2 comments about Earthcam: Watching the World From Orbit.

1. It is what I have expected to be.Pictures of planet Earth from space, with texts explaining each caption. Not very expensive, and an easy to carry book.
   Fot those who love watching our planet Earth from above, and they are not astronauts. I recomend it.



2. Great book with breathtaking photos. It shows the earth at its best. You get a sense of being connected to the world and its place in the the solar system. What a beautiful place.You can actually see the forest and the trees with this book. I would recommend it highly to anyone.

3 comments about How to Take Great Photographs With Any Camera.

1. This book is so well organized and visually designed that you can't help but understand the basic concepts of photography. I recently started taking pictures for the first time in years. My husband has taken years of photography class using a manual operated camera. I can now take photographs that are just as good as his with my digital because I understand the concepts so nicely laid out in this book. I'm a teacher and I give the author an A+++ for his work!



2. I loved this book. It teaches advanced photographic techniques in an easy, understandable manner. The author concisely shares his expertise and simplifies the photographic process to four easy to follow steps.



3. This is the most informative, uncomplicated, instructional little guide book about photography I have ever read. With a touch of humor and simplicity, Jerry Hughes teaches the wannabe photographer how to be creative with any camera. He knows his art, and he knows how to instruct!

5 comments about Daughters of Men: Portraits of African-American Women and Their Fathers.

1. I gave this book to our son-in law for Father's Day. He was very touched, especially since it focused upon the relationship of Black men to their daughters. He has two girls. I also gave a copy of the book to my husband who is the father of our two grown daughters. I often tell him that I have no doubt that my daughters chose the men they did because of him.



2. It's very touching how each woman, known and unknown spoke with passion about the relationship they had with their father.



3. I was in a bookstore and happened to glance down and see the cover of this book. I picked it up, browsed through it, and immediately scurried to buy it shortly after. What a great idea to highlight Black men who are not fitting the stereotype of not taking care of their children, showing how daughters and fathers can be so tight, and giving readers a little personal view of some of our favorite female celebrities. By me being from a family full of responsible fathers, I was thinking "Finally!" It was fun for me to read about other proud daughters like myself. The story that stood out to me the most was one of the saddest ones: Cathy Hughes of Radio One, Inc. I was terrified for her father during his audit, and for him to live through that and still be such a phenomenal father makes me want to curtsy for that man. There were plenty of other good stories from celebrities I'm a fan of (Beyonce and Kelly of "Destiny's Child," Tisha Campbell-Martin, Nicole Ari Kodjoe, Aisha Tyler, Malinda Williams, and Meagan Good).
   
   I was a little bored with the celebrities I didn't know. However, by me reading this book, it was also a Black history lesson to me to be introduced to sistas who have done such positive things in the community and to learn about their success.
   
   I took the idea from this book, thought about the uncreative Christmas gift that I got my father (i.e., gift card), and immediately found a picture of him and I to print out. Before long, I had an essay for him too, and I will present it to him on Christmas Eve (when we open our gifts). I also decided to read "Pop: A Celebration of Black Fatherhood" and both books gave me the motivation to create a dedication page/picture for my brother, my godfather, and my grandfather too. I hope they appreciate their gifts the same way I appreciated this book. Thanks for the idea and your work, Rachel Vassel.



4. This book is very inspirational in terms of outlining the many facets of relationships between dads and daughters. I liked the fact that the author chose from several different genres of women. I wished, however, that there were some common women amongst the group. Each of these women were celebraties, CEOs or claimed some high-powered position in their respective fields. It would've been nice to include highlights of the very average relationships that go on everyday with women and dads who are not at all famous. Overall, however, the book was very gratifying. I am giving it to my daughter's father for Christmas, along with my own essay on what a great dad he has become thus far.



5. I really enjoyed this book. I gave a copy to my husband. The photos are great, the words often brought me to tears. This is a book that praises the efforts of good fathers and gives fathers-to-be a glimpse of what it takes to have a positive impact on their child--so little, yet sooo much.

5 comments about William Wegman Puppies 2008 Wall Calendar.

1. As usual I had to buy one of Wegman's calendars. Those dogs are so handsome and the puppies are adorable. I actually buy this for a friend who has one of these wonderful dogs and he likes the calendar too.



2. Wonderful calendar, I've been hanging them on my wall's for years!! The was incredible. I received the calendar in two days !! Thank you.



