5 comments about Madeleine Vionnet.

1. Es lo mejor que he tenido , el libro de un diseñador donde estan patrones, diseños y fotos...que mas se puede pedir!
   Ojala se hicieran mas libros como este .
   España,profesion: patronista



2. This is an outstanding book on a revolutionary designer. Wonderful photos, and "patterns" from the clothing. the only problem is Kirke never bothers to tell you what the scale is, so making these patterns is almost impossible. Her directions for making the patterns are laughable. The patterns are white lines on black. Why include patterns if you aren't going to put them in a usable form? There are people out there who can and have made clothing from this book. You will have to be very smart and well trained to do so. that said it is still one of the best books on a fashion designer I have seen.
   
   Maybe Kirke will redesign the book with the pattern section properly done. Then the book would be worth more then $100.



3. This book is even better than I hoped. The photographs are stellar and for some designs - a bird's eye view of the pattern peices are included. Try to wrap your head around those non-conventional cutting techniques! I bought this for myself but this would be an excellent gift for someone interested in Fashion History, Fashion Design, Fine / Decorative Arts, etc. Super-Gorgeous book!



4. A great book on Vionnet's work and life. It has a lot of sewing patterns with instuctions from the WWI era to late 1930's; the patterns include day and evening dresses and frocks, capes and coats, slips and pajamas. Plus there a lot more pictures of Vionnet's clothing. The perfect gift for a fashion student. It is a pity that you do not hear so much about her.



5. This book is an absolute dream right through from the beautiful hard cover to the wonderful photographs, history and patterns. I am a Designer/Patternmaker and is the most beautiful book I have ever bought on fashion. Betty Kirke has put a lot of love and care into this treasure and any student of fashion, especially patternmaking and draping has to purchase this and learn a whole lot about bias cutting.

5 comments about Locker Room Nudes / Dieux du Stade: The French National Rugby Team.

1. There really isn't much to say but GO RUGBY!!! This book has some of the most gorgeous bodies in it!!!



2. The pictures are terrific and capture the beauty of men in their element. I enjoy introducing the book to girlfriends of mine who appreciate men. I highly recommend this book!



3. I gave this to my partner for Christmas and of all of the presents that I gave him, many much much more expensive, this was his favorite. It is truly a hot hot book. It's a must by if you are into "sporn".



4. This collection of pictures taken by Fancois Rousseau of athletic men is a wonderful presentation of his eye for beauty. The photos presented herein are the culmination of his captivating photo shoots documented in the making of the 2004 Dieux du Stade calendar DVD. Many shots from that film are handsomely displayed within the grand pages of this quality pressed book. The men are richly captured within black and white photography that gives them artistic beauty, with shadows that reflect off them offering some intriguing mystery.From the dreamy close-up facial pictures, to the wondrous nude forms, to even the shots of the bare locker room with muddy footprints and a barren field of play, Fancois Rousseau gives us a look through his keen eyes to what all the athletes have to offer, especially a love for their form.These athletic men are gorgeously photographed and are meant to be admired for their overall form; their faces and bodies are meant to steal your eyes, and not be given the same kind of treatment as an erotically charged photoshoot. Oh, there are scenes of eroticism, but it's a testament to Fancois Rousseau's talent that he can always pull it off with taste. There are very few instances of photography to match the class given to these men of sport.If you keep this in mind, and admire the photography for its beauty and not for its lack of frontal shots, you will come to see the men, and the book, as a great assemblage of male beauty. I simply cannot recommend this book enough, especially if you enjoyed the 2004-2005 making of the Dieux du Stade calendar DVDs, as there is no reason you should put off getting this as an accompaniment to those two great features.



5. As well as a vivid pictorial of antomical perfection of the French National Rugby League, this stunning expose lends the gifted eye of this photograher's protrayal of natural lockeroom brawn, and has captured as noted, raw and natual splendor in the male physique. And of course a dream book, of sorts, for a many fan's of the sport and male physique in perfection. In itself, this worthy publicaton proves that the athletic male form, in it's unwavering splendor, can make a marvelous subject matter for a serious collector as well as your coffee table collection, as it throws eye candy to the needy masses of skin in it's ultimate form. Possible' to pull out at your latest soire as it is a Splendidly Bound and Jacketed Publication worthy of a Collector's Shelf.
   Yes it is that good, (gasp, even signed my Madonna offering her own praise) and YES the French have such attitude, as you will see those piercing eye stare, eyebrows flare and pillow lips are poised...as I say...Embrassez-moi vous imbécile.....Appréciez!!

