4 comments about Yesterday: The Beatles Once Upon a Time.

1. If you are a Beatles keenie and would enjoy seeing previously unpublished photos of the boys, this book is for you. It's a unique, bittersweet collection showing the joy and innocence which characterized the group's very early days together. A wonderful bonus is Astrid's introduction which provides information about these early days that was news even to this life-long Beatles fanatic!



2. My wife loved it and it made an a great addition to her Beatles collection.



3. To correct the previous review it should be noted that Astrid Kirchherr did NOT take the photograph which appears on the cover of Meet The Beatles. The photograph, which also appears as the cover of the band's second British release "With The Beatles" was taken by Robert Freeman. Astrid did however take some of the classic photos of the band as young, leather clad rockers in Hamburg. Those photos are not only classically artistic in their own right they are often considered to be the basic blueprint for much future rock and roll photography. Ultimately, Astrid Kirchherr did play a significant part in the early evolution of the Beatles. Like the previous reviewer I have not yet read the book so I do not feel qualified to rate it any higher than average at this time. However, as an avid Beatles fan I feel confident that any first hand account of their early days related by someone so close to the group during that early formative period should be interesting and informative reading.



4. have not read book but Astrid was their female babe friend in Hamburg. She was dating Klause Voorman, Artist on "Revolver" and Manfred Mann Bass player. Astrid and Stu Sutcliffe were in love with each other. Stu was the real 5th Beatle, friend of John and incompetent bass player for the Beatles before he died. Astrid took several famous pictures of the Beatles in Germany. She created A. the Beatles Haircut and B. the stylistic photo of the Beatles in half light and half dark as used on Meet the Beatles album cover and the British "With the Beatles" album cover. I will buy the book and read her perspective since she has a strong and unique postion in the early Beatles legacy.
   
   Kevin Johnson
   Houston, Texas

5 comments about The Birds of Texas.

1. This is a great book just for bird lovers in Texas. Wonderful pictures included.



2. This is a very fine book with photographs taken in the field. Another reviewer suggested this book "if you're only going to have one bird book." My wife and I prefer another book, but this one contains excellent information to supplement the other which is more of a field guide. This book also describes the evolution of the bird classification system, and how the names and designations of some birds have changed with DNA evidence. The author is clearly an expert in his field. Some sources list a hardcover version, but when we tried to get it, it was out of print.



3. This the book to get if you want answers to the questions "what bird is that in my yard/in the park/at the beach?", and "what makes that bird special?". Even the best field guides give no answer to the second question, and their answers to the first question are often frustratingly complicated to the casual or beginning birdwatcher. Most people who call themselves birdwatchers (92% of them according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) can't even identify 40 species. You can use this to identify the easiest and most common 150-200 or so of Texas birds, and then go out and get a field guide to take you through the more difficult identifications.
   
   However, you'll never find a field guide that will show you what makes each bird unique, and where each bird fits into the landscape. The descriptions are engaging, personal, and informative regarding behavior and location, and the photographs catch much about the lives of birds that can only be seen otherwise in the field. Tveten's pictures, including mockingbirds attacking raptors, songbirds calling from brush, and the activities of feeding and nesting birds, catch the essence of why people go out and look at them over, over, and over again.
   
   This book will make you enjoy finding and looking for birds.



4. The photography in this book is superlative and the main reason to purchase it is to admire the lush color photos of Texas's birds. However, I also enjoy the book because it allows me, as a novice birder, to learn to correctly identify various species. This book is much superior to an Audubon guide or a National Geographic Filed Guild to birds because each photo is huge and shows the birds to their best advantage. The photos of the various migrating birds aresimply outstanding!

   I recommend this book for anyone who has an appreciation of birds in the Lone Star state and wants to vicariously see them through this medium. It will definitely prompt every armchair birder to take to the field and spy these wondrous creatures in their natural habitat. There are several birds I saw in this book which captured my fancy immediately. By seeing these photos, it prompted me to go out and beat the trails and shorelines to see each of these birds up close and "in person." A great book!




5. This book has beautiful photographs of Texas birds. It describes their songs, how they eat, mate, nest, care for offspring, and all in an interesting manner. The way the author describes birds, you know he has a great love for these winged creatures. Cedar Wax-wings are "courteous", Loggerhead Shrikes have "the inclinations of a hawk", Grackles are "bullies", Carolina Chickadees are "acrobatic", Horned Larks have a "rakish, devilish air", etc.. Believe it or not, these descriptions actually help me remember what the birds look like and what they are called. Highly recommended.

No comments about Saloons of San Francisco: The Great and Notorious.

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!!!

5 comments about Starting Your Career as a Freelance Photographer.

