1 comments about Devil Dolls Volume One - A Gallery Girls Collection.

1. I got this to add to my collection and had a great time reading it with my girlfriend. We flipped through the pages sometimes laughing sometimes smiling and allways pleased. Very cool work, nice preduction, overall a great addition.

1 comments about Gardens of Italy.

1. Sixty gardens is of course a personal selection of gardens by the author. And I miss quite a few of historic and design-wise interesting places. Le Marche is not represented at all and Villa Barbarigo is also missing, along with some smaller, but exquisite gardens scattered over the peninsula. That said, the photos are great and most of the more famous places are well illustrated. The text is not that of a deep-probing and exploring academic, it's simply describing the place with some impressions and a few facts well known from previously published books. The best book on the subject is still Georgina Massons 'Italian Gardens' from the 1950's. Very strange...

5 comments about Photographing the World Around You: A Visual Design Workshop (Freeman Patterson Photography).

1. I have read both this book and Freeman Patterson's "Photography and the Art of Seeing" and much prefer this book. They are both good but this is definitely better. I bought this book to help improve my photo's composition and I am was not dissappointed. Freeman's text is clear and easy to understand and his photo's are generally good examples of what he writes about. Highly recommended!



2. The book has some useful advice on how to distinguish shapes and the possible effect they have on people, as well as very intriguing samples of Patterson's own work, but is limited on several accounts.

   My main issue with it is that it isn't quite the workshop it presents itself as. It does have some suggestions as to how to go on for creating a workshop yourself, but the guidelines are rather sparse. Granted, getting a concise workshop into a book for a topic such as photography is probably impossible (this isn't trigonometry, where you can easily compare your answers against the correct ones in the back) - nevertheless, it shouldn't be advertised as a "workshop between covers" if it is mostly a "learning to see" book.

   What this book does (teaching you to think your composition over before pressing the shutter) it does well. But if you're looking for a workshop, you might have to look elsewhere.




3. And the thing missing in "other" photography books is a thorough treatise on composition. We all love to adjust our shutter speeds and f-stops, and this book does touch on that. But photographs are made or broken on composition, and that's what Mr. Patterson emphasizes in this book. Half an hour into his in-person seminar on this topic, I wondered how he could make it last a whole day - then I blinked, and the day was over. I had been transfixed. It began to make sense, and new possibilities began to unfold. There are lots of ways to think to about composition, but Freeman's is the best and most thorough one I have seen. I love all his books, but this is my favourite. He does get a bit mushy - but that's OK - he knows what he's talking about.



4. According to Freeman Patterson, you don't have to travel far to take engaging photographs. Try your back yard, or one of the rooms in your house. The trick is to learn how to make a photograph, rather than take a photograph. Too many photographers look for an existing "photo," then take it. Patterson suggests that you learn to "see," to look at common objects in an uncommon way.

   Patterson helps us to see better by teaching us the building blocks of aesthetic image making, these being light, tone, color, shape, lines, textures, and perspective as well as dominance, balance, proportion, and rhythm. Patterson carefully explains these elements while clearly illustrating his points with numerous photographs. Once you understand these elements, you will be in a better position, literally and figuratively, to make more engaging photos.

   In a congenial and clear writing style, we learn to visually explore a subject. Patterson encourages us to shoot much film, sometimes exhausting a roll or two on one subject as we circumnavigate its aesthetic possibilities. He illustrates this approach with images of his own, for instance an "elongated oval shape" created by the sun that highlights the curving peak of a black Stetson hat; or images of a rising planet and an aurora occurring within a clear glass paperweight.

   Freeman Patterson takes the reader on a trip of visual exploration; all while being reminded how to assemble the building blocks of visual design to create expressive images. This book is truly among the pathways to a more creative self.




5. I've been around photography as an amateur and enthusiast for 20 years. Over that period of time, my interests have run the gamut from understanding the mechanics, to point&click, to just recording memories. I've read many books on photography and most of them concentrated on the technical details of the process while others described the author's exploits or supposedly instructed you on how to sell your photos.

   This is the first book that I've read on how to see. Patterson's approach to discussing the art of photography is refreshing and very helpful. His beautiful photographs not only please the eye, but are chosen to explain the concepts he writes about. His writing is engaging, instructional, and understandable.