5 comments about Type Rules!: The Designer's Guide to Professional Typography.

1. The author teaches at SVA, where I'm a student. I had hoped the exercises in this book would improve my skills, but it's really for beginners, giving an overview of the basic principles. And the exercises aren't of much benefit without anyone to critique the results. There are better books out there for a general overview (re: typology).



2. The first edition was an incredibly valuable resource, and I referred to it often in my work. I could easily find answers to all kinds questions about type and design. This new edition is even better. It's still as thoughtfully and clearly written as the first edition, and is still filled with great designs to illustrate a point. But it's been completely updated so it's current with the latest versions of software. And it has some new features like "Type Tips," which I'm finding especially enlightening, and exercises at the end of each chapter, which must make this an excellent text for teachers. This is a "must-have" for graphic designers.



3. Type Rules! - geared specifically for teaching at the college level - is one of the best basic typography books I've seen. Ilene Strizver has done a terrific job of breaking down the components of typography into digestable chapters, each complemented by clear, intelligent exercises. The book is replete with illustrations that serve as solid examples of each concept she articulates; and includes guidance for utilizing current design software. I'd recommend this book hands down to any teacher or student of design - as well as to any practicing typographer seeking to hone their skills.



4. This thoughtfully designed and written book works (rules!) on all levels. For someone entirely new to typography the book is approachable while providing a considerable education. For industry professionals who "know everything there is to know" about typography, the book is an excellent creative reference to remind one of a rule or technique long-forgotten or to alarm one with the realization they do not know everything about typography. The visual examples utilized in the book were well-considered and drive home the messages. The Quark tips alone make this book worth purchasing. As a companion to any library of typography or design books, Type Rules! is the designer's "Elements of Style" -- a reference book no one can afford to be without and one that never goes out of style.



5. A thorough, straightforward and clearly understandable guide to the effective use of typography. Bravo. Strizver certainly knows the ins and outs of typography from the essential basics to some very sophisticated fine points but, more importantly, is able to communicate this knowledge in a concise manner that will be useful to a beginner but, might even impart some new tips to the experienced aficionado.

5 comments about Inferno.

1. uN GRAN TRABAJO DE JAMES NATCHWEY, IMAGENES UN POCO DURAS Y QUE DAN QUE PENSAR.



2. It's a good book, very large and with very good quality paper. But my book has damaged in the us mail with water and broken corners.



3. Its ironic that I came across this beautiful book the day before Thanksgiving. I will always be grateful and never complain again. Not many will be able to stomach the contents of this groundbreaking work.
   
   God help us all.



4. This book is not made to be placed in every hands. But everyone old enough to face the sad reality and the ugly side of the human kind should have a look at it.



5. I have owned this book for roughly four years now and somehow manage to revisit it at least twice a year. The images are hauntingly beautiful. Nachtwey has a real gift for photography, for capturing that perfect image, with the perfect contrast, stark, naked and vivid. I feel as if I have been not merely an onlooker of these devastatingly breathtaking images, but as though I have been there.
   
   Inferno was the first exposure to Nachtwey I had had, and it certainly has not been the last. His work is amazing.

2 comments about LoveSong: The Erotic Photographs of Arnold Skolnick.

1. A current resident of Massachusetts, Arnold Skolnick first gained notoriety as the graphic designer who created the infamous dove & guitar poster for the 1969 Woodstock rock festival. During this same period, in the early 1970's he crafted an epic body of work showcasing the sexual union of man and woman. Although a few of these photos were exhibited at the Neikrug Gallery in 1973, this work was largely set aside by Skolnick, mostly out of fear (people were still being prosecuted for distributing sexual materials).
   