3. I really like the calendar and the photos are great.
   However, the company shipped the calendar in a manila paper envelop, this cause the the corners of the calendar got badly damaged.
   
   At the end you get a bittersweet feeling because you like the photos and the calendar format but it's really annoying to have its corners damaged, especially because they are charging you shipping and handling.



4. Have bought both Wegman calendars every year for many years. Always charming and bring a smile to everyone.



5. I love these Calendars and will buy them as long as they are available. They cheer up my day to look at them and I receive many comments from others who come into my office.

5 comments about Rackham's Color Illustrations for Wagner's "Ring".

1. I just started collecting fairy tale art like Dulac and Rackham. This book is a magnificent addition to my collection. The illustrations jump right out of the pages to tell the story. Both beauty and darkness are exquisite in this assembly of work. I now want to read the book. I also love lighter fairy tale art such as that of Nielson, but this darker approach to visually telling the tale is effective and wonderful.



2. Arthur Rackham is among the greatest illustrators of what has come to be called 'fantasy' literature. His renderings of scenes from Dickens, Barrie, Grahame, and even Shakespeare are often flawless and many have ultimately proved definitive.
   
   Here he tackles the daunting scope of Richard Wagner's vast operatic cycle DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN, and he is so successful that his images have become the model for most of its traditional stage design ever since they were exhibited in 1912 at the Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris. Yet Rackham achieves more than merely the giving of face and form to Wagner's characters and scenes. These illustrations capture a sense of space and height, light and darkness, beauty and tragedy, promise and doom which may be described as music to the eyes. C.S. Lewis first beheld them as a boy and later wrote, 'Pure "Northerness" engulfed me: a vision of huge, clear spaces hanging above the Atlantic in the endless twilight of Northern summer, remoteness, severity ...'
   
   For me, the most evocative image in this collection is from DIE WALKURE, Act II. In the foreground we see Brunnhilde anguishing over her orders from the just-departed Wotan. Helmet cast upon the ground, her face and posture effectively communicate distress and isolation; yet most remarkable is how Rackham echoes the Valkyrie's state of mind in the landscape beyond her. The falling hillside; the stark, scraggly saplings scattered into the distance; the shadowy silhouette of other mountains marking the far horizon; the low-hanging clouds; and the muted shades of grey, gold, and brown all convey an overwhelming sense of loneliness as cold and haunted as it is beautiful.



3. I'm swiftly becoming enamored of the old-time illustrators - Joseph Clement Coll, Charles Dana Gibson, N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, and Alphonse Mucha to name but a few. I'm now happy to add Arthur Rackham to that list. As both a fan of illustration (fantasy, comic book, and otherwise), as well as a bit of a mythology buff, I was thrilled to see that Dover (whose name, in my opinion, always spells quality) had produced a volume of Rackham's illustrations of Wagner's Ring Cycle, which is itself based on a famed tale of Norse mythology. The illustrations, as the book notes, were first published in 1910 and 1911, respectively. They are uniformly beautiful, bringing the story to vibrant life. Rackham was clearly a skilled draftsman, and his work has that turn-of-the-century look that is very compelling (Gibson and Wyeth had a similar style).
   
   This book is printed on high-quality glossy paper and features wonderful illustrations of dwarves, heroes, valkyrie, gods, and others that Rackham captures with skill and aplomb. Each drawing is accompanied by a discription, helping to tie the illustrations together and explain the plot to those who might not be familiar with it.While the volume is quite slim (only 64 pages, plus 4 of introductor/background material) it is very much worthwhile. I hope you will pick it up and enjoy it.



4. This book is a delight for anybody who loves Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" ("The Nibelung's Ring") operatic tetralogy. While I could have wished for just a little more detail in the captions - which could therefore have allowed the entire story of this cycle to be told (a few things consequently get missed - not really major, but wouldn't have hurt nevertheless!) - they are otherwise excellent; and the paintings themselves are not only outstanding art-pieces in themselves - they also are excellent visualisations of what Wagner was trying to do! They're also a wonderful corrective to the all-too-many "modernisations" that for some people like myself are hurting the visual aspect of a given opera's appreciation. [Often those "modernisations" are in bad taste, travesties of the composers' and librettists' intentions, and are either boring, shocking for mere shock value, or just plain BAD!!!!!]
   