   His book has caused me to re-evaluate how I look at the world and how I create photos. It has finally helped me to understand that a good eye is not enough--that an understanding of visual design is important in making photographs.

5 comments about The Blizzard of '78.

1. I was There, Great book. Boston was under snow for a week it was like living back before cars. This book has it all. Thank you



2. Having gone through the Blizzard of 78 I was pleased there was mention that about two weeks before the Blizzard there was a substantial snow storm with plenty of snow still on the ground. This made the actual Blizzard much worse that it may otherwise have been. The book is interesting and shows pictures from many areas, along the coast, on Rt. 128 (now part is I95) and other places. The coast was extensively eroded and D Troop 5th Cav. had it's tracks on the seashore rescuing people. My son joined them seven years later.



3. As a Mass. native and a local history buff I must say that Mike Tougias has done an excellent job recounting and enlivening the blizzard of 78. The book is an essential for anyone doing research on New England weather, but Tougias' commentary along with plenty of great photographs also make it a great read for anybody who wants to relive snow bound memories or is even just curious about the subject. Blizzard of 78 was certainly worth the time and money I put into it and I strongly reccomend it for anybody interested in meteorology and/or New England.



4. "The Blizzard of '78" is an engaging and fun read. I loved the pictures, which brought back the innocence of that time, when there was no school for two weeks and everyone had to pull together to survive.

   I think this makes a great gift and can start some wonderful conversations. Anyone in New England who lived through the great "Blizzard of '78" and has a story to tell, will enjoy this book as a keepsake and rememberance.




5. I was surprised to receive a copy of a book called The Blizzard of '78 for Christmas. I had totally forgotten that the 25th anniversary was in February. The pictures and stories have brought back many memories. It's funny how many folks I talk to can tell me where they were, what they were doing, and how much snow was in their part of MA. This ain't a book for the scientific meteorologist folks. This is a scrapbook for those that were there, in The Blizz of '78. Thanks to the author Mike Tougias. Great job!

3 comments about Houses by the Sea: Mexico's Pacific Coast.

1. This is an excellent book. It has something for everyones taste. I highly recommend Villa Vista Magica. It is the one on the cover and is fantastic!



2. I went and visited at one of these houses. It was the most amazing place I had ever been. I recommend anyone to go there. It is heaven and the area is great not yet insanely americanized like Cancun. 5000 a night to rent these places check it out.



3. This book was enough to start me dreaming of retiring to Mexico--or maybe just taking a looong vacation there! The photographs are stunning--really incredible. I also enjoyed the writing style in the sections where they discuss the goals for each house and the owners and architects input toward the whole project.

1 comments about Wedding Photography: The Complete Guide.

1. I will be doing wedding gig this march. This book will save me headache. More than going to seminar or school, because I can keep on re-reading it as a refresher course. Highly recommend..Thanks a lot mark cleghorn. This will be my 1st wedding gig. My gear are Nikon D200 with 17-70 kit lens, SB 800 with Diffuser, Nikon D70 as back up with 70-300mm lens. I'm confident I can do a pretty good job because of this book.

5 comments about The North American Indian: The Complete Portfolios.

1. This book is an indispensable reference for any artist who aspires to paint or draw Native Americans as part of their Western art if they want an authentic representation of those forgotten times.
   
   [As an aside, I managed to find a hardback copy of this book, so they are out there if one looks hard enough for one.]



2. Edward Sheriff Curtis dedicated his life's work to documenting the customs and lifeways of the Native American peoples of North America. This extraordinary book includes some of the best photographic examples from Curtis' twenty volume masterpiece, "The North American Indian," one of the most significant representations of traditional indigenous culture ever produced.
   
   Curtis was one of two official photographers for the 1899 Harriman expedition to Alaska.
   On his return, he stopped in northern Montana, accompanied by George Bird Grinell, editor of Forest and Stream. There he witnesses the deeply sacred Sundance of the Piegan and Blackfoot tribes, a sight which transformed his life. Grinell said to him at that time, "Take a good look. We're not going to see this kind of thing much longer. It already belongs to the past". It became clear to him then, that he was to record, with pen and camera, the life of the North American Indian.
   
