Book Description
Master the power of Photoshop CS3 with
an internationally renowned photographer by your side.
Adobes Photoshop CS3 comes with powerful new features with huge payoffs. But it can be overwhelming to learn, even for professional photographers, graphic designers, keen amateurs, and others who already have an initial grasp of Photoshop. Acclaimed photographer Martin Evening, who wrote the best-selling previous books, 'Adobe Photoshop for Photographers', makes it easy with this new, thoroughly updated edition.
* Illustrated throughout with before-and-after pictures more than 750 professional, color illustrations!
* Practical techniques and real-life assignments
* Step-by-step tutorials
* Keyboard shortcut reference guide
Includes FREE DVD with:
* QuickTime movie tutorials for MAC and PC
* Searchable tips on tools, palettes layer styles, and shortcuts
* Includes images selected for you to experiment with to get you up to speed with everything in the book, including the new Photoshop CS3 features, fast!
* Updated Camera Guide to help you decide which will best suit your needs, plus bonus Digital Capture chapter in printable PDF format
Uncover quickly exactly what Adobes CS3 now offers photographers. New tutorials focus on the key features introduced in CS3. You lose no time in finding out how to put your ideas to work with:
* Adobes Camera Raw 4 plug-in that can now also process TIFFs and JPEGs
* New Align controls for combining HDR images; Photomerge; new Clone Stamp; Curves dialog that now incorporates Levels functionality; and improved controls for Brightness/Contrast to match raw image processing controls
* The latest on Black and White adjustment, which provides all the black and white conversion tools you need for optimum monochrome conversions
* A pros scoop on choosing from among dozens of Photoshops image adjustment methods to get the results you want
* Tips on Bridge 2.0 and Lightroom when you should use each
* Top tactics for successful composite images, insider guidance on editing shadows and highlight adjustments, and lessons on how to preview and re-edit filter effects as many times as you want without complex workarounds
Get the preeminent advice from one photographer to another as Martin completely updates you on the core aspects of working with Photoshop, digital workflow, and improving accessibility. Real-life examples, diagrams, illustrations, and step-by-step explanations ensure that youre up to speed with the next generation of digital photography in no time!
Foreword by Adobe Systems key Director of Engineering, Digital Imaging, Marc Pawliger
* Over 750 professional, color images make this book stand above the rest
* New DVD! Searchable info explains tools, palettes & layer styles, also includes invaluable QuickTime movie tutorials
* Master the power of Photoshop CS3 under the instruction of an internationally recognised Photoshop expert & Adobe alpha tester
Customer Reviews:
Very clear and complete.......2007-10-03
i've seen a lot of cs3 books and this is by far the best for photographers.
Photoshop CS3 for Photographers.......2007-09-29
This book is very big in size and has ample amount of information for the user. We are using it in our Photography class for Photoshop training but there is a CD that anyone could use without a class.
Comprehesive and Informative.......2007-09-26
This is not for beginner. Mainly it aims at the seasoned PS users. I have owned Mr. Evening book since CS2 and found it very useful as a reference materials. The shortcuts and tricks are embedded in the text; as a result, you have to really read the book to garner the info. There are other books which give you tips & tricks. Just consider this book is a reference material.
Outstanding Photoshop book,.......2007-09-22
Finally found an outstanding PS book, well written, illustrated and easy to understand. Highly recommend!
Thank you Martin!.......2007-09-22
I really enjoied the book. Complete, stuffed with tips and detailed explanations. It is suitable for amateurs that would like to increase considerably their skills in digital darkroom.
Book Description
From one of our most admired cultural critics (“A marvelous, canny writer”––Terry Castle, London Review of Books), thirty-one essays on some of the most influential artists of our time––writers, dancers, choreographers, sculptors––and two saints of all time, Joan of Arc and Mary Magdalene. Among the people discussed: Italo Svevo, Stefan Zweig, Simone de Beauvoir, Marguerite Yourcenar, Joseph Roth, Vaslav Nijinsky, Lincoln Kirstein, Jerome Robbins, Martha Graham, Bob Fosse, H. L. Mencken, Dorothy Parker, Susan Sontag, and Philip Roth.
What unites the book is Acocella’s interest in the making of art and in the courage, perseverance, and, sometimes, dumb luck that it requires.
Here is Acocella on Primo Levi, a chemist who, after the Nazis failed to kill him, wrote Survival in Auschwitz, the noblest of the camp memoirs, and followed it with twelve more books . . . Hilary Mantel, the aspiring young lawyer stuck on a couch with a chronic and debilitating illness, who asked herself, “What can one do on a couch?” (well, one could write) and went on to become one of England’s premier novelists . . . M. F. K. Fisher, who, numb with grief over her husband’s suicide, dictated to her sister the witty and classic How to Cook a Wolf . . . Marguerite Yourcenar, the victim of a ten-year writer’s block, who found in an old trunk a draft of a forgotten novel and finished the book: Memoirs of Hadrian . . . George Balanchine, who, after losing his family at age nine, survived the Russian Revolution, escaped from the Soviet Union at twenty, was for five years house choreographer for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, came to the United States with the promise that he could set up a ballet company, and had to wait another fifteen years before being able to establish his extraordinary New York City Ballet . . . And Acocella on Mary Magdalene and Joan of Arc reminds us that saints in the service of their visions–like artists in the creation of their art–draw power from the very blows of fortune that might be expected to defeat them.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful discovery.......2007-08-09
I have greatly enjoyed this selection of essays. Ms. Acocella brings forth what it takes to be an artist in this modern world. Not only that, but she rescues some obscure artists and makes the reader know more about them by providing a glimpse into their lives and work. Ms. Acocella's writing is fluent and makes for easy and entertaining reading as well.
