3 comments about Women: A Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth-Century Sources (Dover Pictorial Archives).

1. I use the pictures in this book for collages. I love the vintage look of the pictures and find that there is a good variety of sizes and subject matter.



2. I liked this book very much - it was a good mix of vintage images showing women in a very wide range of settings. i plan to use it for altered books and art journals and I forsee it being very useful because of the variety. I liked this better than several of the other clip art books of the same publisher; this is one of the most useful.



3. Wonderful selection. Clear illustrations, easily reproduced for pixels, a little more complicated for vectors because the paper is ever so slightly porous, but it is nicely opaque. And the paper does not change!! My copy dates back and the paper is still white. Great job.

5 comments about The Photographers Guide to Filters (Photographers Guide).

1. I bought this book because I figured having some direction regarding filters would be a good investment. This book is great. The book starts with what might be a slightly wordy explanation about the difference between screw on and slide in filters, and the advantages of each, but if you are just getting into filters you might not even be aware of the differences. I really liked how the book was broken down into different filter types too. This made it easy to follow, and a really relaxed read. Even if you think you know about filters there are several seemingly obvious (once you read them) that you might not have realized that he points out. Despite the un-attractive cover (the worst picture anywhere in the book) the book is very straight forward and shows numerous examples of with/without a certain filter for a certain shot. For these examples he helps to break down the picture and show where the filter used made any differences (sometimes subtle). Anyways, long review short, if you own an SLR then you need to know about filters, and you need to buy this book.



2. The Photographer's Guide to Filters is the best book I've found on the subject. The examples are stunning and the text is extremely informative. Highly recommended.



3. Thank you Mr. Frost for clearing the muddy waters on filter systems! I've researched the web on this topic and have found a lot of useful information, but this is the only guide (that I've found) that provides detailed specs on all the available systems in the marketplace, which filters are compatible with which holders, and what focal length limitations exist with each system (holders can cause vignetting with focal lengths wider than 20mm). Trust me ... it's confusing. Chapter 1 (Choosing a Filter System) alone is worth $20 - the 'low-tack' gum solution is brilliant! My only complaint is that it is a bit dated (2002). It would be nice to see an updated version that addresses how filters work with smaller digital sensors (1.3 and 1.6) that are common in the marketplace today. This book only references 35mm format full frame. Plus, there is an ommission of the compatibility of the Cokin Z holder (which I don't think was available in the market at print). These are pretty minor criticisms, however, as this book provides a wonderful summary on the subject. I would recommend this book to anyone who is thinking of buying a filter system.



4. I am not a prfessional photographer, I just do it for fun and I try to improve everytime I develop my films.
   
   I recommend this book. It has clear examples showing the different benefits of many types of filters. I would even recommend it if you are not into spending money in different filters. It will show you how far you can take your photography.



5. An Excellent Book about filters and the science of filters, I learn so much form that book. I do recommend this book for everyone who's interested in the science and the art of filters and choosing the right filter for the right moment.

5 comments about Part Asian, 100% Hapa.

1. I'm half Japanese and half Euro (German, Swede, Scottish) and I sure wish this book had been around when I was a kid many moons ago. It's striking in it's simplicity, very profound. I enjoy looking at the unique faces and reading the individual hand-written commentary by each subject. I will keep this in my library, for our daughter, who is Ukrainian, Italian, et al.



2. I'm one of those people who get uncomfortable when filling out applications and reach the dreaded "Race" section that says "Select only one."
   
   I guess I'm supposed to pick whichever one I identify with the most. I usually skip that section and come back to it at the end. After staring at it for a solid half-hour, I hastily pick something and put the paper out of my sight. I try not to think about the answer I chose, and the ancestors I denied. My answer differs every time.
   
   Half my family views me as white (just "white" - because white people have no ethnic backgrounds or interesting cultures, right? There's no English, Irish, Dutch, German, Swiss, etc. - it's just "white"). The other half views me as some strange Mutt they don't quite know how to interact with.
   I'm sick of being too white or not white enough. This book helped me realize I'm not the only one.



