2 comments about The Art of Black and White Photography: Techniques for Creating Superb Images in a Digital Workflow.

1. Black and White is not dead - it has its advantages over the world of color. "The Art of Black and White Photography: Techniques for Creating Superb Images in a Digital Workflow" is a complete and comprehensive guide to the craft of taking photos in the style of black and white. Chapters discuss when black and white should be used rather than color, how to avoid the cliches so often associated with black and white, applying new technology to improve an old art, and much more. For anyone enthusiastic about photography, "The Art of Black and White Photography: Techniques for Creating Superb Images in a Digital Workflow" is a must-have.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. This is a welcome volume for B&W photogs and a useful read for color photographers from another fine German photographer/author. This is Hoffmann's first instructional book to be published in English, although he has had numerous articles on image design/composition published in the magazine "Leica Fotographie International", or LFI, which, by the way, is not published by Leica-Camera GMBH.
   
   Hoffmann emphasizes the possibilities in tonal manipulation in digital and analogue photographing. The point of his presentation is always to show how manipulating the tones and, therefore, contrast, contributes to the design of the image with respect to the photographer's intentions. He spends a significant amount of space on showing how to elicit mood in various kinds of photographs (content).
   
   His chapters start with, what I find to be, rather interesting summaries of the chapter topic's history, significant practitioners, and current directions. Then he examines several of his own images in detail. His commentary on an image concentrates on the visual structure and on the darkroom and/or digital manipulations necessary to realize his intentions. The only other book that comes to mind for nearly such excellence in pictorial descriptions or captions is the first edition of Bill Smith's "Designing a Photograph," which sets the standard for applying the Gestalt visual psychological approach to analyzing image structure.
   
   Rather differently from the other two top volumes on image structure currently in print, Michael Freeman's "The Photographer's Eye," and Harald Mante's "The Photograph," Hoffmann spends significant time looking at the various genres of photographic subject matter and then covers composing/design from the point of view of visual tensions and abstract structure. There is overlap with both of the other volumes, but also depth and emphasis that is his own. Color is not part of the subject in this book, but color photographers will benefit from Hoffmann's insights into tonality, contrast, and structure in images.
   
   This book, IMHO, sort of completes the circle of really good books on photographic composition/design at the intermediate level. With this book, the years 2007 and 2008 have been the best in a few decades for the publication of outstanding books on design/composition, and it is interesting to this reviewer that the three best are by an English and two German photographer/authors . It just does not seem that US practioners are taught the nuts and bolts of visual design to any degree of depth and ability to articulate their thoughts about image structure. The ability of even world class US photographers to discuss the reasons that their images work in structural terms is relatively rare.
   
   I like this book enough to make a triumvirate of this one, Freeman's book, and Mante's book for readers interested in sophisticated, analytical approaches to visual design and image structure. The only thing I would wish for is that more of his photos be accompanied by those delightful little thumbnails with his structural line diagrams. The more of these there are in a book, the more an interested reader packs away in one's mental image databank for later resurrection and use.
   
   Some asides before I finish. Hoffmann gets more visual mileage from aircraft vapor trails than anyone else I know of. Most of us regard these as intrusions into the tranquility of our landscape images. But, in the venerable tradition of divorcing content from an image's abstract structure, and the role of structure being to support the content, Hoffmann integrates these features into his images so forcefully that to remove them would ruin the image. Bravo; Mante would be proud.
   
   Too, the basic structural architecure of many of his images rests upon the grid formed from the golden ratio approximations of breaking the height and width into 5/8th and 3/8th divisions. One advantage of this choice versus the preference of US photographers for the Thirds Rule is that the Thirds method breaks the space into nine identical rectangles - a recipe well on the way to boring space management. Yet, as shows Charles Bouleau in his seminal book, "The Painter's Secret Geometry," even relatively simple visual architectures in the hands of someone with excellent training and inspired talent yield captivating, dynamic images, while the plodders among us achieve less subtle and interesting results.
   
   I hope it will not be so long before Hoffmann gives us a volume on design in color photography.

5 comments about Nikon D200 Digital Field Guide.