   Most warmly recommended for both confirmed Rackham lovers as well as Wagner lovers AND for those who're just getting started with the process of getting to know Wagner's stupendous cycle!!! GET IT!!!!



5. All 64 Rackham's images for Wagner's Ring collected in one book is a grate thing to have if a Rackham lover. Reproduction of the images is not the best possible though. All in all, it is still a good book to have. Rackham is magical.

3 comments about Image: Designing Effective Pictures (Amphoto Photography Workshop Series).

1. Image: Designing Effective Pictures is my favorite photography book that deals with composition. Freeman takes pains to show how things can be composed using frame, color, line, texture, juxtaposition, etc to create dynamic tension or harmony, and the strengths of various choices of lenses, focus, etc. It bears re-reading. It also is a photography book where the text and sketches are as important as the photo examples. It doesn't deal with digital cameras, but the book is hardly dated since what he's talking about is independent of the camera. If you read one book about photo composition, this is it IMHO.
   
   In looking up this title on Amazon, I found that Michael Freeman has an updated version called The Photographer's Eye. Some of the examples that I saw are in Image: Designing Effective Pictures, but I will buy this newer one as well because a reviewer had read both and thought that the second book was even better.



2. I've been searching for this book for a long ever since seeing it at the library when I was 10. The book explains easier topics such as contrast, but it delves into far more complex topics such as balance, lighting, perspective, and color. This book is meant to be studied and reread multiple times. The examples are exquisite.



3. Image is the second volume in a unique new series that approaches photography in the critical, exploratory manner of a teaching course. Many books on photography intend to provide practical information, but instead concentrate on the mechanics of the subject in question. In contrast, the unique value of this series of books is that the sound practical instruction is based on the readers' development of such skills as visual awareness, design, and the control of image quality - in short, the taking of good photographs.
   
   Design is the single most important reason for the success of most photographs and the fundamental skill needed to produce effective pictures. Without using camera technology as a prop, the greatest possible improvement that any course of instruction can stimulate is in the ability to see potential pictures and to be aware of the choices available in organizing the image within the frame.
   
   Equipment is kept at a subsidiary level in Image, although the graphic effects of lens design are treated fully. This volume teaches the dynamics of the picture frame or viewfinder, the basics of design, and the many means of directing the attention of someone looking at the photograph, of making the picture be seen in the way that you want. Problem subjects can also be tackled by applying a well-trained eye rather than extra equipment or tricks, and practical instruction is given in this. Finally, the distinction is made between the major stylistic treatments, such as the formal proportions and minimal and abstract designs. Throughout the book is a carefully worked out series of practical exercises with specially prepared examples which are discussed in detail. The reader is encouraged to criticize the work shown here, and his or her own, and to develop powers of judgement, interpretation and selection.
   
   Conceived for those photographers who have a basic knowledge of the subject and are keen to improve their craft, each volume of the series is devoted to a different topic. This is the second volume in the series; the others are Cameras and Lenses, Light and Film. The Photography Workshop Series will benefit both keen amateurs and professionals alike, and provide an invaluable guide for anyone wishing to discover the techniques for taking excellent photographs.
   
   
   Michael Freeman, an established photographer for nearly twenty years, has emerged as one of the most important authors of books on photography in recent years. He specializes in studio, reportage and wildlife photography. His work has appeared on posters and record sleeves and in numerous books and magazines. Michael Freeman's other publications include The Photographers Studio Manual, The 35mm Handbook, Collins Concise Guide to Photography and Wildlife and Nature Photography.

1 comments about The Production of Houses (Center for Environmental Structure Series).

1. If, after reading Christopher Alexander's earlier books, you were wondering if he ever actually built a house in the real world, here's your answer. Yes, he did. Yes, the people owning the houses love the results. Yes, they feel the special connection with their homes that is the hallmark of Alexander's ideas. No, the powers that be, who agreed to temporarily suspend building codes for his project, were not happy with the results. Why? Because they look funny, and because he built five homes instead of five hundred. Well, if they'd read his other books, they would not have been surprised. Our intrepid hero is quite unsparing of himself - you can see his delight as his ideas work, and his horror when they don't.

   I believe that Christopher Alexander is dead on in saying that the system he created is a better way to build homes, indeed a far superior way to do so. However, I can't say the official reaction to this project is encouraging. After the first five homes were built, the bureaucrats came in, stopped the project and sent our intrepid hero packing. You can tell from the ending of the book that this reaction spooked Alexander, and I can't blame him. A revolutionary system of construction, he says, antagonizes pretty much everyone. But it will triumph, he proclaims!