3. Being hapa myself I definitely could appreciate everyone displayed in this book. It really makes me feel proud of the diversity in myself and in others.



4. I am so glad that I bought this book for myself and my little sister.
   
   Growing up, I always felt out of place. Caucasians saw me as asian, and asians saw me as caucasian. When every exam you take at school asks you to check a box for your coresponding race, but you feel your race is not listed, what do you choose? It's very clear as to what I am not, but what exactly DOES that box labeled "other" mean?
   
   This is a wonderful book full of beauty and humor. It gives those that lie in the spaces between clearly defined boxes a feeling of belonging and pride.



5. The illustrations themselves speak louder than words and its a good teaching tool to help people of different ethnic backgrounds that have mixed race in them, especially parents of two different cultures who are married with kids who are mixed race to teach them and show them there are people out there in the same situation as them. I bought two of these books for my friends who are going to have kids of different cultural backgrounds. A must have.

4 comments about Jacques Helleu and Chanel.

1. Simple review: I enjoyed reading this book, even though it's mostly a visual book. Great visuals. I love the historic, but intimate read into the Helleu's family natural talent and business savvy for creativity.



2. Chanel is one of the world's most recognized brands, particularly within the luxury arena. I found this volume gorgeous from its presentation to its textual consideration of a very important brilliant individual behind-the-scenes. I highly recommend this volume.



3. I have long been a commercial photographer, and I'm yet to find a more inspiring book than this one. With the turn of every page I hear a calling to get up, grab my camera, and do something about it.
   Finally a compilation of one of the most artisticly marketed brands around.
   Bravo!



4. A must have for any collector of fashion books. great format, great layout and of course amazing pcs from the long history of this iconic company

5 comments about Seizing the Light: A History of Photography.

1. I'll make it clean cut here; the buyer gave me what I wanted and the item is in great shape. What else could I ask for? Very happy and the delivery was of average speed.



2. Robert Hirsch's survey of the origins and evolution of photography, "Seizing the Light," is a welcome addition to the expanding study of the medium. In clear, insightful, and engaging prose, Hirsch unfolds photography's hit-or-miss birth which was rapidly followed by coherent technological developments almost at the speed of light. Hirsch makes us believe that photography was inevitable; the darling and necessary child of destiny wed to information theory. And Hirsch's treatment of early 20th century Modernist photography and the philosophy behind Pictorialism is excellent.
   
   As a primer for the invention of photography and its chemical underpinnings, "Seizing the Light" is as good as it can be. It falls a little short, however, in its treatment of contemporary photography. The book would have been better served by including a few in-depth surveys of important contemporary photographic projects in order to emphasize the centrality of this discipline in contemporary art history and postmodern theory which is heavily dependent on the nature of images and processes of image-making.



3. Overall a great book on the history of photography. VERY comprehensive overview of the evolution of photography. It ties movements in art and social events into photography trends and developments. It also provides insight into how photographers and artists used the medium to express themselves and how experimentation lead to improvements over the years. My only negative comment would be that some of the earlly forms of cameras were not pictured. There were diagrams of early cameras, but after the first hundred years, there is little to no documentation on how they evolved cosmetically/ functionally. It'd be nice to see an example of the various "groundbreaking" cameras as they were discussed. Otherwise, a great book.



4. For everyone with an interest in photography, either as an artist of the medium, a beginner looking for direction, or a collector who wants informed background to enhance appreciation of fine photographs both from the past and from the present obsession, SEIZING THE LIGHT: A History of Photography is essential reading.
   
   Robert Hirsch knows his subject and in one hefty book manages to share the beginnings of photography some 200 years ago with the evolution of the camera and the discipline of photographing. Well illustrated with both photographs and drawings, Hirsch chronicles the famous and not so famous practitioners of the art in succinct but richly colorful biographical abstracts to accompany examples of each artist. The phases through which this art form has passed makes for fascinating reading even beyond the scope of the title: the use of the camera in documenting the history of our globe at celebration, at war, at discovery, and at the side of the people of the day is a journey well lead by a writer well skilled.
   