1. This is definitely a "starter" book. It has lots of good overall advice and was full of things to keep in mind when starting a business. I really wanted a book that was a little more detailed and had more information (and examples) about sample business plans or marketing strategies. Although I found the information on copyrights and calculated overhead very useful, I didn't find the rest of the book as informative as I hoped.



2. This is a MUST HAVE for getting you off the ground in your photography career!



3. I am not a freeelance photographer, but wanted to learn what it takes to be one. I will definately keep my day job!



4. When I first encountered this book and glanced through its index, after noting that it had been published by the American Society of Media Photographers and Allworth Press, I expected it to be a version of "ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography"...light. The latter book was designed to help professional photographers with the business aspects of their careers (but I found it omitted reference to many important business questions). I was wrong.
   
   This book purports to be aimed at people who are interested in becoming professional freelance photographers and it starts out simply in the first part with a broad overview, including comparisons of the advantages of attending a photography school and apprenticing to a professional photographer and selecting equipment. It was simple stuff to be sure but I'm told many people entering the career need this type of information.
   
   But when Part II came, there was more meat. It was a first for me to encounter a photography business book that actually talked about where the new professional was going to get his startup cash: family, friends, a working wife, or even (highly unlikely) a bank loan. The short chapter on location and leases even referred to things like zoning and subletting. There was even a section that talked about the collection of sales taxes and resale certificates for tax exemption. The chapter on insurance covered a topic you never hear even experienced photographers talk about although you know they all need it.
   
   Part IV on negotiating contracts and prices even had a pricing model that looked at the costs of creating photographs and suggested that if the photographer could not set his prices high enough to cover his costs (including his own draw) he should not enter the business.
   
   Part V called "Photography and the Law" discussed copyright, privacy and hiring an attorney. It even had a section on income taxes with suggestions on how to keep the books, which combined with an earlier reference to the software Quicken, talked about an issue that the new photographer usually doesn't even think about facing.
   
   You may have noted that I haven't discussed Part III on marketing, which I found the weakest part of the book. It was disjointed and not comprehensive, although most photographers would probably benefit from reading the short but well written chapter called "The Web Site as Marketing Tool." If you want to understand what's involved in marketing I would suggest Scott Bourne's little book "88 Secrets to Selling & Publishing Your Photography."
   
   This is not to suggest that this is the only business text a freelance photographer will ever need. Far from it. With the exception of the chapters on copyright and privacy and releases (which I think covered the fields very well) every one of the issues raised by the book will require more extensive study. But the book will highlight areas of the business of photography of which the beginning freelancer would never think until a major problem exploded in his face. Presumably, that's a good enough reason for him or her to read the book.



5. This book contains a lot of infomation on how to get started on photography from a business perspective- However a lot of the chapters are taken from other books. Also it is very dry reading- kinda like reading a text book, its stuff you should know but you probably take a few naps before you actually finish the book.

3 comments about Gucci by Gucci.

1. This book is incredible! Your personal library is vacant if you are a high-end fashion lover and this book is not in your collection. The photos are crisp and gorgeous. The book contains photos of celebrities past and present wearing Gucci, pictures of old Gucci boutiques, old ads....you name it, it's in here! There is also a section dedicated to every major type of bag Gucci came out with. Very informative and vital!



2. if you're looking for a book with a lot of history on Gucci, you will be disappointed. This is a nice coffee table book but not a great source for research.



3. I was absolutely amazed at the size of this book. It's huge! The pictures are wonderful. However, I wish that the personalities were named on the page of the photo instead of in a photo icon sized index in the rear of the book. Otherwise, a quite amazing journal on the history of Gucci.

1 comments about Historic Photos of Alaska (Historic Photos.) (Historic Photos.).

1. Alaska has always had a hold on the imagination and dreams for us in the "Lower 48". The immense size, breathtaking vistas, the immense remaining wilderness, and our belief that we can go there and test ourselves against its ruggedness draw us to it. Just attempting it would teach you something about yourself, about nature, and about life even if you didn't actually score so well in the test. Some go half-way by taking comfortable tours.
   
   Most of us satisfy our longing for Alaska with pictures. This is a fine collection of a couple hundred photos that take us from the time Alaska was purchased and had only 30,000 native inhabitants, through the gold rushes, the role of government in developing the land and economy of Alaska, and into the oil boom that ends with the pipeline built in the 1970s. We see the key cities grow, the kinds of buildings that they had and added over time. The importance of the seaports, and sea life becomes quite clear to us. There are even a few pictures of the terrible earthquake of 1964. I remember reading about that and seeing the news footage on TV as a child.
   
   Dermot Cole, a journalist and author specializing in Alaska, supplies the section introductions and the captions for the pictures. His words help us see the pictures with more informed eyes and help us see them as part of a larger story.
   