   But now, in teaming up with Quantuck Lane Press, Skolnick has published this almost forgotten work in a stupendous satin bound book designed for collectors and limited to only 3,000 copies. It features 85 tritone photographs that are breathtakingly beautiful. The human sexual dynamic is featured here in all its tender, beautiful glory. There is a realistic quality to this work that makes it all the more striking. Each duo are entwined in each others form, engaged in what seems to be real, genuine lovemaking. These subjects are not fitness buffs or even professional-looking models, but appear to be real-life lovers. And this makes it all the more exciting.
   
   Skolnick's imagery will almost certainly remind one of sculptor, Rodin's work (as noted by a critic of the Neikrug exhibit) more than anything one would see in a stag film. This book is a magnificent tribute to both its subject matter as well as the artist himself. This is one production that all collectors of fine art photography will want.



2. Any one book is two objects at minimum, maybe more. This first presents itself as a luxurious object, plainly hard-bound and slip-cased in elegant, silky cloth coverings. Dense printing adds drama to each B&W picture, on bright and glarefree paper. The paper's density prevents any picture from being impaired by another visually bleeding through from the back. Design serves the imagery well - a factor you might not appreciate until you've seen a book where layout actually interferes with the content. Just this once, I might have recommended the European affectation of putting the copyright notices at the back. Before you even open it, the physical presence of this book prepares you for its sensual content.
   
   The second aspect, the content, keeps the promise made by the format. I don't know the exact number of photos - probably seventy or eighty - but that hardly matters. Each one is a jewel. Each features one couple, intimately engaged. This is love-making, in all of the common ways for a man and woman to try to become one being. These pictures languished since the 1970s (they were too hot even for Playboy back then), but the imagery carries almost nothing of that time - just its hair styles. Only now did Skolnick feel that an audience could accept this work. Because of that inherent time-travel, the timelessness of figure and conjunction truly stand out.
   
   I recommend this to any couple who values their coupling, and who wants art that celebrates their own experience. This documents the deep beauty of the human animal, as Nature invites these handsome people into the ongoing act of Creation.
   
   -- wiredweird

5 comments about Developing Vision & Style: A Landscape Photography Masterclass (Light & Land series).

1. I've just finished reading Developing Vision and Style, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. The book's images are uniformly beautiful and reproduced very well, even in the paperback edition of the book I bought.
   
   After a dozen or two images, though, all that uniformity starts to grate. It seems to me that there is a certain sameness to many of the landscapes, and it shows up right on the front cover: rocks in the foreground, dramatic sky, optional body of water. The images that don't follow this formula stand out by comparison.
   
   This is a little odd in a book that is meant to be about developing vision and style. Although the authors and other contributors talk at length about their unique visions and styles, there isn't always a lot of uniqueness on display. I was also struck by how little insight was to be gained on the photographers' vision and style: very few were able to articulate what characterized their own work, never mind offer readers useful direction on developing theirs.
   
   The book is beautiful and the notes on how individual images were made are often interesting. The text is not nearly as interesting, though, and the title promises more than the authors deliver. I'll open it again, but I think I'll just look at the pictures...



2. Very good book, refreshing, gave me some ideas. Will have this permanently on my shelf as a reference.



3. I bought this book wanting to learn how good photographers go about developing a vision and a style. I would use that information to develop a vision I could articulate, rather than just stumble around with my current vision, "I take photographs with bright, vivid, happy colors that make people excited." (Boy, does that sound weak. Now you know why I need help.)
   
   I was very disappointed. Not a single photographer defined their vision or told how they developed their own vision, or, for that matter, gave any advice at all about what a vision is.
   
   I had hoped we would be given many different perspectives on "vision"...something like, "Here are the elements and factors that I feel go into making a vision." Given this kind of starting point, I could then add to the list of elements and refine them into my own, private, creation.
   
   Alas, the first paragraph on the back cover of the book really tells you what you will read about throughout the 156 pages:
   "Photographic vision means seeing, as opposed to merely looking."
   
   You hear this same theme repeated in a variety of ways by each of the contributors to the book. It is the closest any of them comes to defining "vision." I really learned very little in this book.
   
   The photos were terrific, but I didn't want to buy a picture book. I really hoped to gain insight into how I could go about deliberately developing a vision that I could explain to others.



