about Punk 365 (365 Series).

1. An excellent selection of photos with great text. This book was edited perfectly and it kept my attention throughout.



2. I bought this book for someone who was probably bouncing up and down at many of the shows depicted in this fine collection (which hardly does it justice) of performance and candid photographs of the seminal figures of Punk. Even though they are the epitome of a music snob and punk aficionado, they were delighted with the book. Now I'll have to go back and get one for myself.



3. Despite being yet another book titled PUNK this-or-that (how boring) accompanied by yet another picture of the overexposed Pistols, what we have here is a rare and fine contribution to the small flock of top rate punk documentation. For the lost-in-space stalwarts of the "punk died in '77" variety, you will find ample obscure photos and tentalizing quotes/factoids about your beloved NY scenesters (Patti Smith, Richard Hell, Ramones; the usual suspects) and your typical UK actors (Pistols, Clash, Buzzcocks, et al). But what is truly exceptional about this book is the wide territory it covers for the true punk listener. Not only does it include proto-punk legends (13th Floor Elevators, Stooges, MC5) but it ackowledges the crucially influential yet overlooked groups from both the US & UK such as the Avengers, Dils, Weirdos, Stiff Little Fingers, Angelic Upstarts, Dead Boys, Undertones, Black Flag, Germs, and on and on. As a bonus it includes the salt and pepper of much loved hangers-on who used punk to become rich and famous while not ever really being punk (Elvis Costello...you get the idea). This book is great and can be looked through over and over again without boredom. Highly recommended for every punk or jaded old rocker who has ever picked up a photobook on punk only to be bored to tears with 50 pages on Patti Smith/Talking Heads and another 50 pages of Sex Pistols/Clash and little else. And its cheap!

5 comments about The Most Beautiful Villages of the Dordogne (Most Beautiful Villages).

1. This book beautifully captures the enchantment of Dordogne. Cozy villages, medieval chateaux, rivers snaking through the charming countryside all describe Dordogne. Also, I would like to point out that the architecture and topography are different from its neighbor, Provence.



2. These are stunning photgraphs of one of the most beautiful rural parts of the world, but they left me vaguely dissatisfied. Subsequently I realized why--there are very few people in them. If you are intersted in the architecture of the Dordogne, you will probably enjoy it. But if, like I, you are interested in obtaining a feel for the region and its people, this is not the right book.



3. Of all the places I've been, I've never seen an area where reality surpasses the most breathtaking photos--until I visited the Dordogne. This book does, however, give the reader a glimpse into what treasures can be found at every turn. The book prepared me well before my trip and brings fond memories now that I'm home.



4. oldest village with the sensity rive



5. This book, with its artistic photographs and evocative descritions of an enchanting land where bright sunlight, a warm climate, fragances of the country side, and nostalgic medieval villages perched on cliffs and hilltops, immerses the reader in a fantasy land of great beauty and ancient heritage.

5 comments about Getting Started with Camera Raw: How to make better pictures using Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.

1. I have been shooting with my Canon 30D/40D for sometime in jpeg. The whole while I knew there was a RAW mode but I didn't know how or why one uses it (other than the generic "it offers more control").
   
   This book is an outstanding intro to answer both questions. In really clear style it gave both the theory (which for RAW is really important) and the practical applications of raw using and processing images with Adobe Camera RAW. The improvement in the final image quality from developing a raw file yourself vs letting the camera create a jpeg for you with its standard settings is really staggering .
   
   The only part of the book I didn't think was "outstanding" was the chapter on workflow. Here the book was was "good." Having shot my last vacation in RAW, I understand completely why a book on RAW should address workflow as it becomes a major part of the process. The problem is the subject of workflow is really tied to whatever programs you are using (photoshop, Bridge, lightroom, iView, etc). The author did about as well as possible given the book is written to users of photoshop and elements. In th end, I went out and bought a book on Adobe Lightroom which is what I am not using.



2. I bought this book because I had started shooting in RAW format and, whilst I could see a difference, I wasn't clear on all the advantages.
   
   I picked up a copy of PS Elements, too (from Amazon, great price) and I'm already seeing a big improvement in my finished photos.
   
   The book demystifies RAW and the benefits (and pitfalls) of using various tools within PSE (I have Paint Shop Pro too and most of the tools are available within that, too, although the book only shows you how to use PSE and the full Photoshop product).
   
   For the price, I am very pleased with this book, as far as I'm concerned it paid for itself in terms of photo quality within days.
   
   Before I got it I looked at a significant number of other RAW books (many costing two, three or more times the price of this one) in person, rather than online, but none were as clear as this book.



3. If you're just starting out using Camera Raw in Photoshop or Elements I think this is a great book to start with. If you are, however, fairly experienced, it probably is going to help you only nominally. I think the layout of the book is very nice and there is very little "fluff". I think the problem some of the reviewers have with this book is that it wasn't matched with their experience level. I personally feel this is a well done book even for intermediate users.



4. I had already been using RAW for some time and wanted to see if there was anything I was missing. This book does a nice job of explaining how to use RAW, but I didn't find anything I wasn't already doing.



5. I really enjoyed this book. It explains clearly the nature of raw capture, nicely describes the advantages, and takes the reader through "Camera Raw" the Adobe raw processing software. If you're experienced you might find the book too simple. But if you're interested in beginning raw processing I think you'll find this a readable and informative book. I particularly liked the beginning in which the differences between raw and JPEG are described. The one limitiation is that it doesn't deal adequately with some of the other well known software for raw processing. However, since the basic objectives are the same in all the programs and Adobe makes the most popular photo processing software this isn't a serious problem.

No comments about Jackie Handbook.