Artistic Essays That Count.......2007-04-10
The essays on modern dance in America are particularly outstanding. Ms. Acocella writes with passion and knowledge. Many of her observations are succint yet sympathetic. They inform the book with a compassion for the individual artist's struggle to define his or her art; something not readily available in much of what passes for criticism these days. Her essay on Marguerite Yourcenar, the French writer who lived in Maine for much of her life, literally jumped off the page for me. No one who reads this book will be disappoited.
An inpiration to all creative people.......2007-03-22
Twenty-eight Artists and Two Saints: Essays.
This book is an inspiration to all creative people who have struggled with themselves and consequently their work. Better than any creative-self-help book, this brilliantly accomplished collection of essays, gives wonderful insights with amusing anecdotes into the live of artists. It is a study in problems that all artists face, whether they are writers, dancers, artists or saints.
About writing this book, the author says:" My concern is the pain that comes with the art-making, interfering with it, and how the artist deals with this......What allows the genius to flower is not neurosis, but its opposite, "ego strength", meaning amongst other things, ordinary Sunday- school virtues, such as tenacity, and above all the ability to survive disappointment."
Amongst the artists she discusses are; Stefan Zweig, Primo Levi, Vaslav Nijinsky, Bob Fosse, Susan Sontag, Louise Bourgeois, Philip Roth, and Joan of Arc -an eclectic selection of gifted and talented people, who through their work, and our contact with them, have contributed in some way, to inspiring our lives.
The creative life sympathetically examined .......2007-02-18
I have read a number of the essays in this collection and found them to be informative, insightful and at times, eye- opening. Acocella often chooses subjects who are not that well known , and who she feels have been neglected. Two of the novelists she writes about here, Joseph Roth and Hilary Mantel were little known to an American audience. But the essays I have read and very much enjoyed are those she has written on Stefan Zweig, and Saul Bellow. I also read with great interest her critical review of a biography on James Joyce's daughter, Lucia, one which Acocella feels makes exaggerated claims for Lucia's influence on her father's work. Another outstanding essay here is the one on Primo Levi who Acocella clearly believes is one of the great moral heroes of the century. Acocella has a real feeling for the struggles involved in the literary and artistic, the creative life. She often reveals a special kind of sympathy with her subject. And this is one of the things which makes her writing, to me anyway, so likeable. One feels the writer herself is a very understanding and considerate person, one whose own creative effort is diligent, caring, and intuitively wise.
I have not read all this collection but from what I have and know of the work of this writer I would recommend it strongly.
Book Description
Why Choose this book:
Inside Advantage: Written for photographers by a photographer! Martin shares his expert knowledge to help you combine photography and Photoshop to develop memorable images
Complete updates: 704 pages of fully updated content plus 30 pages of Photoshop Shortcuts on the free CD-ROM
Master Photoshop CS2: More than 300 pages of information show you how to make tonal corrections, sharpen images, use filters, create montages, simulate darkroom effects and automate Photoshop
Conquer color obstacles: Over 100 pages devoted to explaining the basic principles of color management, how to calibrate your equipment and how to achieve consistent color and produce perfect prints
Expanded areas: Provides more detailed examples, diagrams, simple step-by-step explanations, improving accessibility for the advanced
beginner
The latest edition to join Martin Evening's bestselling 'Adobe Photoshop for Photographers' titles, gives you completely updated and revised coverage providing a professional photographer's insight into Photoshop CS2.
Inside you'll find invaluable information on Bridge, the new file browser that is set to become a very useful image management tool for photographers. Other new developments covered include the new Digital Negative (DNG) file format, improvements in Camera Raw file processing and High Dynamic Range imaging.
Packed full of all the latest features and instructive information on key elements from color management to printing, Martin Evening passes on his famous techniques and professional experience in this commanding and authoritative resource.
* Over 450 professional, color illustrations make this book stand above the rest
* New interior design and reorganised contents make this book even easier to use
* Master the power of Photoshop CS2 under the instruction of an internationally recognised Photoshop expert
Customer Reviews:
Better than an owners manual.......2007-08-13
This book is better than an owners manual for cs2, taking you through step by step instructions, if you already know something just skip that section, if you don't then it works, and it's easy to understand. The pages are color coded, great index and it has lots of picture examples.
must-have for photographers.......2007-05-30
i would recommend this book to anyone who is a photographer or thinking about taking up photography as a hobby. it's an amazing book and has very nice tutorials. i've been using it for about a year now. the price is very nice too.
Lots Of "Eureka" Moments Here.......2007-05-29
I've taken an abbreviated Photoshop class only to leave with more questions than answers. Fortunately, our teacher appreciated this fact and recommended this book to all the photographers in her class. I have not been disappointed except for lacking the time to work my way through this massive tome. Every time I open this book I discover another wonderful timesaver or neat trick to improve my photographs.
As good as it gets.......2007-05-14
Even more than I could expect! This book is intended to teach digital photography with Photoshop to make your photos get a new level that you could never imagine before. But if you want to learn the camera or tips to make your photos better without using your computer this is not what your need. One plus is file format explanations. And if you want to get muscle, this book is perfect for you too; because it's made with the best paper I saw in a book with photo quality in all pages the weight is a ton.
Good formatting.......2007-04-10
Besides being a good book about CS2 I really like the color coded chapter edge tabs. Frequently, it is the little things that make a difference.
Book Description
Can you find your digital photographs when you need them, or do you spend more time rifling through your hard drive and file cabinets than you'd like? Do you have a system for assigning and tracking content data on your photos? If you make a living as a photographer, do your images bear your copyright and contact information, or do they circulate in the marketplace unprotected?