4. The title "Developing Vision & Style: a Landscape Photography Masterclass" sounds like it might be an instructional manual. But it is not, at least not in any conventional sense. Instead it is a collection of beautiful landscape photographs, along with a number of opinions, some of them profound and a few sophomoric, about the meaning of vision and style.
   
   A substantial number of the pictures, although by no means a majority, were taken by the authors Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite and David Ward, who are numbered amongst Great Britain's most distinguished landscape photographers. The remaining pictures were submitted by "aspiring photographers" who were invited to submit their pictures. Most of the pictures are of the intimate landscape type rather than the grand view. It seemed to me that there were a great number of lovely pictures of wet rocks and rocky shores.
   
   The photographers were asked a number of questions like "what does vision mean to you"; and "how would you describe your vision"; and "what does style mean to you"; and "how would you describe your style"? Some of the answers are printed in proximity to the photographers' pictures.
   
   The editors claim that the book teaches by "encouraging students...to ask themselves critical questions and to take a fresh look at their personal vision, along with the style they select to express it."
   
   Perhaps this format would have been more effective if there had been some back and forth debate rather than just a collection of statements. It might also have been more like a true master class if the three authors had offered a critique of the vision and style of the participating photographers. Alas, the authors only comment on each others work, and then only to say how good it is.
   
   At the same time I realize that it would have been hard to get any photographer to agree to have his work published if it were to be the subject of a critique. I also recognize that while trying to define vision and style may be difficult for any photographer, trying to get photographers to agree on such a subject may be impossible. At the same time it may be useful for the individual photographer's development to come to his or her own definition of vision and style.
   
   In many ways, readers interested in this topic might do better to read Ward's book "Landscape Within: Insights and Inspirations for Photographers" in which Ward's discussions of vision and style are articulated in a better fashion. For those who want a book to help them to develop their vision and style more than just to define the terms, I recommend an old favorite, Freeman Patterson's "Photography and the Art of Seeing". Moreover, because I believe that understanding the landscape will help one develop one's vision and style. I recommend Niall Benvie's "Creative Landscape Photography (Creative Photography)".
   
   For the creative photographer, vision and style are important issues, even though they may never satisfactorily be defined. If this book can help the photographer toward a definition, it will have served a good purpose. If not, at least there are a lot of lovely pictures.



5. This book, Developing Vision and Style, as with a former book in the series, Working the Light, provide guidance on producing great photographs. There is no discussion of how to operate your camera, or which filter to use, just good images with interesting insights.
   
   This book is soemwhat different in format, as individual critiques by the authors is not present, as in the former book, but there is extended discussion by the authors and the individual photographers regrding vison, style.

2 comments about Photographing Flowers: Inspiration*Equipment*Technique.

1. I am very happy with the book. The wrapping was seamless; the images are beautiful; and the tips are practical and they work.



2. Not only is this book beautifully visual to look at, it is full of information and ideas. Though it's not for digital cameras per se but for 35mm instead. Photography is subjective and you can use the information to make you a better photographer. The same information about technique, philosophy, etc. can be used when you shoot with your digital camera. Many digital cameras have similar functions so that the information found can be carried over such as manual vs. auto focus. Lenses and filters can translate to using filters in Photoshop™ or another graphic manipulative software. The author's favorite filters are warm up, polarizer and soft focus which can be replicated in Photoshop™.
   
   She urges you to experiment with aperture priority to control the depth of field. Term "depth of field" refers to the zone in a photograph which appears to be completely sharp. Just using the camera's Auto mode is unlikely to succeed in how she creates her beautiful photos of flowers. She makes them look ethereal or more like art. There are many examples of flower photos at different apertures and shutter speeds which helps you to understand the concept. With digital cameras being so popular today I think many of us never turn the knob to something other than "Auto".
   
   The technical aspects in this book are very important but what affected me the most were viewing the beautiful flower photos. The author prefers impressionist and abstract painters and it shows in her photography. Creating abstract views brings us up close and personal. I have been photographing my garden flowers for years but come next summer I will certainly look at them differently through my lens because of this book. I highly recommend this book if you seriously enjoy photographing flowers or just looking at the beautiful prints. What is a book for but to expand your mind and perhaps to make you look at a subject in a different way. This book certainly does!

5 comments about Art Photography Now.