1. With an important shoot looming and the camera in shipping I was panicking. I received this book on Mon. Read furiously. Unpacked the camera Tues. evening and was on the shoot Wed. at 6AM. Backed it up the first day with film cameras. I got such good results that by Thurs. I had abandoned the film backup. This was all due to the answeres I got from this book every time I looked up something I didn't understand. The manual is thorough but in fine print and very complex. This book will give you a detailed overview in a logically organized manner.



2. I'm not a professional, my D200 was my second digital - my first D-SLR. I was lost with the manual - it was hard to read, hard to understand, and way too small of print. I even printed a 81/2x11 copy of the owner's manual from Nikon. That helped - BUT, when I started reading this book, I was so glad I bought it. It not only goes through everything in the manual in a more concise way - it also gives you practice ideas to help you put your knowledge to work. I give it 5 stars! I've bought more books and more DVD's in the 1 1/2 years I've had my D200, but this is the only book I carry with me everywhere! That's proof to me that it has what I look for!



3. I have purchased (4) instruction books for my Nikon D200 Camera. By far David Busch's Field Guide Book is the best ever. It is easy to understand, thorough, easy to locate specific topics while in the field. It never leaves my camera bag wherever I'm on a photo adventure. It you have a D200 you must have this book.



4. Great for my needs being a D200 novice, good flow and explanations and step by step as needed at times. I am a writer so to me "step by step" guides are always best as you can go step by step or skip around the things you already know or picked up along the way.



5. This is an excellent guidebook, with inspiring photographs and a very good mixture of Nikon-specific information with tips on how to improve your photography. It should satisfy any Nikon D200 owner.
   
   I actually have a Nikon D300, but purchased this book because nothing is yet available for my camera. It has done a pretty good job of explaining my camera, as many of the controls and menu settings are identical in the Nikon D200 and D300. It doesn't cover features like Live View and automatic sensor cleaning, of course, but the chapters on lenses, and optimizing exposure have been particularly useful for me. The author obviously understands the Nikon camera line well, and even though the book is intended for Nikon D200 owners, it makes a good stopgap for D300 users as well.

5 comments about 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers (Digital Process and Print).

1. I bought this book in conjunction with one of Andrew Darlow's excellent printing seminars. The books is well organized, laid out with text and technically annotated photographs. I found the discussion on the pro's and con's of various types of printers particularly useful.
   
   What is unique about this book is the companion web site that list the Chapters in the book and provides links to information covered, as well as, new content. This feature will allow the user to keep up with ever changing technical developments. I consult this book frequently to hone my inkjet printing skills and use it as a general reference guild.



2. You'll find information in this book that you could only find elsewhere after a laborious search, if at all. All the good stuff you want to know about that never seems to be available is here. 301 is a beautiful smorgasbord of printing tips and techniques that has you going "oh wow" when you read something you just know is going to be helpful to you. It may not be for beginners (though even they they would find much of value in it as a reference) but it sure is for the rest of us. Coupled with Darlow's excellent web site that keeps everything up to date, it's a winner. If I had to take just one digital printing book with me to a desert island (along with a camera, computer and printer, of course) this would be it!



3. Excellent format for day-to-day usage. Many useful ideas and approaches that will keep me off the streets and out of mischief for quite a while!



4. Believe it or not, I pretty much read this book cover to cover despite the fact that many would see this more as a reference volume. I'm a long-term amateur photographer with roots back in the dark room. I own an Epson Stylus Photo 2100 which I plan on replacing with newer technology. I heard the author on the TWiP podcast (highly recommended) and the timing seemed right for buying his book. I get a kick out of presenting friends and family with beautiful prints and "301 Tips" got me motivated and excited about getting back into creating a variety of print based projects. This book was not only inspiring but a pleasure to read. I appreciate the abundance of excellent photographs lavished on its pages.



5. Andrew Darlow's "301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques" has expanded my horizons. After a lifetime of traditional photography, trained by Ansel Adams and Morley Baer since my first exhibition prize in 1939, having publihed and exhibited I approached digital photography with apprehension. In the final anlysis all learning is self-taught and this particular guide with almost two dozen authorities as teachers, has helped me become more fluent in the digital printing language. Much as I have had a passion for darkroom silver and platinum printing, I am discovering far greater creative potential with the help of Andrew Darlow's well organzed guide and the assistance of such competent teachers as he has assembled. I am glad I discovered this book. It has been a bridge to a new and better world. Thanks to Darlow, my next exhibition wil be all digital prints. I have learned so much, not only to make my work flow easier, but superior.It is not easy to discard five decades of experience, but this book has made it easy and wothwhile to supplant that experience with superior creativity. Joachim Oppenheimer, M.D.