   Though this book is now six years old it remains one of the more important textbooks for the art school classroom. But more important it is so richly written that it remains a fascinating survey of life since the camera. From the beginnings of the pinhole box to the present day digital images on the cell phone etc, the invention of the camera has inextricably changed our perception of the world. Learn the how and why of it! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 05



5. Seizing the Light: A History of Photography. is a wonderfully broad, contemporary, eclectic and entertaining book. Robert Hirsch has produced the most useful, readable, and practical successor to Beaumont Newhall's classic, The History of Photography, first published in 1937. Seizing the Light is written in a friendly, accessible way -- dense with information, but more hip and lively than other offerings, especially those aimed at college students. Hirsch includes the "canon" of standard western photographic history (represented by Stieglitz, Weston, Adams, White, et. al.) first set forth by Newhall and other researchers, but updates the information with special emphasis on the last five decades of photographic practice, including digital imaging.
   
   Many teachers and interested readers will greatly appreciate Hirsch's conscious effort throughout the book, to include numerous women and photographers from other cultures. (Chapter Two opens with an image of an American Indian, and includes a portrait of an African-American, affording students the realization that marginalized groups actually did appear as subjects before the camera in addition to working behind them.)
   
   Students will also appreciate Hirsch's habit of opening new chapters with a description of cultural and political events occurring during the period under discussion: Chapter Twelve starts with a harrowing description of life for immigrants in New York City in the late Nineteenth Century during the time of Jacob Riis, and Chapter Seventeen has a helpful summary of the ending of the Vietnam War, connecting it smoothly to such diverse influences as Richard Nixon and the BeeGees! There are also wonderful endnotes following each chapter that are absolutely addictive, giving curious readers further information and surprising tidbits of information.
   
   Hirsch's knowledge gained as a Director of CEPA Gallery in Buffalo (a contemporary non-profit Artist's space) provides him with exceptional insight into contemporary photography. This is especially evident in his last Chapter, Eighteen, "Thinking About Photography," which abounds with infrequently seen and challenging images by Arnulf Rainer, Nam June Paik, John Baldessari, Anselm Keifer, Gilbert and George, William Wegman and the Bechers. There is a clear and helpful section on Postmodernism, including the usual suspects: Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, Barbara Kruger, Sherrie Levine, and Victor Burgin. There are sections on "Gender Issues" with Judith Golden, as well as one on "Fabrications" with Sandy Skoglund, Olivia Parker, Joel Peter Witkin and others. "Altering Time and Space" includes David Hockney, the Starn Twins, and the delicious hand-colored work of Holly Roberts. Other sections include "Investigating the Body" (Andres Serrrano, Robert Mapplethorpe, Nan Goldin, Sally Mann) and "Multiculturalism" (Clarissa Sligh, Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson, and the Guerilla Girls). Hirsch closes this bulging chapter with a discussion of digital imaging, including images by Pedro Meyer, Nancy Burson and several rising young artists in new media. He concludes with an extensive bibliography of related books and resources, a helpful list of monographs by the major artists presented throughout the text, and a section on sources for artists' books.
   
   Robert Hirsch has produced a most impressive and useful book that readers will find engaging and relevant. The currency and eclectic nature of Hirsch's thought is fascinating and his book serves as a much-needed supplement to existing texts in the history of photography.
   
   (Submitted by Brian Taylor, Professor of Art and Design at San Jose State University, where he has taught the History of Photography for 25 years. Prior to that, he studied with Beaumont Newhall for three years during graduate school at the University of New Mexico.)

3 comments about The Elements of Photography: Understanding and Creating Sophisticated Images.

1. Once in a blue moon a book comes along that is so elegant, fresh, and deeply insightful that it takes your breath away. This is one of those books.
   
   Photography has long been fraught with a divide between, as the author describes, two distinct disciplines - professional or fine art practices. Perpetuating these divisions is counterproductive to the photographic endeavor as a whole and often creates significant impediments for individuals from either camp in achieving their highest potential.
   