   Beginning in 1900 and continuing over the next thirty years, Edward S. Curtis, sometimes called the "Shadow Catcher" by tribes' people, took over 40,000 photographs and recorded ethnographic information from over eighty American Indian tribal groups, ranging from the Eskimo or Inuit people in the North to the Hopi people of the Southwest. In the end, the work comprised twenty textual volumes and twenty portfolios with over 2,000 illustrations
   They are organized by tribes and culture areas, encompassing the Great Plains, Great Basin, Plateau Region, Southwest, California, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. Featured here are some of the photographer's most impressive pictures, including: seal-hunting Eskimos of Nunivak Island, portraits of three Piegan chiefs on horseback, portraits of Chief Red Cloud, Ogalala Sioux, Geronimo, Chief Joseph, Nez Perce, the magnificent Canon de Chelly, (Navaho), and one of my favorites, Kotsuis and Hohhuq - Nakoaktok - 2 masked performers in a winter dance.
   
   These reproductions are a precious American legacy and an artistic masterpiece worthy of any collection.
   JANA



3. This book contains the best black/white images from the original complete collection. The portraits of Indian and the past moment of their daily life were captured with their character and dignity.

   It is a marvelous image collection (Edward spent 30 years to make this 20-volume encyclopedia) of history. It represents the love of the dying population, and records the broken dream of native Indian.




4. This is an incredible collection of pictures. Piles on piles of pictures. But... The pictures are small. I was hoping for a collection of large pictures(i.e. 8x10) but the majority of them are approximately 4x5. It's a wonderful book, but don't expect full sized images. Irregardless it's a great buy for the price. You'll have a hard time finding a collection of pictures as big as this(even if the pictures are small) :)



5. absolutely stunning recollection of his complete photos. the reproductions are somewhat small, but easily viewable. such a complete set is so awe inspiring, anyone who has an interest or a love for native ameircan history/american history must have this book. absolute beauty.

5 comments about Handcoloring Photographs Step By Step.

1. This book covers many different type of photo coloring techniques, however it provides little detail for these techniques. If you are interested in using photo oils, this is not the book to purchase. Better technical information on photo oils can be found in books by Kreb or Dorskind, with a lot more useful illustrations and step-by-step instruction. If interested in pastels or water color (which I was not), this may be a book to utilize. However, I would recommend looking it at the library first, before making a purchase. I was very disappointed with this purchase.



2. "Handcoloring Photographs" is an excellent introduction to handcoloring for the hobbyist. It covers most methods of handcoloring, including several inexpensive media which may be convenient to start out with. The book's Introduction is followed by 10 instructional chapters. All chapters include information on how to prepare your print and how to apply (and remove) the color, accompanied by many colorful examples.
   
   Chapter 1, "Getting Started" explains what supplies you will need, how to make cotton-tipped bamboo skewers, set up your workspace, and choose a photograph suitable for coloring. Chapter 2, "Toners & Dyes", discusses techniques for changing the base color of your print before coloring, including how to mask a print for selective dying/toning. Most people won't want to tone their print before coloring, but this is an interesting technique if you are trying to emulate antique photographs. Chapter 3, "Oil Paints & Pastels", discusses this most popular coloring media. Oil paints, oil pastels, and Marshall's photo oils, as well as some other less common oil media, are explained. Chapter 4, "Watercolors", addresses watercolor paints and other water-soluble media, such as liquid watercolors and water-soluble pencils and crayons. Chapter 5, is dedicated to "Colored Pencils", one of the easiest handcoloring media to use. Included are product recommendations, instructions for sculpting pencil tips, applying and smoothing the color, and mixing colors. Chapter 6, provides basic information about "Other Media" you may want to try. Retouching dyes, markers, acrylics, inks, and gouache (poster paint) are defined and examples provided, but there is no detailed information on how to use them. Chapter 7 provides guidelines for "Mixing the Media", such as how to mix oil and water-based media in the same photograph. Chapter 8 includes useful "Handcoloring Tips" on how to best approach coloring your photo. Chapter 9, "Color Theory", discusses the merits of realistic and unrealistic colors and how best to achieve them. It includes instructions on how to mix, lighten, darken, and dull pigments to meet your needs. Chapter 10, "Presenting Your Artwork", gives advise on how to avoid fading and general deterioration through spray-on finishes, proper storage, cleaning, displaying and protecting your prints. Appendix B is a convenient chart of the advantages and disadvantages of the various coloring media discussed in the book. There is also a Glossary of terms and an index.
   