1. Very good Rhigting but only a few serious art photographers in this book all the others don't know anything about photography or art and the "visual" failure to pass the message of the concept they are dealing with at all!
   There are a lot of much more better artists that deal with the same matters to choose from.
   
   Is sade to see how the curators and academics that deal with art photography, follow the art dealers and PR people and they are failing on their mission and leading this wonderfull art of photography to pathetic places



2. to call this 'art photography now' is a bold move, and this collection is less a survey than an advertisement for a particular style of photography. the work doesn't vary much from artist to artist, and if you don't like color fictive constructions and digital manipulation then you probably won't like this book. as the trend of this type of large scale, color, set-up, advertising-influenced work fades, this book will seem a sad reminder of a rather lame period in photo history when the majority of galleries, critics, artists, and dealers joined forces to produce (like this title) little more than a shopping mall of trendy, elitist, high-priced commodity under the guise of art.



3. It is difficult to find good contemporary photography overviews -- typically, you could go to galleries or museums for several years or buy a stack of art photography books and spend days going through them -- assuming you had a strong Art background. This book offers a nice alternative and it is one of the best overviews of contemporary fine art photography available.
   
   Aperture, a respected photography publishing house, has beautifully produced this handsome book with 80 of what they consider to be the best living and working art photographers. The selection is broad, encompasses many areas and is well organized into 7 sections from Portrait to City. Several works from each artist are presented along with a short description of an artist's Work from a curator's perspective. Even more valuable are quotations from each artist describing their Work from their perspective. This alone makes the book worth owning.
   
   Photographers you might know; Cindy Sherman, Thomas Ruff, Gregory Crewdson, Jeff Wall, Uta Barth, Joel Sternfeld, Thomas Demand and many others are alongside people you have probably never heard of but should get to know. The coverage of the cinematic, self exploration/psychological, conceptual and to some extent digital influences presented here should be thought provoking. Clearly, the "digitalness" of photography as a medium and all that implies -- interaction and collaboration, manipulation and realism, and authenticity and authority -- is growing in importance and will no doubt be better covered in the future as those artists emerge.
   
   There are only two omissions that would have been interesting to see included; artists such as Gerhard Richter, best known for his painting and who uses photography extensively -- and some of the newest up and comers, like Idris Khan. To be fair, those areas are rich enough to support separate books and you should not let this keep you from buying this book. Overall, this is an excellent way to quickly learn about contemporary photography and you will not be disappointed.



4. i think this book is one of the best art books available on the market. Every section is divided by the artist and it's explained in a very complete way and very simple to understand at the same time...a real dilight to your mind and a strong pleasure to the eye!!!



5. it's not the first time for me to go throgh photograpy art books, and i have been into contemporary art and contemporary photography for many years. I can affirm that this book is one of the best and more interesting i have ever read... extremaly attractive and taken into great care!!!

4 comments about Picture Yourself Creating Digital Scrapbooks.

1. A very comprehensive introduction to the world of digital scrapbooking. The authors cover subjects much wider than just how to put a page together, including general information on scrapbooking itself and equipment like scanners, printers and tablets. Both Photoshop Elements 6 and Paint Shop Pro techniques are discussed. There is instruction for many techniques, but this is a more generalised text than a straight "how to do it" book. The book comes with a CD containing digital scrapbook supplies from leading designers and a section containing sample pages using those items (very useful for a beginner to see the different ways people can use the same supplies). I found the book easy to read but there were some areas that could have done with more detail. For example, it discusses how to use Gaussian Blur to simulate depth of field but uses a selection to choose the area to blur instead of a new layer which I feel is less flexible and more prone to risk. Sharpening is discussed and High Pass Sharpening mentioned - but we are never told what it is. It is also a shame that the authors demonstrated the Magic extractor tool instead of the excellent and easy to use Quick Selection Tool in Photoshop Elements to demonstrate extracting a background. However, these are pretty minor quibbles in the scheme of things. I think this book would be useful to anyone starting out with digital scrapbooking (especially if they are new to the tools). It will provide you with all the information you need to start making your own pages.



