1 comments about Cape Cod: Gardens and Houses.

1. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hover magically over a coffee table while watching your husband sprinkle plant food on your neighbor's dandelions? This is the amazing book that will no doubt show you how.

3 comments about Get the Picture: A Personal History of Photojournalism (Crime & Justice: A Review of Research; Crime & Justice: A Review of Research).

1. One imagines John G. Morris as the sort of grandfather with a thousand amazing stories, whom everyone in the family has asked to write a book for years and who finally sets about the task.
   
   As a sequence of compelling snapshots, Morris selects and arranges his tales into a layout that explores unresolved questions, ambivalences, regrets, hopes, thrills, and humor.
   
   For anyone interested in photojournalism, as a profession, its personalities - the lives, loves, and losses of those standing on the other side of the camera while celebrities splash across the pages - this book is an excellent starting place. His 'editor's eye' view of the profession turns the camera back upon the photographers, telling tales behind pictures generally left untold. By disclosing the various photographic negatives, he discloses a positively fascinating image of the origins of modern imagemaking.



2. This is a well-written rolicking ride through the last century and the history of photojournalism in the American media. It has an index that reads like the Who's Who of the century with anecdotes and insights galore on the movers and shakers of photojournalism and history. I enjoyed every word and I recommend it highly.



3. I just finished reading this novel and I must admitt it is one of the best novels I have read this year. It really is an exciting travel through the 20th century, through the eyes of a man who's carreer made him involved with major political and social events. I would say this is a must to anyone interested in photography and journalism, and a recommended for anyone with a heartbeat. I really loved this book.

5 comments about Portfolios That Sell: Professional Techniques for Presenting and Marketing Your Photographs.

1. Every serious photographer spends time trying to figure out how to make better photographs. But professional photographers also have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to market photos, because without sales there is no profession. One of the tools professional photographers use is a "book". A book is a portfolio of the photographer's pictures used to get clients to hire him or her.
   
   Now it might seem that a photographer's pictures could stand by themselves and not need any special method of presentation. The author, who is a consultant to photographers in the preparation of their books, disagrees. She believes that everything from the drafting of a positioning statement about the photographer's work (which will guide the selection and display of pictures in the book) to the texture of the slip case for a book is critical for the photographer to get the edge over competing photographers. After you finish this book you may agree with her.
   
   The author gives simple straightforward advice. Indeed it is so simple that most of the text in this volume could probably be contained in a short brochure. What fills most of the book is the pictures taken by the author's clients, which illustrate the points she makes along the way. If you pay attention to Oppenheim you probably do stand a better chance of catching an art buyer's or art director's eye. On the other hand, unless you already feel comfortable with the economics of marketing, you may gulp when she tells you to spend $125 for what is essentially a loose-leaf binder.
   
   Most of the message contained in this volume, and the photographs included, seem to be directed at assignment photographers, that is, those who must sell a buyer on purchasing his or her skills, rather than selling existing photographs. Yet other photographers from stock to fine arts also probably need a book. While those photographers seem largely ignored by the author, they can benefit from the advice contained here.
   
   I must confess that I'm a little resistant to an assumption underlying the approach of this book, i.e., that photography buyers and directors are willing to form an opinion, at least initially, from form rather than substance. But then again, photographers deal in form, not substance (I don't mean that negatively), so I suppose a nice looking book is important. I wish there was a little more meat in this book, but I suppose even a few words that can show the error of marketing common sense, and the importance of following a path that works, are worth the time and cost of this volume.



2. As a professional photographer in the throes of a major repositioning effort, Selina's book provides valuable insight into how to carve out a single vision in 15 to 18 images, wrapped, packaged or otherwise presented in a way that supports that vision. The book doesn't pull any punches. It isn't for the on-the-fence photographer. If you want to win, you have to play to win. There is an investment in time, in money and in patience...none of which are particularly pleasant when faced with the uncertainty of a complex and ever-competitive market. My only disagreement with her - and the reason I rated the book 4 out of 5 stars - is because I feel that the biggest obstacle to getting an assignment is not knowing the right people. Salina thinks it's all about the work. I have found that my biggest assignments came from contacts in the industry. All of us who work on a national level are technically proficient, and most of us are bright, talented and driven. Yes, our styles cover the broadest spectrum imaginable, but what really seperates us is our contacts. With the onset of digital, photography as we once knew it is history. And that's the dirty little secret of this business...If it isn't perfect, we'll fix it in photoshop. My suggestion to anyone entering this field is to network like your life depended on it. Believe me, it's where the line in the sand is drawn.



3. Regardless of whether you are a professional, student and/or considering a career in photography, this is one of the few books that you can learn from today and in the future. With more than 25 years as a consultant to professionals, Selina has the experience and vision to show photographers how a sellable portfolio can be created: from selecting a visual point of view image selection, editing images, sequencing & all the way to portfolio case selection. The marriage of: concepts, text and photos are presented logically and in a way that makes the information easy to understand and apply. If you really want to succede in today`s market, then this is the book you need to begin your journey.