As professional photographer and author Peter Krogh sees it, "your DAM system is fundamental to the way your images are known, both to you and to everyone else." DAM, or Digital Asset Management, in the world of digital photography refers to every part of the process that follows the taking of the picture, through final output and permanent storage. Anyone who shoots, scans or stores digital photographs, is practicing some form of digital asset management. Unfortunately, most of us don't yet know how to manage our files (and our time) very systematically, or efficiently.
In The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers, Krogh brings clarity to the often overwhelming task of managing digital photographs, with a solid plan and practical advice for fellow photographers on how to file, find, protect and re-use photographs. Following a thorough overview of the DAM system and de-mystifications of metadata and digital archiving, Krogh focuses on best practices for digital photographers using Adobe Photoshop CS2. He explains how to use Adobe Bridge, the new CS2 navigational software that replaces the File Browser introduced in Photoshop 7, with full details on integrating Bridge, Camera Raw and Digital Asset Management software.
Compellingly presented in four-color format, The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers brings Krogh's award-winning creative approach to a subject that could have been technically intimidating. Instead, Krogh's twenty years of experience and instructive visual storytelling make this material not only accessible, but compulsory reading for serious digital photographers.
Customer Reviews:
Organization!.......2007-08-31
This is a good book. It is very helpful in determining how to organize photographs. It also is a give a good review of Bridge. It would be nice for the book to be up dated to cover CS3.
An Excellent Overview.......2007-03-31
I found this book to be an excellent resource to help you to understand how all the pieces fit together.
Indespensable Reference for management & storage of digital photos............2007-03-18
As a novice in the area of digital asset management, I found this book to be extremely helpful.....well written and full of great suggestions on how best to manage your photos. Highly recommended.......a true five-star guide.
HIghly Recommended.......2007-03-08
Helps you learn how to deal with all the digital photography photos that amass on your hard drive. Do you save them as JPEG , RAW, both? What about DNG? How do you tag, and archive these files? Why would I do it this way? It's important to know when your files reach into the thousands!! Do you want to lose your data or save it as an inferior file? I hope this book gets updated yearly.
Once good, now seriously outdated and needlessly complex.......2007-03-02
The DAM Book was probably much needed when it was first published - its publication coincided with a realization by many professional and serious amateur photographers that handling the quickly growing digital photo collections required a sound organizing approach and dedicated software tools. The book aptly points out that dealing with digital image workflow and the resulting file archives is in many significant ways different than dealing with film-based archives. Based on this initial premise, the book offers recommendations on how to organize digital photo studio workflow and filing / archive system.
Alas, the author chose to tie VERY CLOSELY his mostly sensible conceptual framework (i.e., HOW to organize) with very specific software and hardware. Often, more general advice is difficult or impossible to separate from his step-by-step, software-specific recipes. So, unless you use exactly the same software and hardware configuration as the author, much, if not most of this information will be of little use.
Since the book was first published, new, DAM- and photographic workflow-oriented software has become available (Adobe CS3, including the new Bridge is now in public beta nearing its release; and Apple Aperture 1.5 and Adobe PS Ligtroom 1.0 are the new, more workflow-focused tools), and more up-to-date (although dispersed) discussion of problems in question can be found in numerous articles on the web. This makes large portions of the book obsolete, as new tools enable different workflows that may be better suited to many photographers' preferences.
The book has other issues.
First, the author LOVES using technical jargon. While technical vocabulary is appropriate in discussing technical issues, creating new terms and elaborate taxonomies for everything is an overkill. The author's misguided argument for using "controlled vocabularies" (a common term, which he uses in his own, very peculiar way - p. 47) is a good case in point. As Eric Abrahamson (Columbia Business School) aptly points out in his excellent book "A Perfect Mess," organizing is always good in principle, but OVER ORGANIZING by creating systems more complex than it is necessary to get the job done, comes at a very steep price in time and resources needed to maintain the system. Enough said.
Secondly, since this is a workflow book (not a coffee-table book), the full color print is totally unnecessary, and the price point is consequently too high. This should have been one of those $9.95 O'Reilly quick-guide booklets. Most photos reproduced in the book are simply decorative, or used as examples for things that are obvious (e.g. an example of a "group shot" - duh!; or a photo of wine barrels in a cellar as a metaphor for file storage system). Photos are not interesting on their own merit; screen captures and simple diagrams would be just as effective in greyscale.
In summary, you may want to flip through the pages of the book at a local library or bookstore - what's really useful and noteworthy here, can be easily grasped in less than 15 minutes; otherwise, your money may be better spent on a good book focused on the actual software tools YOU are committed to using.
Book Description
Window Seat: The Art of Digital Photography and Creative Thinking is a complete view of a creative project from the artist's perspective. Julieanne Kost, a Photoshop and creative thinking expert, has taken her own experience shooting images out of commercial airplane windows to create a unique creative seminar.
The first section of the book, The Art of Creative Thinking: The Principles, outlines Julieanne's method for staying creative in an increasingly complicated world. In her personal stories, advice, and philosophies, you'll find inspiration if you're stuck or just can't get started. You may recognize some of your own less-than-productive thought processes as she describes her own struggle to let go of the everyday flotsam of life to find a quiet mental space in which she can think, dream, and create.
The second part of the book, Window Seat: The Portfolio, is a collection of images culled from over 3000 photographs Julieanne shot from commercial airplane windows over a period of five years. The photographs are accompanied by brief commentaries addressing various aspects of the process, from the original inspiration to issues of control, subject matter, image selection, and manipulation.