5 comments about Photos That Sell: The Art of Successful Freelance Photography.

1. It is almost a month today, I have not yet received the book.



2. When I get discouraged and feel I don't have what it takes as a photographer, I turn to this book. The information is simple and shows you that any quality shot can find the right buyer. I have reread this book over and over and its the most valuable tool in my arsenal of books.



3. I noticed in reading the reviews that the only person that seems to have a negative view of this book was talking about the lack of modern digital information. Digital changes by the day so I don't expect anyone to keep up with it in a book, but that is not the point here anyway. Stock photography is pictures that photographers have taken and sell to buyers. Buyers generally care less whether it is digital or film. What I liked about this book was some of the simple things he talks about that you can shoot for stock that you might pass over, thinking you need to get 3 people together doing something. For example, he had a shot of a hand with a credit card (I think) which can be used for illustrating people using too much credit or the ease of use of a credit card. You could shoot a sizzors cutting up a credit card showing how to kick the habit. Pills on a table could be used for taking too many pills or the cost of medicine now days. If you can get one idea from this book that makes you a sale, than the book has paid for itself. I was impressed. Ric.



4. There's nothing new in this book that haven't already been said. I was fairly disappointed, as I was hoping for a book that explained to the point what people want to spend money on, and how to technically go about to get those images. Instead, I get "advice" that is nothing more than common sense.
   
   In my opinion, you can skip this book entirely.



5. This is an amazing book full of good tips and beautiful photos. The text is very clear and concise. The author is an amazing photographer.

1 comments about Ed Fox: Glamour from the Ground Up.

1. We shall be incredibly thankful for Mr. Fox's initiative. If you are into feet erotica, this book is all you ever wanted. Hope there's another volume by Ed some time in the near future.

5 comments about In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits.

1. This book covers most of NG's great portraits in early years. Considering it only costs $20 with 280 pics, this book is definitely worthing.



2. highly recommended for any amateurs seeking ideas for portrait photography, very informative with little sections written out for history as well as organization into time periods of photography!



3. I bought this for my 20 year old daughter by her request. I glanced at the pictures and they really get your attention



4. I got this as a gift for my cousin who had just finished getting his B.A. in Photography. I had gone to Barnes & Nobles to get it and I was going to buy it and ship it to him but b/c this book is so heavy, it would probably have cost me twice as much. I found it here on Amazon for less and shipping was included!!!



5. This book is gorgeous! The images are amazing and the stories/articles are a wonderful accessory to the photography. AND, what a bargain!!!! It is hard back and HUGE...well worth the money.

5 comments about The Business of Studio Photography: How to Start and Run a Successful Photography Studio.

1. Easily the best recommendation for starting a photography service. Contains great advice and samples of documents needed to run a studio. Read it twice and then keep it on the handiest shelf.



2. This is definately full of great information that anyone starting a photography business needs to know. Well written.
   -Pam



3. This is a really good book if you're trying to start or enhance a portrait and/or wedding photography career. It is aimed primarily at those trying to start a portrait studio, and there migh be better wedding-oriented books. But since that's my core business, it hit the nail on the head. Lots of good insights and tips, and I have quite a few page corners turned down for later reference. I recommend placing the book in the bathroom, so you can hone your photography business and marketing skills on a regular basis!



4. I am a professional photographer who has been using my home as a studio. This is a good book as a guide for what the title implies, but it also spends a lot of time on things like film. I know, many pros still shoot film. I'm only saying some of his formulas are outdated. It's my own fault for not looking at original published date. So just be aware of this.



5. Edward does a wonderful job with this book. Whether you're thinking about starting a photo business or already own one, this book is a must have. It's very detailed and chuck full of proven ideas and methods to get you running your business right from the start. He covers everything you can think of and even things you didn't in one book. I like that he writes about dealing with different situations with other photographers and different types of clients. I will be incorporating many of his suggested techniques and ideas in my business (currently part-time but soon to be full-time). Great stuff!