   The instructions in "Handcoloring Photographs" are easy to follow, They are reasonably detailed, but could be improved by more specific discussion and illustrations on applying and blending paints. So many different handcoloring media are discussed that everyone can find one to match his or her tastes and budget. The only handcoloring technique that is not discussed here is airbrushing, which requires specialized equipment and a lot of practice. "Handcoloring Photographs" packs a lot of useful information into a short book, and it gives the reader a lot of choices. If you find that Marshall's photo oils are your preference, "The Art of Handpainting Photographs" by Cheryl Machat Dorskind provides more detailed instructions on using photo oils, with an emphasis on portraiture. Unfortunately, there is no one book that contains every bit of useful information on handcoloring photographs, but "Handcoloring Photographs" is a good one.



3. This book covers most popular hand colouring techniques. Thus, it is a good material for getting to know the alternatives. However, as most of hand colouring books currently in the market (as far as my knowledge) this book is very poor in technical information, such as pigment and colour dye nature, their interaction with the silver image, effects to contrast and picture integrity, picture and colour durability etc. Methods are not very clearly identified, either, still leaving a lot of questions in your mind. It is a good advertisement for the American consumer market though. You will get to know which particular brands and their products will work best (! ) for you, ignoring all about the basic (raw) material knowledge. It is amazing that neither this nor any other book in the subject will discuss important properties of the colouring mediums such as transparency and lightfastness. In my opinion, this book works fine for people who want recipes and where-to-buy lists.



4. Handcoloring Photographs Step by Step

   by

   Sandra Laird & Carey Chambers

   Sandra Laird, a commercial and fine art photographer who teaches handcoloring, and Carey Chambers, a technical writer, teamed up and competently produced a very helpful and knowledgeable book for those interested in learning the art of handcoloring photographs. Every step is described and illustrated in detail. You just can't go wrong. Chapter one introduces you to the supplies needed and media available for handcoloring photographs. How to set up your workplace is discussed as is how to choose and prepare the photograph you want to color. Part of the preparation for the photograph is the correct printing of the photograph, print size and paper choice. These considerations are fully discussed. Then you make your choice of media. You can choose oil paints and pastels, watercolor paints, colored pencils, markers, acrylics or gouache. Chapter two introduces you to toners and dyes. "Toning or dyeing can help you achieve a better handcolored result," the author suggests. A before and after sample print shows the difference sepia-toning a print before coloring can make. The results are indeed, pleasing. Each step of the toning and dyeing procedures are clearly illustrated and explained. Again, sample prints illustrate the effect each process has on a print. Selective toning or dyeing (a method of toning or dyeing only a portion of a print) is also described. You are introduced to oil paints, pastels and other oil-based media in greater detail in chapter three. How to choose the medium best for your project and preparing the print for the particular media you choose is covered. Again, clear illustrations and text allow you to follow the artist through the steps taken to handcolor a specific photograph using each oil-based medium. Laird and Chambers take the same care going into detail in chapter four. This chapter covers all you need to know to get started using watercolor paint to color your photographs. Clear explanations and instructions accompany the step-by-step illustrations. Types of watercolor (liquid, tube or cake) are discussed as are brushes. Chapter five talks about using colored pencils and chapter six discusses all other media. Can you mix the various media when coloring one print? You bet. Examples of such prints are shown with suggestions and instructions on how to do it in chapter seven. Chapter eight ties all the loose ends together, and answers any questions you still may have before tackling your project. Chapter nine is a quick course in color theory, mixing pigments and choosing the best colors for your particular photograph. The last chapter tells us how to finish the print and prepare it for showing. Subjects such as spray finishes, matting, framing and displaying your print and archival considerations are covered. Appendix A lists manufacturers and suppliers for the various products needed for handcoloring photographs. Appendix B follows with a guide to the advantages and disadvantages of the different coloring media. A glossary and index end the book. I found this book thorough, clear and complete. Well illustrated with attractive and well- done photographs, simple instructions in easy-to-understand text takes you through each step of the processes. I really can't find anything to complain about where this book is concerned. This is an excellent book for a beginner and may even give pros an idea or two they can put to use.