The Appendix contains technical information: a discussion of the equipment and media Julieanne used to shoot the photos; how she processed the photographs using Adobe Camera Raw; the Photoshop techniques she employed to correct, retouch, and manipulate the images; her personal file management system; and how she prepares her files for printing.
This book is essential reading for photographers and artists looking for ways to stay creatively awake, aware, and alive.
Customer Reviews:
Wrong book for me........2007-09-20
I love aviation and photography yet lack any professional training in either field. I had hoped this book would be at a level I could gain something from--I was wrong.
For cloud lovers only............2007-09-15
I was really disappointed by this book. It should have been entitled `Interesting Clouds'.
Out of the first 121 pages only 11 and a half contain text, the rest are pictures of rivers, cornfields and clouds. This limited text is mostly fluff, with the author wondering why passengers would rather watch the in flight movie than marvel at what's outside their windows. The only creative thinking involved is that if you have to travel for work a lot, you might as well take pictures out of the window. The most technical advice is to not sit over the wing, and be sure to get a window seat (duh!), and let's not forget to be careful in the post 9/11 world, using a camera may be a suspicious activity.
The appendix (about 25 pages) is devoted to how to improve your pictures of clouds using Photoshop. I'm sure everyone has to have knowledge of how to remove tints and glare from airplane windows.
Save your money, go outside on a cloudy day with your camera and have a ball! Personally, I'm going to burn this book and take photos of the clouds of smoke, so that I'll get at least some use out of it.
very helpful.......2007-09-13
I have learned a new consepts in showing what is important in the picture. Great book and learning tool.
I love this book!.......2007-08-28
I absolutely love this book!
I found every image, every page to be filled with breathtaking beauty.
Even the most simple photos of clouds, Julieanne Kost has managed to create images the likes I have never seen before.
She has managed to take something that I had always taken for granted, the view from a plane window, and created a whole new vision for me to enjoy. Maybe that is the best way to describe it, her work is the difference between simply seeing and true vision.
I flip through this book whenever I am in need of inspiration.
I have bought 5 copies now and given 4 as gifts.
Everyone whom I gave these to, genuinely loved them as much as I do.
I suggest you buy your 5 now ;-)
Lovely to Look At.......2007-06-23
Window Seat (The Art of Digital Photography & Creative Thinking) by Julieanne Kost
Reviewed by Diane Williams, member of the Eureka Photoshop Users Group, 6/20/07
Window Seat is 90% coffee table photo book and 10% self-help and imaging techniques work flow book.
This 147 page book is a beautiful visual memory of those sights you see when you gaze out the window of a plane. I know I have tried to capture what I see out the window of a plane and have been very disappointed by the images. I may be able to make something of them now with this work flow.
Kost shows us sample original images captured by her and we see the final image after she has applied image corrections in Photoshop. Her instructions are brief. This is not a step-by-step tutorial giving all the input numbers. It is a general overview of the work flow what may be necessary, how you get there by pointing to the tools, and what they can do for you.
The self-help part of the book lists Julieanne's 18 self help and creative thinking hints. Here they are:
Master your tools.
Listen to what your life is trying to tell you.
Be open to whatever comes your way.
Share what you know and learn from others.
Collaborate with other creative people, especially the quiet ones.
Be flexible. Learn to negotiate.
Fix whatever you complain about most.
View every challenge as a possible discovery.
Take 15 minutes for yourself everyday.
Figure out what you need to do to reach your zero point.
Integrate work and Art; both will benefit.
Take up an interest in something you know nothing about.
Look at new stuff- and what you already know- with fresh perspective.
Keep a journal.
Visualize first, Photoshop second.
Replace your thoughts with intuition
Play! Play! Play!
Know when you're done.
This book is worth a look even if it is just to vicariously have the window seat. It will not teach anyone much about Photoshop.
Average customer rating:
|
The Photographer's Sourcebook of Creative Ideas
John Hedgecoe
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0394558286
Release Date: 1987-03-12 |
Book Description
The latest edition to join Martin Evening's bestselling 'Adobe Photoshop for Photographers' titles gives you completely updated and revised coverage providing a professional photographer's insight into Photoshop CS.
The main update is the latest coverage of all that's new in digital capture; also the numerous new tutorials and updated, top quality color images throughout make this edition a must have purchase. This edition also benefits from a new internal design that, along with a re-ordering of the contents, makes navigation even easier. Still packed with practical advice and even more hints and tips, this book will take your Photoshop up to a professional standard, guided by the 'Daddy' of Photoshop himself, Martin Evening.
* Over 450 professional, color illustrations make this book stand above the rest
* New interior design and reorganised contents make this book even easier to use
* Master the power of Photoshop CS under the instruction of an internationally recognised Photoshop expert
Customer Reviews:
Excellant Book.......2006-11-05
This is one of the best books I have read dealing with Photoshop. It is written for the Photographer. The instructions are very clear. I would suggest that every profession photographer and serious amateur have a copy of this book.
Cragg Eichman
A MUST HAVE!.......2005-10-07
If you into photography, you must use Photoshop CS and consequently, you must have this book. No more, that's it.... just buy it!!!
Incredibly Helpful.......2005-07-15
Just to start this, I'm one of the "near-expert" users that uses Photoshop all the time, and has been doing so for years, and no, it's not at all geared for beginners, but you should of figured that out by the part where it says "Professional Image Editor's Guide". That said, this book is incredible, there are many very interesting and solid techniques that you will have a hard time finding in any other source. Aside from that, not much more is to be said, but as the owner of at least 6 or 7 photoshop books, I would have to say this is by far the best! Highly recommended, as long as your not a beginner.