4. Most commercial photographers know about Selina Oppenheim, but only a lucky few make the investment to hire her for her expertise in portfolio development and refining your vision as a photographer. Even though hiring Selina as a consultant was one of the best decisions I have made as a photographer, I still wanted to read her book to make sure I hadn't missed anything she has to say about marketing myself as a photographer. I can say from personal experience that this book distills the essence of her one-on-one consulting. This book is really, really worth learning from.



5. Selina Oppenheim is one of the premier creative consultants in the photography industry. Although no single book could possibly encompass her 25+ years of portfolio building and marketing experience, Portfolios That Sell gives you the opportunity to dive into her portfolio building process that she's used to develop so many exceptional photographers portfolios. It clearly and succinctly lays out the step-by-step process that you can follow to develop your own vision based portfolio. The photos that Selina chose to use as examples work well and will both guide you and encourage you to create new portfolio visuals.

5 comments about Angels in the Architecture: A Photographic Elegy to an American Asylum (Great Lakes Books).

1. I was excited to receive this book as a present as I lived in Traverse City for several years and visited the grounds of the state hospital where the photographs from this book were taken quite often and have a great interest in the architecture of Thomas Kirkbride. I was especially hoping to be able to finally see the inside of Kirkbride's Building 50 (one of the most complete Kirkbride main buildings still standing), the gothic building that graces the cover (the building was closed and inaccessable while I lived in Traverse City). While there are photographs of the buildings on the ground prior to their recent conversion as multi use/mixed housing, most of the photographs were reprints of historic photographs, not the lovely work of Heidi Johnson and the pre-renovated buildings. There also were many pages of just words without any photographs (while the detail of the first 20 deaths of patients is "interesting" I would have enjoyed Ms Johnson's work a bit more). I was also a bit dissapointed by the size of the book. It appears to be a coffee table book but is quite a bit smaller. All in all, the book is quite lovely but for someone interested in the Kirkbride asylum architecture this book was disappointing.



2. Miss Johnson shows the humility, the kindness, and insight: All three traits imbibing her as the Professional photographer of The Traverse City State Hospital. She has done justice for those gone; future generations shall grasp a better understanding of the hollow halls of antiquity.



3. The somewhat haunting photographs of the interior of the asylum makes one try to imagine how life was for those souls who lived there. The beautiful architecture of those majestic buildings and well-manicured grounds is a testament to an era of compassion. There is one photograph in particular that caught my attention, on page 185 that has what appears to be a ghostly image of a man standing in the doorway of room 50. A book you can look at over and over again and see new things in the detailed photographs.



4. This book should be required reading in Psych 101 classes. Photography classes as well.

   The author gently uses her camera and prolific writing style to tell a story that both inspires and shocks you at the same time. There are incredible amounts of patient and staff histories both touching and surprising. The book inspires one to ponder the life of each person profiled.

   One can only hope that Johnson continues along the same lines and creates another masterpiece like Angels in the Architecture.




5. "Angels in the Architecture" is a first-rate homage to a former asylum, the Traverse City State Hospital of Michigan. Heidi Johnson has masterfully combined her hauntingly beautiful photographs with both archival material and first-hand reports from the trenches. The result is a powerfully compelling journey into the soul of a once vibrant institution that provided care to thousands of its wards.

5 comments about Tibetan Portrait: The Power of Compassion.

1. Tibetan Portrait is really what the name says - As a photographer myself I was touched by the beautiful and subtle imagens on the book. It also teaches us about the present situation of Tibet, a land which has been dominated by the Chinese since its invasion in 1949, under Mao-Tse Tung's force. It's interesting and very easy to read and understand history. The pictures are as if you were transported into time and it's hard to believe they've been shot ( sort of )recently. And it also has a quick information about the equipment the author Phil Borges used to take them. It's the sort of information a photographer is always glad to see! Finishing is great, beautiful paper with a hardcover and jacket. Great work!



2. I love the work Borges has givne us. It is a great display of some people in Tibet that are special in their character, soul, and appearance. His rendition of the photos in a combined B&W and slight color tint really works. His description and obvious connection with each of the subjects is strong and it comes through in his work. I liked the children especially, for despite their most difficult of circumstances, they appear hopeful and dignified. Wonderful job.



3. This book was sent to me by a friend overseas, and I fell in love with it the moment I opened it.
   Borges' photographs capture the very essence of these proud, wonderful people, and every person I have shared it with has falled in love with it as well.
   
   Namaste.