5. After looking at other books on the subject, Handcoloring Photographs, Step by Step, offered the most examples and visuals. In my opinion, this book clearly is the best choice for anyone new to the area of handcoloring photographs. If you have to buy one book, this is the one.

2 comments about Beginner's Guide to Digital Photo Art (Lark Photography Book).

1. I flipped through the book at a camera store before I puchased from Amazon. At the store, it looked like a great book. The projects looked interesting and I thought it would be fun. Didn't have time to read any of it at the store though.
   
   After getting the book from Amazon, I realized that the instructions were extremely simple. Most of the instructions are how to do something (like resize, etc) in Photoshop - not what I expected. If it was just the instructions for the projects themselves, the book would probably be about 50 pages and I would only have wanted to pay $10 for it.
   
   For someone that doesn't know photoshop and wants to do some interesting digital art - this book would be great. For me, it was great to get some new ideas and techniques for the craft projects - I just wish so much wasn't focused on editing in photoshop.



2. This is a fantastic book. I bought one of the author's books, then another, but avoided the "Beginner's Guide" (I didn't consider myself a beginner) until my sister, an experienced art photographer told me it was great. It is so well written and explained that a beginner would have no trouble following it, but it opens new doors and explores new avenues for experienced digital photographers who are making fine art. It inspires you to try new creative ways to present your vision.

5 comments about 'O' Cirque du Soleil at Bellagio.

1. I just saw the water-themed "O" by Cirque du Soleil at the Bellagio in Las Vegas mere days ago and was utterly spellbound by the otherwordly experience. Afterwards I decided to check out the souvenir shop and perused this book there. What I found inside were a bunch of lack-luster photographs taken from the spectacular performance, but none of them actually capture the magic of seeing it happen before your very eyes, and what a marvel it is to behold upclose!
   
   In short, these images don't do the production justice! I would not recommend this to anyone who's considering buying tickets for the continuously sold-out "O" and would like to get a taste of what your in for because this may disgcourage you, and that would be a crying shame. Just trust in all the people that have raved about how amazing the show is and buy this simply as memorabilia.



2. This book gives you almost no taste of what the show is like. It is a collection of beautiful but artsy fartsy pictures, capturing the photographers style rather than this amazing show. The bad poetry dramatically inserted as captions to the pictures continues the slightly pretensious path the book took.

   there are only TWO PAGES at the end of the book devoted to writing about the actual show. For a show that is completely groundbreaking and unique, that is far too little. It is almost all text that is available at the cirque site (an excelent site, as opposed to this book)

   To see what this book could have been, take a look at the book of "Pride Rock on Broadway: Julie Taymor's The Lion King". This is a book about an amazing, one- of- a- kind show, packed with quotes from the creators, concept drawings, beautiful photographs, ideas that were cut, technical diagrams and explanations of problems that arose during production and how the team solved them. It is a book that any person, and *especially* a theater person from any discipline would love. That is the kind of book that this could have been, and it isn't.

   If you want an artsy collection of photographs, this is for you. Otherwise, wait till you get a chance to actually see the show - it will be worth it!




3. While the pictures in here are quite good (not fantastic), that's mostly what the book is all about. Pictures. There's no story behind each of them. It's quite pricey for pictures. I'd wait a while until it comes down in price. As for the show? It's the best show you will ever see in your lifetime. Trust me. I've seen a show or two before, and this is something special.



4. This book appears as if ALL the photographs in it will be as outstanding as the cover picture but this is quite deceiving.

   Considering the quality of the show, price of the book, etc... much more effort and professionalism should have been put into the photography.

   Very disappointing with a handful of good photographs towards the end of the book.




5. I have just recived this book, and if you have ever seen "o" at The Bellagio and loved it and want good memories of it, this is the book you want! Buy this book if you love Cirque Du Soleil! I have seen the show 3 times and this a book of high quaility pictures taken from the show! Thanks