   Angela Faris Belt is a professional educator on the faculty of The Art Institute of Colorado, and her new release is actually a textbook -- a beautifully crafted one. Her main premise is succinct and deeply insightful - that "photography is a unique form of visual language, and as such is based on a specific visual grammar." She asserts that four elements form the basis of this grammar, and that they "are specific to every image created through the action of light." The four elements are: the photographic frame and its borders; quality of focus as determined by the aperture or lens; shutter speeds and their effects in relation to time and motion; and the physical media used to the aggregate image.
   
   The author believes that these four visual grammar elements must all be fully addressed in each image for that image to reach full potential, whether the intended end use is technical (commercial, reportage, portraiture, etc.) or artistic, and whether the medium is traditional or digital. Following the preface and introduction, each chapter addresses one of the elements in detail and is both illustrated and illuminated with small image portfolios by carefully selected artists.
   
   The result is simply wonderful and provides a compelling entreaty for all photographers to embrace both sides of the photographic process in order to achieve their greatest potential in the use of imagery as a visual language for communication in all its variations, regardless of discipline or medium. The book belongs in the reference library of every aspiring photographer and deserves to be studied again and again until it is thoroughly internalized and thoughtfully applied in the ongoing practice of making images that communicate to their maximum potential.



2. This book is a very good book. It covers a great deal on the various aspects on what turns a simple picture into a great picture. It focuses a lot of energy on the photographer's ability to compose an image, and teaches a bit of the technical knowledge needed.
   
   This book however does not cover in too much detail how a camera works, it assumes you have a moderately good understanding of what a camera is and what it can do. This is fine in a class room setting, as you would expect students to have a camera to take pictures with.
   
   Pick up another book or read your camera Manuel if you want to master camera operations, read this book if you want to understand what kind of result can achieved with the various function of the camera, and how to compose a great picture with it.



3. My new favorite book about photography. It has a wide range of creative artists, processes and styles represented, with beautiful reproductions, as well as examples on how to perform techniques in Photoshop and in-camera. Great inspiration for any artist or student of photography.

1 comments about Baby Photography NOW!: Shooting Stylish Portraits with Your Digital Camera (A Lark Photography Book).

1. I bought this book for a friend who is having a new born baby. Both of the parents just bought a Digital SLR camera and want to learn some basic technique while photographing the baby and the pregnant mother. This book provides the exact things they are looking for. Inside in this book includes excellent photos and provides easy to learn techniques. My friend is very happy about this book. What's more, it's also a great book to put on the coffee table for guest to read. The photos are that gorgeous!

5 comments about Gentleman: A Timeless Fashion.

1. 
   Don't waste time on this book, too grandiose but too little useful advice ... A price of US$ 5 would be sufficient for the content, lots of waffle ... Better to give this a miss unless they are the only book of the genre available in the market ... not impressed with this at all.



2. This book is actually a must have for the true gentleman, it has all the knowledge that a men need to know to be in perfect shape for every ocassion, from the shaving, the hair, the beard, all of the clothing, the shoes, and a perfect explanation and some recomendations for every item, the only little problem is perhaps that because the author is from England, many of the brands mentioned are in fact from England and in some parts of the US maybe a little hardto find, but definitly are worth the trouble to look for them, all are really very high and luxury brands worth every penny paid for it.



3. This is a nice book if you're looking for a history of men's clothing and why certain clothing styles are the way they are. It is not a "how to" guide to building a wardrobe. The book is a nice adition to a library that already has other men's style guides....but don't let it be your only one.



4. I should say that this is first and foremost a coffee table book.
   
   The main contention seems to be whether this or Flusser's book is the "quintessential" guide to men's style. It seems to me that this is a false dichotomy. Flusser (and might I recommend Antongiovanni's "The Suit") is a *guide to* men's style. "Gentleman" is a book *about* men's style. There is a subtle distinction here. I think it could best be described as the difference between a Time-Life book about WWII and "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". The one might be prettier, easier to read, and give you a decent overview of the subject, but if you want to get into the nitty gritty of numbers and details, you want to go with the "real" book.
   
   "Gentleman: A Timeless Fashion" is a great book to keep on your coffee table and flip open occasionally, but if you want real, useful information about men's style and tailored clothing, go with Flusser or Antongiovanni.