Needs better editing.......2005-03-22
This is a wonderful book for the photographer who is delving into Photoshop CS for the first time. However, there are many editing errors. Some of the places where Mr. Evening refers to other sections in the book obviously refer to previous editions rather than to the current edition. There are quite a few typos which were not picked up by the editing process as well. The indexing is not up to par either. For instance when you search for "montage" in the index it doesn't exist, yet there is an entire chapter on the topic. Overall, I am very glad that I bought the book and find it extremely useful in getting up to speed in my digital darkroom use of PS CS.
Comprehensive book, but step-by-step instructions would help.......2005-02-01
This is a very comprehensive book. It demonstrates sophisticated Photoshop CS
techniques. I would call myself an advanced beginner in Photoshop PC. While I was able to implement the various techniques described in this book, I would have preferred clearer step by step instructions.
The author buries instructions within the text. Step by step instructions would make the book more user friendly and probably appeal to a broader audience. The contents of the CD which comes with the book was helpful. Some of the "before" and "after" photos used to illustrate the techniques in the book looked pretty similar to me, but they are more distinct looking on the CD. I found installing the CD on my PC a bit glitchy, but that was sorted out after a few tries.
In my opinion, the perfect hybrid CS Photoshop book would cross the sophistication of Martin Evening with the step-by-step instructional style of Scott Kelby.
Book Description
This definitive guide to studio lighting explains and demonstrates universal lighting principles that help photographers think on their feet and master lighting theory and technique. Explained are essential concepts such as why light behaves the way it does and how to manipulate it to its best effect. Concrete, practical examples illustrate topics such as shooting light, dark, and reflective surfaces; mastering contrast control; modifying shadow formation to effectively shape mid- and light-colored objects; creating definition in black objects; and using Photoshop to fine-tune subjects. Instruction is also provided on creating simulated sunlight, painting with light, using softening filters, and lighting subjects in motion. Compelling photographs and numerous lighting diagrams are included.
Customer Reviews:
And the light was good.......2007-05-26
Very good book. I found this book when I was doing some internet searches on Dean Collins video on 3D contrast (Which is a great video). Dave Montizambert worked with Dean Collins. This and the 3D contrast tape go hand in hand. I take notes when I read photography books, and this yielded a lot of good information for me.
Easy read, useful stuff.......2006-02-25
This book gives you lots of ideas to make studio photography more interesting and versatile without buying expensive equipment. It's easy to read, has lots of tips and lots of lighting diagrams and example photographs. Author tells you what effects you can do without photoshop, and then tells you where photoshop would be useful.
Great Book!.......2006-01-05
I'm still learning more about lighting, ( I think I will be always in that stage), and this book answered a lot of questions, provided a lot of techniques, to reach a quality studio lighting. There is a lot of termonology here, scintefic knoledge, but you get the infomration that helps you to control lighting in a professional way in your studio.
Very clear and useful.......2005-12-25
The book illustrates the discussion by repeating the same shot with different lighting techniques. You can skim the text and just look at the photos and their lighting diagrams.
I found it very informative to see the effects of something as simple as adding or moving a reflective card . This allowed me to take better photos by buying some mat board rather than spend a bunch of money on new lights.
Don't buy those umbrellas just yet.......2005-10-20
I'm primarily a street photographer, and my studio lighting set up has for years involved umbrellas and reflectors. However, this book demonstrates- without actually stating it- how little control this offers the photographer. (Umbrellas are still useful, but they are not always the best solution.)
The technique of varying not only the source to subject distance but also the origin to source distance is worth the time and money I invested. (The source is your light modifier. The origin is the light itself.)
This is not for beginner photographers or even those new to studio lighting. The author assumes a good knowledge of photography and a basic knowledge of studio lighting. In fact, I feel the need to read it again.
I give four stars and not five because I felt that there could have been a few more chapters.
Note: the title is NOT "How to Choose and Purchase Photographic Lighting". The book is about how to USE Photographic Lighting.
Average customer rating:
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- Don't Miss This!
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Creators: From Chaucer and Durer to Picasso and Disney
Paul M. Johnson
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
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ASIN: 0060191430
Release Date: 2006-03-14 |
Book Description
Twenty years ago Paul Johnson published Intellectuals, biographical essays forming what Kingsley Amis described as "a valuable and entertaining Rogues' Gallery of Adventures of the Mind." It was a bestseller in many of the score of languages into which it was translated, but also criticized for describing clever people "so as to bring out their bad behavior" (Bernard Williams, New York Review of Books).
Paul Johnson now meets the charge with this companion volume of essays on outstanding and prolific creative spirits. He looks at writers from Chaucer and Shakespeare to Mark Twain and T. S. Eliot, artists like Dürer, and architects such as Pugin and Viollet-le-Duc. He explains the different ways in which Jane Austen, Madame de Stael, and George Eliot struggled to make their voices heard in the masculine hubbub. Victor Hugo allows him to ask, "Can imaginative genius coexist with low intelligence?" Johann Sebastian Bach gives him the opportunity to focus on the role of genetics in creativity and to explore the strange world of the organ loft. Louis Comfort Tiffany takes him into the technology of glass-making and the tragic vagaries of aesthetic fashion. Some essays make illuminating comparisons: of Turner with his contemporary the Japanese master Hokusai, and of the two great dress designers, Balenciaga and Dior. The final essay examines those two inventive geniuses, Picasso and Disney, and asks which had the greater influence on the visual arts of the twentieth century -- and beyond.
Paul Johnson believes that creation is a mysterious business that cannot be satisfactorily analyzed. But it can be illustrated in such a way as to bring out its salient characteristics. That is the purpose of this instructive and witty book.