5 comments about Quick Snap Guide to Digital SLR Photography: An Instant Start-Up Manual for New dSLR Owners.

1. I am new to dSLR cameras, and this book claims to be geared to folks like me. But this book is a quandary. Its language seems to be geared to beginners (great!), but then the overall message seems to presume some level of photographic experience. For example, it speaks of tricky lighting situations, f/stops, aperture, and ISO, and tries to tell you how they work together, but stops short. Just another paragraph or two would probably clear things up. And that is how this book goes, chapter after chapter. Laziness on the author's part, I believe. Not quite getting you there. And it doesn't help that the pages start coming out of the binding after just a few days of use. I would suggest you look elsewhere for a beginners book, unless you're looking for an abbreviated rehash of your camera's user's manual.



2. I'm not a pro photographer but I knew about half this book from common sense as an animation and film student. This book is only for people who have never touched a camera.



3. It is exactly what it advertises. It helps you understand the SLR world and what you would want out of a camera. I loved it.



4. I would describe myself as a committed amature or a prosumer photographer. In the next few months, I will be upgrading to a digital SLR in the 6-10 MP range. But which one? I consider myself knowlegeable about photography, but the array of features of dSLR cameras was overwhelming. Which are going to be important to me, given my typical needs?
   
   This reference was just what I needed! Using a generic composite illustration created (through the magic of Photoshop) from three or four different popular dSLR cameras, this book walked me through common features located on the camera body, as well as typical menu options. It explained what each feature does, in what situations you'd typically use/need that feature, and the advantages and disadvantages of "tweaking" that particular adjustment. Then, it moved on to different popular flash options, including different kinds of flashes, common settings, and how each works with the camera.
   
   Finally, this book discussed various types of lenses, advantages and disadvantages of each, which are typically most (and least) expensive, and situations in which it does and doesn't make sense to purchase that lens. It also discusses ways in which a dSLR can work with lenses and flashes you might already own - even manual ones from film days.
   
   This is not a book on how to compose a photograph, but rather, on the mechanics of actually setting the camera to capture your shot. It doesn't dumb things down, but it doesn't get into anything too mechanically or scientifically technical. (I don't want to BUILD a camera - just USE it!) It explains options in language that should be easily understandable to anyone who is a sophisticated enough photographer to want a dSLR in the first place.
   
   I still don't know what model dSLR I want to buy, but, with this reference, I am now equipped to comparison shop. BUY THIS BOOK!



5. I am new to DSLR's. This was a good book to get me comfortable and on my way. I would recommend to new users.

5 comments about Audrey Style.

1. If you admire Audrey Hepburn, you'll enjoy this book. This is my inspiration for my sewing projects.



2. Even though I'm definitely an AH fan, I thought that the author went overboard with praise for Miss Hepburn's personal qualities. No doubt AH herself would be embarassed to read all this fawning and adulation.
   
   This book attempts to combine into one an AH biography and an analysis of her fashion style. Unfortunately, both fall short. The only worthwhile text was the introduction by Hubert de Givenchy.



3. I think Audrey Hepburn will be eternally remembered not only as one of the kindest and most generous women that has ever volunteered for Unicef, but to us women as a timeless, most graceful role model of style. She's the perfect embodiment of the adagio that in elegance less is more. Her streamlined, understated style that yet made one of the biggest statements in fashion history continues to be an inspiration to us women of the 21st century despite the forty years that separate us from "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Clarke Keogh's book captures Audrey's spirit like no other. It is beautifully illustrated and there are contributions from Hubert de Givenchy, Ralph Lauren or Gregory Peck, among other people who generously share with us souvenirs of this angel of grace that they had the chance to meet in person. Her wardrobe and makeup are meticulously reviewed and this book will prove an invaluable tool and source of inspiration for all those women who want to bring more elegance and refinement into their lives. One of the best assets in your style bookcase and one that you will gladly pass down to generations of graceful women to come.