   It looks like it didn't, but I see increasing awareness of his ideas in more recent architectural books, so hopefully all is not lost. Despite the ultimate outcome, this is a brilliant book from an inspired thinker. You probably want to start with The Timeless Way of Building and A Pattern Language before tackling this one, but if you liked his earlier works, this is an excellent, real-world counterpoint.

2 comments about Africa.

1. "Africa" is the companion volume to the recent PBS series of the same name, and like the series, is organized into eight parts, each one focusing on a particular geographical region of the continent. In clear, concise language, John Reader gives us the historical and geographical background of each area, the current economic and social structure, and the problems affecting the particular region. The photographs are mind-blowing; they are so gorgeous that they almost dominate the excellent text. The one disappointment, for one who has also seen the PBS series, is that the book doesn't follow the individual stories of people in depth as the PBS production did; however, no one who hasn't seen the TV production will miss it, and it in no way detracts from the overall value of the book. This is one book about the "dark continent" that does the continent, and its people, proud.



2. This is an excellent book for anyone who might find Reader's earlier book "A Biography of the Continent" too much of a good thing. "Africa" explores many of the same themes and issues, but the information is arranged differently and there are more illustrations; this book is aimed at the educated lay-reader. Still it is an important and outstanding book. Reader is a good writer and his research and grasp of a myriad of disciplines related to his subject is impressive.

   The story is told by geography: Savanna, Desert, Rain Forest, Mountains, Sahel, Great Lakes, Coast, Southern Africa. Being a "companion" to the PBS/NGS TV series there is some (but not much) focus on the people who appeared in the television documentaries. Mostly Reader tells the stories behind the story; his history of Africa is as much about the environmental, geographical, and physiological as merely chronological. For example, Reader tells why bananas and plantains are so important in African history; what makes camels so invaluable in the Sahara, how sickle cells and malaria are related, even the advantages and disadvantages of walking upright. Of course there is some in-this-year-such-and-such happened, but that is kept to a minimum. This "Africa" is not only an outstanding introduction to Africa, it should also be of interest to any Africanist.

   The photographs by Michael Lewis are good enough to be a book of their own; they combine with Reader's well organized and informative text to make "Africa" an excellent portrait of the continent. Reader's "Biography of the Continent" is also highly recommended.

5 comments about Hollywood Then and Now (Then & Now).

1. 
   As my title said, (in 50 words or less) this book is a "photographic display of HOLLYWOOD, -- then and in the early 2000's".
   
   I found the book highly informative and enjoyable. Yes, the photos are in black and white, however, I believe the author did this to show continuum.
   
   The book is filled with (mostly) large photos of Hollywood, before and after time had changed the topography and architectural styles of the area.



2. Great book if you have ever been to Hollywood. Bought this after visiting Hollywood and enjoyed relating the sites I saw to how they looked originally



3. I had been so impressed with the quality and accuracy of Rosemary Lord's book LOS ANGELES THEN AND NOW that I was delighted to find her new book HOLLYWOOD THEN AND NOW. It is brilliant and fascinating. This is an impressive, informative history of Hollywood. I worked in the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry during much of this time and Lord has captured the world I remember so well. I was pleased to see this book on the L.A. Times Bestseller List in January when it first came out and have bought several copies as they make wonderful classy gifts. I look forward to her next book.



4. I had been so impressed with the quality and accuracy of Rosemary Lord's book LOS ANGELES THEN AND NOW that I was delighted to find this new book HOLLYWOOD THEN AND NOW. It is brilliant and fascinating. This is an impressive, informative history of Hollywood. I worked in the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry during much of this time and Lord has captured the world I remember so well. I was pleased to see this book on the L.A. Times Bestseller List in January when it first came out and have bought several copies as they make great gifts. I look forward to her next book.



5. I was given this book by a friend because he knows I was raised in Hollywood and love the history of the area. The archival photographs are quite nicely reproduced, however, the current photographs are very poor. I enjoy digital photography and was in Hollywood a few weeks ago and visited 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. What a shame.

No comments about Get the Most from Your Digital Camera: The Ultimate Guide to Digital Cameras, Software, Printing and Technique.