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Twenty years ago Paul Johnson published Intellectuals, biographical essays forming what Kingsley Amis described as ""a valuable and entertaining Rogues' Gallery of Adventures of the Mind."" It was a bestseller in many of the score of languages into which it was translated, but also criticized for describing clever people ""so as to bring out their bad behavior"" (Bernard Williams, New York Review of Books).
Paul Johnson now meets the charge with this companion volume of essays on outstanding and prolific creative spirits. He looks at writers from Chaucer and Shakespeare to Mark Twain and T. S. Eliot, artists like Dürer, and architects such as Pugin and Viollet-le-Duc. He explains the different ways in which Jane Austen, Madame de Stael, and George Eliot struggled to make their voices heard in the masculine hubbub. Victor Hugo allows him to ask, ""Can imaginative genius coexist with low intelligence?"" Johann Sebastian Bach gives him the opportunity to focus on the role of genetics in creativity and to explore the strange world of the organ loft. Louis Comfort Tiffany takes him into the technology of glass-making and the tragic vagaries of aesthetic fashion. Some essays make illuminating comparisons: of Turner with his contemporary the Japanese master Hokusai, and of the two great dress designers, Balenciaga and Dior. The final essay examines those two inventive geniuses, Picasso and Disney, and asks which had the greater influence on the visual arts of the twentieth century -- and beyond.
Paul Johnson believes that creation is a mysterious business that cannot be satisfactorily analyzed. But it can be illustrated in such a way as to bring out its salient characteristics. That is the purpose of this instructive and witty book.
"
Customer Reviews:
Tiring.......2007-07-09
I'm reasonably certain I qualify as the intended audience for this book. Relatively conservative, relatively well-read, a skeptic and a bit of a iconoclast. Should be a sympathetic reader. Yet I found it tedious and frustrating. Between his repeated braggadoccio and the lightweight analysis, I was generally disappointed. My son called him a pompous blowhard for his small, but endlessly annoying, autobiographical snippets. For instance, like Durer, he always travels with his watercolors. Cool! He recalls that memorable evening when he, C. S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien were wrestling with an Eliot poem, and the day he remarked to Anthony Powell.....well, you get the idea. How about that untranslated French? (Sorry, Paul, I'm a mere monolingual dummy.) And the one that nearly sent me screaming into the night, when referring to Pride and Prejudice, he let this fly: "to many, though not to the most discerning, her greatest achievement." Whom is he including in that rarefied group do you think? Ultimately, Paul Johnson reminded me of the Oscar Wilde wannabes I all too frequently met while I was studying in Oxford. Cape, beret, French cigarettes, often with a holder!, and a bon mot for every occasion. Their goal in life was to prove they knew your speciality more thoroughly than you did. I soon learned to recognize their uniform and flee them as I would a man in a white robe and pointy hood.
Paul Johnson is a well-educated man with a breadth of knowledge I could never hope to match. He has read everything, seen paintings everywhere (documenting his worldwide travels while doing so...why did he tell me where these are other than to brag?) and listened carefully to an astounding collection of music. But he brings little real insight to the creative process, other than that these folks all worked very hard. Painted or wrote or read or sewed, they spent years practicing and honing and reworking. But I wonder if another book could be written about creative people who do not fit this mold, massively fertile artists who squandered their time in alcohol or drugs and yet climbed out periodically to produce something majestic.
Bach came from a musical family and worked hard. Genetics were helpful claims Mr. Johnson. But were they? Both Haydns came from a non-musical family and achieved a bit of musical success as well. So what role does genetics play? It varies.... How about education? Well, Eliot had it in spades, but Austen and Dickens did not. Some read endlessly, some not at all. Does it matter? Or how about genius? Are the most creative people the smartest? Slam dunk, right? Well, not quite. Victor Hugo was a dunce, a fool, a lecherous old man (and a lecherous young man as well.) Yet he managed to write books that will last far beyond the scribblings of men far more brilliant. So the conclusion seems to be that creativity comes from lots of different kinds of folks, living lots of different kinds of lives. Didn't need a whole book for that. When there is a heartfelt response to a great work of art, there are tears, or that mysterious welling, or overwhelming joy. I never felt that in this book. Paul Johnson failed to communicate how these masters managed to get their audiences to experience that. Clinical, straightforward, full of copious information, but little insight. Read or listen to the creators themselves. Far more enjoyable.
A paean to the life of creation .......2007-05-04
If in a previous work 'Intellectuals' Johnson was all acid in criticizing those who in his phrase ' put ideas before people'.In this work he is all sweetness in praising great creators who as he sees it ' people before ideas'. Johnson's praise of creation however is not confined to those we normally think of creators. Like the great American pragmatist thinkers he sees ' creation' as an inherent part of human everyday life. Furthermore he gives this concept a religious grounding, by speaking of the idea that God the Creator wishes human beings to be creators also. This idea is Biblically derived, and is a reflection of Johnson's own religious view.
In the opening chapter Johnson commends creators for their courage in overcoming adversities, for their persistence against rejection of many kinds. He writes, " What strikes me, surveying the history of creativity, is how little fertile and productive people often received in the way of honors, money or anything else." He gives the example of Vermeer whose great dedication and hard work did succeed in lifting his family from poverty. He says that Bach and Mozart too never really had full financial security despite their enormous productive efforts.