2. I've been sitting on the sidelines for several months, trying to start digital scrapbooking but spent most of my time looking at other people's layouts and chasing down "freebies" that I haven't even used! This book helped me get on the road. I bought Paint Shop Pro (PSP), on the advice of PCWorld's digital photo editor a few years ago (he since has switched to Photoshop as it is more popular with his readers) but I like PSP for the very reasons he suggested and don't want to switch just because Adobe is better at marketing their product. I've been searching for a scrapbooking book that focused on PSP. While this book gives equal measure to PSP and Photoshop, it fit the bill for me. This book does not give step-by-step instructions, only general guidelines. I found the format to be helpful although I don't think a reader is able to replicate the complex layouts illustrated in the book just from reading it. The DVD is a great feature, making this book a very useful tool for the digital scrapper!



3. This is a wonderful book for those wanting to learn how to do digital scrapbooking, but it is not just for beginners! There are techniques and discussions that can advance your skills even if you have been digital scrapbooking awhile. One of the best things in the book that I love is the use of multiple programs (i.e., PhotoShop, PaintShopPro, PhotoShop Elements, and more!) While so many tutorials or books concentrate on one program (mostly PhotoShop), this book shows examples created in different programs. And while the book is worth the cost by itself, the DVD is a fantastic bonus! The kits included are by well-known digital scrapbook designers; the fonts are unique and fun; and the filters (shareware, trial use, or free) allow you to take your layouts to new levels!



4. I am a fairly advanced digital scrapper and I found a lot of new and helpful instructions in this book. At the same time I found the instruction clear enough for a beginner - I sure wish this book was around back when I started. The kits provided would all cost more retail than the book costs and the kits are very top quality - from some of the best designers out there. This is a must have for anyone contemplating or already addicted to digi scrapping.

5 comments about In The American West.

1. I am not normally a fan of celebrity portraits, and perhaps moreso in Avedon's case. I find his celebrity work to be somewhat gimmicky, and not typically interesting to me. However, I recently was at B&N and took a look at "Avedon At Work: In The American West" and was very impressed by the photography (although not really by the book itself, which was really about the process, not the photos, besides the book being too expensive for what it was). This made me somewhat upset that all the normal Avedon work they had there was (primarily) his celebrity work, which, while bound and presented in a very interesting way, was not impressive to me visually.
   
   Thus, when Avedon's book "In The American West" popped up on Amazon for me, I was quite thrilled, and since I needed the extra purchase for free shipping anyway, I snatched it up. When it arrived, I was thrilled. The book is large (as large as Schoeller's "Close Up") but is also covered in a plastic sleeve to protect it even further, which is a welcome addition to such a gorgeous book. The cover has a great feel to it, and the pages are all a good weight and clarity. The photos are large, but not so large that you can't take it all while holding the book at arms length. They are detailed, highly personal, and extremely complex and subtle. They are what good portraits are. In the beginning and end of the book, it has a few pages of text talking about the overall project, and some specific people, however it keeps it separate from the images, which I find to be better, since you can then simply go through the images and view them as they are, without any other context or distraction. The only accompanying text for each photo is a brief caption including name, date taken, and occupation or title (Drifter, Oil Field Worker, etc.). While often they are predictable, there are a few captions that truly add a new depth to the image they are attached to.
   
   Overall this is a great book. It is unusual to find such high quality, large printed books for a great price like this, and so if you're considering, you should not pass this up.



2. Avedon's post-celebrity period, arguably more poignantly presented in this publication than in any other of his works, is a real mark of his maturity as a portraitist. This is a high quality, candid, provacative and haunting record of the liminal characters of the American west, a project Avedon himself said he would have been happy spending the rest of his life completing. Essential reading for aspirant or active professional portraitists.



3. People like to say Avedon strips down everything, background and context and props and even shadow, but that's not really true, each of these portraits contains the pieces of a really complex narrative, and these people come to life in ways that are simultaneously erotic and sad, flamboyant and inarticulate, haughty and humiliated.



4. If you like portraits this book is for you. The images are all the same: white background and a person looking in the camera. Take your time to look at it. Focus on the faces and eyes and you will understand the power behind these images. That is what Avedon was looking for. A book with no wording, but who needs words when an image can say 1000 words?



5. I recently attended a gallery showing of some of these spectacular photographs at Stanford University. It was a real treat to be able to purchase a book to remind me of the experience. Very moving show.