   The four sections are:
   
   The Alaska Purchase (1867-1905)
   The Territory of Alaska (1906-1919)
   Dredging Through The Depression (1920-1940)
   The Long Road To Statehood (1941-1979)
   
   Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

5 comments about AirCraft: The Jet as Art.

1. This book has the very best set of aircraft photographs I have ever seen. The precision the photographer used in perfectly focusing, exposing and framing the subjects is astonishing. You can literally see the rivets on the aircraft, and as an aviation photographer, I can tell you that is a very difficult accuracy to achieve.
   
   I was reluctant to buy a book containing pictures of only the underside of airplanes. I thought "There must be other photos, too. Who would ever shoot only the bottom of an airplane?" Well, the bottoms are all you'll see, but wow, are they interesting. I love this book.
   
   This book is for you if you want to see:
   1. Astonishing photography. The exposure is wonderful. You can easily make out detail in the wheel wells, as well as the underside of the fuselage and wings
   2. A very detailed look at the underside of 100 commercial aircraft (and maybe 3 front views) revealing all of the seams, doors, probes, slats, flaps, and landing gear (all the pictures are in the full landing configuration, shot on final approach)
   
   However, this book has absolutely no text, other than the name of the aircraft on each page. So, if you want to read about the features of the aircraft or get information about the airline industry, this book won't do that for you. Also, if you want pictures of the "livery" of airliners, you won't see that here, either, except for the little bit that is on the underside of the jets.



2. How refreshing to come across a technology art book. Artists, of course, have realized the beauty of the machine for decades, especially with the Modernist movement in Europe during the Twenties and Thirties. Charles Sheeler was perhaps the leading American photographer to appreciate the exciting visual form of technology. Now photographer (and designer because he did the book's layout) Jeffrey Milstein brings it bang up to date with these stunning photos of jet bottoms.
   
   I thinks it's worth saying that if you like the technical detail aspect of aircraft maybe this book isn't for you but if you want to see crisp, precise photos of contemporary jets from a very unusual angle you'll enjoy the forty-two shown in these pages. There are some profile shots and seven front-on ones but neither of these can capture the fascination of the undersides.
   
   The book is a treat to look through thanks to the square twelve inch by twelve format with the jets handsomely printed (in 250dpi) on good paper. There is a visual extravaganza of a double foldout (to forty-six inches across) of the 'Indian Princess' Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-600 so if you ever sat in the window seat on the right-hand side of this particular jet here's a rather unusual flight memento for you. My only criticism is that the list of aircraft on a spread in the back is alphabetical rather than page number sequence and some spreads, amazingly, have no numbers.
   
   A second volume Jeffrey?
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
   
   



3. I like this book because it presents something we always see but never take the time to really look at. It transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. By omitting everything except the orthogonal view of the plane, we are able to see new aspects of its design. Get a copy.



4. For the passenger aircraft enthusiast, this is an amazing book. The author/photographer has captured, from a very consistent angle, the landing configuration of passenger aircraft that are flying today. The excellent photographs of each plane have been set against a white background that eliminates the distraction of any other surrounding elements and focuses one's view on the plane itself. A very interesting study of passenger aircraft, each photograph reveals details and the differences in wing shape, flaps in landing configuration, nacelle shape, landing gear, navigation lights, etc. that are otherwise only seen in fleeting moments when one is lucky enough to have a plane fly directly overhead just seconds before touchdown. Again, an amazing book!



5. The book provided an interesting perspective, but I guess I expected a mixture of interiors and exteriors.

2 comments about The Lost Amazon: The Photographic Journey of Richard Evans Schultes.

1. 
   This is the way to see the Amazon, through the Rolleiflex camera of one of the greatest explorer-scientists.
   
   This is the way to hear of the Amazon, through the Irish tale-telling of Wade Davis, himself an epic explorer-scientist.



2. Schultes was perhaps the greatest ethnobotanists of all time and definitely the father of the subject. In this book, his pupil (and today famed explorer) Wade Davis puts together a sampling of his photographs throughout his life in the Amazon, providing a visual context to the story about the great scientist and explorer.
   
   Schultes lived among indians for many years in the northwestern Amazon, in search for knowledge about its plants and their secrets. He uncovered many hallucinogenic plants in the process, which earned him a cult status in the 1970s. During his time with the indians, he was able to build strong relationships with the natives, which earned a position of respect and gave him the ability to explore their land and knowledge deeply.
   
   Schultes is one of the last great explorers who disconnected himself from the outside world for years in order to collect new specimens and search for more knowledge. Such figures are rare, if at existent in the modern world. He wrote many books about his travels, which would also make interesting reading, especially as they relat ehte knowledge he gathered. This is more of a coffee table type of book, with many pictures and less story. Having read one of his books, I appreciated seeing the pictures of his time in the Amazon.

No comments about Stephen Shore (Contemporary Artists).