Johnson is an especial chamption of prolific, hard- working creators. His opening chapter is on Chaucer who virtually invents the modern English language and literature. He then writes of Durer one of those artists who was always learning, expanding and developing his powers in new areas. His third chapter is devoted to Shakespeare who Johnson calls " the most creative personality in human history" Johnson makes studies of two great Shakespeare characters Falstaff and Hamlet. Johnson focuses on the new phrases and words Shakespeare has given to the language. He emphasizes the speed and variety of Shakespeare's creation, the tremendous insight into human life and character. He sees Hamlet as a kind of deep thinker whose reflections throw light on every important aspect of human existence.
If Johnson points to Shakespeare as proof that the great creator can come from anywhere is in no way dependent on high origins- then he in his next chapter on Bach focuses on the opposite aspect, the genetic component. He writes of the Bach family which for three hundred years from the age of Luther to the age of Bismarck were at the heart of German music. Bach is praised not only for his hardworking dedication, but for his enormous originality- his creating in every music form known at the time ( except Opera) and expanding the dimensions and scope of each form.
In the chapter on Turner and Hokusai Johnson writes of creators who did not go outside their own form of creation- who were wholly dedicated to it. "Turner transformed landscape , during his lifetime into the greatest of visual arts,and left the world of painting permanently changed- indeed artists all over the world are still learning from him ..... Hokusai in effect created Japanese landscape painting from nothing, but he also portrayed Japanese life in the first half of the nineteenth century with dazzling graphic skill and an encyclopedia completeness that have never been equaled anywhere"
In his chapter on Jane Austen Johnson focuses on the special difficulties women have had historically in attempting to be creators.He points out that most women were simply barred by their families from any creative endeavor. He tells in a few especially instructive pages the story of George Eliot, who was at the outset something of a rejected if not ugly, then very plain 'duckling'. With the years ' she was increasingly recognized not only as a storyteller of extraordinary gifts but as moral mentor of formidable power. Polite society , far from shutting her out, queued up at her door and was often refused admittance." Jane Austen, Johnson indicates did not have anything like Eliot's success in her own lifetime, but her books are far more widely read today. Johnson points to her early elegance, self- confidence and ebullience in writing. Johnson sees her great transformation coming when she looked into the Romantic novels of her own day, and understood that she could do far better than them."Quite naturally, she perceived that real life , as she knew it from personal experience , was much more fun to write about than impossible adventures of which she knew nothing." Johnson laments her early death and puts her with those creators Keats, Shelley, Mozart, Weber, Girtin, Gericault, Bonningon who died young and left many with a longing for works of theirs which would never be. Johnson also writes of the architects A.W.N. Pugin and Viollet- le-Duc, of Victor Hugo, Mark Twain (For Johnson 'humor'is one of the greatest of all creative gifts) Tiffany, T.S. Eliot, Picasso and Walt Disney.
This is a wonderfully entertaining book. It is centered on a 'positive' subject most people I suspect are happy to read and learn more about . However here I would register one note, if not of dissent, then of reservation.
In his opening chapter Johnson writes of the great creative power of Wagner's operas. Johnson ignores however their evil and destructive ideology- He ignores the fact that great creators have often been evil people. He ignores too the fact that 'destruction is inherent in certain kinds of creation'.And great creators are often those with a kind of overriding ambition, a kind of Faustian hunger that means their creation brings with it great destruction.
The subject is darker than his list of creative heroes indicates. There is a whole literature from Rudolf Wittkauer to Kay Redfield -Jamison on the saturnic, dark, depressive force behind much great creation. And many many of the greatest creators were not the kind of sensible, practical productive businesslike figures Johnson praises. Consider
Johnson as religious believer does not really raise the question of why great creative gift and powers are sometimes given by God to evil people.
In his final chapter he speaks briefly about scientific and technological discovery as creative work. He cites Humphrey Davy's invention of the safety- mask for miners, and the over one thousand inventions of the greatest inventor of all , Edison. But he does not talk about Newton and Einstein. And he does not even begin to point out how scientific and technical creation are at the heart of so many dilemnas, including 'survival' facing Mankind today. In other words here too the darker sides, the more problematic sides of 'creation' are not considered.
Again though, despite these reservations, this is an exceptionally instructive and enjoyable work.
The brighter side of human achievement.......2007-03-26
I always make it a point to dip into the über-prolific Johnson's latest tome; his magnificent "Modern Times" had a most profound effect on the way I see and interpret the world. This latest effort is a sequel, of sorts, to Johnson's incisive "Intellectuals," in which the author drew stark contrasts between the lofty ideals of a gaggle of influential thinkers from Rousseau to Bertrand Russell and the frequently dreadful ways in which they treated the people in their lives. The message: beware letting such busybodies run things, as they recognize only "the heartless tyranny of ideas." As Johnson explains in the Introduction to "Creators", he caught a lot of flak over "Intellectuals"' "mean-spiritedness" (I prefer to call it "unwelcome truth-telling") and thereupon resolved to write a more "positive" survey of some of the world's most accomplished creative minds.
Creators could easily have been several times its final length, and one can sense in several cases how tempted Johnson must have been to expand his survey. In the section on Jane Austen, for example, Johnson manages to squeeze in micro-discussions of several other female authors, such as George Eliot and Mme. de Staël. (Perhaps he was trying to head off accusations of sexism?) By and large, however, Creators cuts the critical commentaries close to the bone and hews to its stated goal of using the figures discussed here to illustrate various ways in which the creative urge may manifest itself. Johnson evinces a clear preference for practical-minded, nose-to-the-grindstone geniuses such as Shakespeare, J.S. Bach, and Albrecht Dürer, who married disdain for overly "intellectual" theorizing to superhuman work ethics. By far the least likable of these pivotal figures is Pablo Picasso, whom Johnson compares unfavorably with Walt Disney in perhaps the most controversial of his essays. (Those who have read Johnson's "Art: A History" will be familiar with Johnson's attitude towards Picasso; it's the direct comparison with Disney, a bête noîre of the same cultural leftists who idolize Picasso, that will drive the latter folks crazy.) The book isn't as memorable or as eye-opening as "Intellectuals", but it will give a reader new to Johnson a fairly decent flavor of the man's working methods (dare I say, his sense of creativity?).