4. Phil Borges presents, through the medium of photography, a project that brings attention to the situation in Tibet. Both stylish and yet sensitive, Borges uses an extensive cross section of subjects to accomplish this. He brings to the project, like I mentioned above, an extensive cross section not just of subjects but locations as well that exemplify the phenomenal complexity and diversity in that country. An example is the portrait of Yama, which caught my eye, who could be any child in any place in the world. I might be waxing "noble savage" here but does she not deserve a childhood just like any child in the globe? With text from such notables as Nobel Peace Laureates like Elie Wiesel and His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso - the book is a sure hit and a must for every home. Not to be outdone are other contributors who themselves are "heavy hitters" in the discourse of Tibet and Tibetan issues - Robert F. Thurman and the late Galen Rowell. Phil Borges presents us with nothing less than a tour de force of visual stimulation coupled with profound text and a stylish presentation. A keeper that will stand the test of time.

   Miguel Llora




5. Each of these faces is pure incarnation of a human feeling...from joy to worriness, from amazement to pride.Some of these people will haunt you for long after you turn the last page (See little 4 year old Pemba's eyes...) Sent the book to friends overseas...just the kind of work you want to share with your closest ones.

1 comments about Lost in Transition.

1. Lost in Transition is another masterful collection of photographs by Peter Bialobreski exploring urban landscapes in flux. It's style is very much similar to his photographs of Asian Megacities in the book Neontigers Peter Bialobrzeski: Neon Tigers (Hatje Cantz), if you like that book you will probably like this one also. The exposures are usually made at dusk, or in the evening, and the images have his trademark dream-like quality which blends the past and present into a futuristic vision where all human constructions are interesting and extraordinary. Compositionally many of the scenes are more sparse than those in Neontigers, and as such there is a hint of the design/spirit of Heimat Peter Bialobrzeski: Heimat (another incredible collection). Bialobreski is an artist who has utterly mastered his craft, his photographs are magical, and book after book is simply perfection. He has advanced fine art photography beyond even the most vaunted of photographers. Gursky is to Ringling Bros. as Bialobreski is to Cirque Du Soleil

1 comments about Deer Camp: Last Light in the Northeast Kingdom.

1. The Jacobs boys on the front cover with Artie featured inside too! Lots of other familiar faces inside of people I have grown up, went to school and worked with. Vermont Northeast Kingdom readers will recognize many of the people in the photos. A great book to read and enjoy. It's a keeper and Vermonter dot com heartily approved!

2 comments about 100 Butterflies and Moths: Portraits from the Tropical Forests of Costa Rica.

1. Excellent! details in text and photographs. Highly recommended for biologists and folks interested in wild life.



2. This ia an excellant book that combines coffe-table quality photographs of the butterflies and moths with an excellent text describing interesting aspects of their biology.

4 comments about The Red Couch: A Portrait of America.

1. I teach photography and use this book every semester as one of the great attempts to photographically reveal the pulse of a diverse and complicated nation. I have found this book to inspire both my own photography and I imitate its genious in photographic assignments given to my students. Invariably, they love the book and its provocative messages. Everytime I re-open the Red Couch, I find new insights. Anyone interested in ingenious photographic essays, anyone interested in peering deeply into the diversity that makes up the United States as a nation of many peoples, anyone interested in learning or teaching photography will find this book fascinating, entertaining, provocative, revealing, memorable. It is one of my favorite books about North America. I have been reading Amazon reviews for years but have never been so inspired to create my own. The Red Couch is that inspiration. (Finally, as another already stated, it is one of the all-time perfect gifts for creative, intellectual, artistic, open-minded people.)



2. I bought this book about 20 years ago and I still pull it out now and then to look through it. It's the perfect coffeetable book and it's a great book for phootgraphers as well.



3. This has been one of my favorite gifts to give over the last decade and I feel compelled to get it back into circulation. The journey of one red velvet couch across the country invites a diverse cross section of us to sit (or lie or sprawl or jump) on it and be photographed. The photo essay is breathtaking and wonderfully weird with bold colors, outrageous characters and intriguing depictions of Americana. If I won the lottery, I'd buy everyone a copy.



4. A bizarre book of photographs chronicling the voyage of a red velvet sofa across the United States. It turns up in places you normally wouldn't expect to see a red velvet sofa - such as on a window washer's scaffold.

   Amusing the first few times you page through it but of limited repeat appeal. Appropriate to leave on the coffee table so your friends can ask "What the hell is this?"

2 comments about The Gardens of California: Four Centuries of Design from Mission to Modern.

1. Great pictures, has given me some great ideas about the garden to go with my Californian Spanish style home here is Australia As there isn't to many of this style home in Australia so the book was very informative in creating a style that goes with this house, a good reference book



2. This book is by noted California landscape artist Nancy Goslee Power, with wonderful photos by Mick Hale and has already become a classic refernece. But it's also just gorgeous and fun to read. Shows a range of gardens from mission times to modern day and you can see the trends, the classics, and plenty to stir your imagination and make you want to either get in the garden or make travel plans.