4. If they reprinted this without any words, it would get 5 stars.
   
   Random examples of the writing:
   
   "'Oh, they were fated to meet,' says Connie, curiously choosing the exact same words used to describe Audrey's friendship with Givenchy." (Like OMG! Someone said Audrey was _fated_ to meet Givenchy! And someone else said she was _fated_ to meet another person!)
   
   "... she intones with the well-bred vowels of a Farmington girl, with some of her old boss, Diana Vreeland, thrown in for emphasis."
   
   Pamela Clarke Keogh comes off like an untalented high school student in a creative writing class. You know the sort, under the impression that bludgeoning the reader with random vignettes and a morass of clauses is "descriptive."
   
   And don't get me started on the over-the-top hagiographic nature of this book. Look, I love Audrey as much as the next person. Probably more. But how many quotes like "and she couldn't have been sweeter! So gracious! Beyond gracious! Heavenly!" do we need? There's such a thing as praising so much it becomes meaningless.



5. It's putting the quirky details together that makes this book more revealing than the standard saccharin drenched puff piece.
   
   For example, Hepburn is quoted as saying that she wears a size 8 1/2 shoe, while the author clearly states later in the book that Hepburn wore a size ten.
   
   Her mother's quotes, if accurate, provide convincing evidence that the Baroness Von Heemstra was more than a little jealous of her far more beautiful daughter.
   
   The author's claim that Audrey "didn't eat during times of stress" directly contradicts close friends Audrey Wilder and Doris Brynner, who claimed that Hepburn loved to eat. As for her staying so thin due to malnutrition that "permanently altered her metabolism", this is unlikely. According to the author, Hepburn speaks of gaining twenty pounds early in her career. Other bios confirm this. Perhaps in later years Hepburn simply watched what she ate.
   
   According to the author, Hepburn washed her hair every four or five days. She SMOKED. Whew, draw your OWN conclusions about that one!
   
   I've found Robert Wolders a bit creepy ever since I read about him in "Queenie", a superb biography of Merle Oberon. From Merle to Audrey to Shirlee Fonda; this guy clearly has a THING for wealthy, older glamour girls. He's always described as an actor/businessman. Hmmmmmmm.
   
   An additional strength of this book is its focus on her personal fashion philosophy--not just her association with Givenchy.
   
   Audrey Hepburn is my absolute favorite and always will be. She had many lessons to teach; not only about beauty and elegance, but also about tolerance, grace and kindness. No star of today can compare.
   
   PS-I'm just tucking into the Barry Paris book, which is FAR more in depth. I recommend following Audrey Style with this one if you haven't already read it.

5 comments about Slim Aarons: Once Upon a Time.

1. ONCE UPON A TIME is an apropos title for this photomontage of a book. Slim Aarons has the enviable job as a photographer of capturing the rich and famous in their haunts around the world. Now that doesn't seem like a worthy topic for a book, especially now that the factions between the rich and not rich are taking a lot of space in the media. But taking this book as a memento of a time lost, a time when leisure meant beautiful places, elegant food and drink and fashion, passages to spas such as Portofino just for the beauty of the views, turning the pages of this book with that state of mind results in some lovely reveries of how things used to be.
   
   Slim Aarons followed the genteel folk around the globe and while his 'portraits' are not the usual stiff and staid formats, his glimpses of people within the environs is unparalleled. For many the views of the scenery, landscapes, seascapes, wondrous architecture, the concert halls, all captured in alluring light, will be the highlight of this volume. The overall feeling of browsing through Aarons' memoir-like photographs is one of traveling back in time, almost with a fairytale like imagery.
   
   For armchair historians, sociologists, and lovers of foreign places this book will satisfy. Though the locales depicted herein still exist (for the most part) they were never as romantically inclined as Aarons makes them. Grady Harp, February 06



2. I was so disappointed. This book is about 80% material that was previously published in a much classier book, A Wonderful Time. Readers lucky enough to have the earlier book should not waste their money on this rehash.



3. Enjoyable reprint which gives a look at the charms, lifestyle, beauties and characters of about a half century ago..looks as if some of the photos from the original edition were not included, but not sure. Aarons is a bold and creative photographer, that's for sure. Thanks.



4. Very nice, a bit WASP heavy but what do you expect for the time? A fun look into a world gone by.



5. Mr. Aarons...what a treasure! I won't bother with many words...just...wow is enough!