A creative description of creative people.......2007-03-19
Jane Austen produced novels in lieu of children, because she was not pretty enough to attract a potential father. T. S. Eliot produced poems, because his hernias sidelined him from physical things and thus gave him the vast amount of time and energy required to develop his intellect. "Shakespeare is the most creative personality in human history."?
Pablo Picasso was a women-beating communist (that never seems to be brought out by the popular press). Now if I run across a Picasso, in addition to cubes, I will see red.
Paul Johnson also gave me a new appreciation for the accomplishments of Mark Twain and Walt Disney.
Don't Miss This!.......2007-02-09
Paul Johnson has become almost like a family friend. His editorials in Forbes to his ginormous (if you have young adults, you know this word)tomes about history have allowed us to see in our mind's eyes the people and activies that have shaped the modern world. This short work describes some people we thought we knew: creators of fiction, art and fantasy fashion. Johnson brings the creators he describes into a spotlight that reveals finer details...details you don't want to miss.
Book Description
The marriage of art and science is celebrated in this beautifully illustrated four-color biography and activity book. Kids will begin to understand the important discoveries that da Vinci made through inspiring activities like determining the launch angle of a catapult, sketching birds and other animals, creating a map, learning to look at a painting, and much more. Includes a
glossary, bibliography, listing of pertinent museums and Web sites, a timeline, and many interesting sidebars.
Customer Reviews:
once I find one error, how can I tell?.......2007-10-03
While I believe that da Vinci was a vegetarian, his minestrone would not have had tomatoes in it. (Tomatoes are a "New World" product that were introduced to Europe by Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century - and many did not eat them as they were known to be in the poisonous nightshade family.) Suddenly my concern is - how can I tell what other errors might be in this book?
not received.......2007-07-15
up to now the 3 itens do not arrived in my address.
I already wrote a message about that months ago.
Please do something
Sergio
A juvenile history of Da Vinci with 21 related activites.......2004-02-08
I have been going through some of the books by Janis Herbert and others than combine history with 21 activities, and as interesting as I have found those volumes to be I have to say I like the ones that deal with artists even more. "Leonardo da Vinci for Kids: His Life and Ideas" combines a detailed juvenile biography of the life of the great inventor, military engineer, scientist, botanist, and mathematician who found time to be a great painter and sculptor as well. This was the man who painted the "Mona Lisa" and invented the armored tank, diving suit, bicycle and airplane centuries before they were built. He is also an important figure in what has been the novel that has been at the top of the bestseller list for like the past year.
The biography is divided into four sections, focusing on Leonardo's youth in Vinci, his years as a young apprentice, his period of greatest productivity in Milan, and his final years in Venice and France. The volume is illustrated with dozens of pictures of Leonardo's paintings and sketches, and the back of the book includes a Glossary, Biographies of key Renaissance artists (Botticelli, Michelangeo, etc.) and historical figures (Cesare Borgia, Ludovico Sforza, etc.), Web Sites to Explore, places where you can see some of Da Vinci's work, a Bibliography, Credits, and an Index.
The other half of the book are the 21 activities and the art lessons, because in addition to detailing da Vinci's life Herbert talks about perspective, vanishing points and the like. Some of these are just basic art lessons, such as sketching things by observing nature, painting birds, decorating a jar for holding paintbrushes, and making a small picture frame. Others are specific to the artwork of da Vinci, such as making a life mask, lute, notebook, a parachute kite, and learning to measure human bodies the way Leonardo did. You can even make a minestrone soup in honor of Leonardo the vegetarian or Salai's aniseed sweets. Still others deal with the history of the time, such as making a banner.
The net result is that "Leonardo da Vinci for Kids" does more than tell the story of his life and show examples of his great artwork, but provides young readers with an opportunity to try and do the same things. This book is also of great use to teachers doing units on Leonardo, the Renaissance, or art, who will be able to find both information and activities they can use in class.
Interesting, pretty pictures.......2001-11-25
Knowing little about art, I found this book easy to understand, enjoyable and informative. However, it is too advanced ("boring") for my almost 8 year old daughter. My opinion is that this book would be great for 10 and up.
I learned as much from this book as much as my students did!.......2001-10-10
I was surprised to see even one negative review of this wonderful book. I think it can be enjoyed equally by both parent/teacher and child/student. The text is beautifully written and presents all of the facets of this fascinating man. It also places his activities firmly within the context of the politics and society of the Renaissance. The book includes explanations, in language a middle-school child can understand, how flight is possible and how canals and locks work. A wide variety of activities, as well as line drawings, are included to illustrate other key concepts in painting, mechanics, etc. I cannot agree with the reviewer who felt that too few of Leonardo's works were included; I felt it included his most important works, as well as an interesting array of his mechanical, nature and anatomical drawings. As a teacher, I suggest using this book in combination with E.L. Konigsberg's "The Second Mrs. Gioconda"; my students really enjoyed seeing how novelists can use facts as the basis for fiction. I finished this book awed by the range of Leonardo's gifts and both my own daughters (one a reader, one an artist) loved this book for different reasons. But they both came away knowing about and loving Leonardo and that's the important thing!I only wish that this author would do a book on "Michaelangelo for Kids."
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