5. Compared to A.F.'s books, this guide to men's clothing is not very useful unless you have a lot of money. However, the photos and anecdotal information are great, and it is a fun book to browse. If you enjoy men's clothing, you won't regret owning it.

2 comments about Denali National Park Guide to Hiking, Photography & Camping.

1. Denali National Park is different from the majority of US parks, as most of the area has no developed trail system (as opposed to Yosemite or Olympic which have very well-established trails). You are encouraged to hike around and explore on your own, which can be a bit daunting. Hence, a lot of visitors stay on the shuttle buses, content to just watch the scenery flash by.
   
   Ike Waits brings your attention to how beautiful this park can be with just a bit of exploration off the bus stop. With the low-lying vegetation (most of the park is tundra, not forest), it is hard to get lost, and the rewards in terms of natural splendor and wildlife viewing grow exponentially.
   
   This book brings dozens of easy-to-understand trail areas and maps to the Denali visitor. Informative, well-researched, these descriptions come with a background of decades of hiking and exploring Denali. You couldn't be in better hands, so step off the bus and go explore the park!



2. This book is worth the entire price of the book if you just take in one piece of advice from the author - Get off the bus! The author gives over 40 options for getting off the bus and truly experiencing the park. There is a suggestion for every situation from a leisurely stroll to a back-breaking, multi-day, circuit around glaciers and passes. But don't forget that there are thousands of other options in the park that are beyond the scope of this book.
   
   Also, the author shares a lot of photography advice that is often as specific as which bus to catch and which side to sit on to improve your chances of getting the shots you want. In general, the photography advice is not overly technical, but his intimate knowledge gained over the years comes through well. All in all, a very good book.

5 comments about Drawing from Observation.

1. I own an incredible amount of how to art books and this is the best among non figure drawing books. The exercises are of incredible help to me and there are an incredible amount of ideas to ignite my creativity.



2. With forty years of experience teaching basic drawing, this guide is probably the best I have seen for the beginning level university art student. It is clearly written and illustrated, thorough and pragmatic. Curtis does a very good job of explaining and illustrating linear and other perspective systems. The use of an imaginary clock face to estimate the angles of edges seen in perspective is very useful, and something I have done for years. (most students have difficulty comprehending a 45 or 90 angle, let alone something like a 27 degree angle).
   
   I disagree with a previous reviewer's lack of interest in historical ideas such as the golden mean, and the Fibonacci sequence. While these certainly are not the only systems of visual organization, they demonstrate how some artists have designed their compositions. These ideas are about the relationships between various elements in a composition, and not just about perfecting a solitary object in the center of a blank page.
   
   My only criticism is that the layout seems a bit cramped. It might look better with a larger page size, say 8.5 X 11 inches. This is a well done book and I hope it appears in a second edition.
   
   Jim Nawara
   Wayne State University



3. Wonderful book for any artist; should be a required for all artist's library. Great reference as well as instuctional guide. Well organized, each aspect of drawing is fully covered, well written and appropiately illustrated.



4. As a teacher of drawing, I have read many books on the subject. This book is the only one I would use as a textbook. I would agree with all the previous reviews but would only comment on the one review from the budding artist who felt the book is confusing and has too much art history for someone who only wants to learn to draw. I come to this book with over two decades of art experience so maybe that is why I find it so interesting, but even if the history is skipped and you read only the practical explanations and do the lessons in the back of the book, you will learn to draw from observation, as this book promises. The book is not meant to be read in two weeks. Learning to draw takes hard work and invested time.



5. This text is the front-runner in our search for a text to teach visualization drawing for computer graphics students. Its methodology for perceiving and translating form and space into drawing very nicely parallels the principles used in computer modeling. The section on perspective clearly presents principles in such a way as to merge intuitive and analytical understanding. This is a hallmark of the book in general. In addition to practical clarity the text adds historical and theoretical perspectives to round out one's understanding of drawing. I appreciate this because, in the case of our program, it helps us to link the traditions of human visualization from ancient times to the computer age.