Customer Reviews:
Excellently meets the objective.......1998-06-04
I am about to leave for Africa, so I needed some preparation. McDonald's book exactly served my needs. It is helpful, with both technical advice and inspiring photographs. He makes you believe that you will be successful. I later found referrals to this book in the nature photography usenet group; so it seems that others find the book helpful as well. Small enough to take along. Packing lists too.
Book Description
An easy-to-use guide to help you set up and capture flattering images of horses.
Customer Reviews:
The info you don't get from a camera course.......2007-06-27
Full of information for the equine photographer. Thank you for a book that fulls in the missing information for equine photography, and giving me all the tricks of the trade. Enlightening!!!
Practical Help and Valuable Information.......2007-06-08
This book was more than I even exspected. Good practical information and not all technical. This book really gives you tips on taking horse photos, which is totaly different from Portrait Photography of People. I have put the information to use.
Should be titled Beginners Guide to Horse Photography.......2007-01-24
I eagerly awaited this book for several months before receiving it. What a total disappointment it has been. Not only are the photos mediocre, many poorly exposed, with details hidden in shadows or blown out by too much light; most are simply not crisp or sharp-- they could easily appear in anyone's snapshot album. It appears that her target audience is simply the horse owner who wants to take better photos of his horse. If that is the case, specific information would be most helpful (i.e. " standing approximately 10 feet from the shoulder will give you X result". The advice on posing is totally inadequate, even for Quarterhorses which are featured through the book. Arabians, Morgans, Saddlebreds, etc, are all posed somewhat differently. There is no mention of learning the breed differences in order to photo well. The head shots on pages 114 & 115 make me want to cry...the "bad" example is superior to the one being shown as correct although the background is better, and it could benefit from judicious cropping.
This is the other disappointment - there are no truly beautiful photos in the book which give you something to aim for, or to admire and life your sights up. Surely the author could have found a few outstanding photos to add visual interest to her text rather than using model horses.
I believe that if you are a camera novice, this book could give you some useful tips, and that is why it gets 2 stars instead of 1. However, you would be far better off to get a book on photography, learn how to use the camera's features and then go out and shoot, shoot, shoot. Try to find Darol Dickensen's older "Photographing Livestock", look at Robert Vavra's books, read the Quarterhorse Journal, the Arabian Horse Times, the Dressage books to see good examples of excellent photographs. Pay attention to the photos in the horse magazines like Horse Of Course, Western Horsemen - you will learn far more. After all this waiting, I am returning this rather basic, generally underwritten book tomorrow. Good luck with your horse photos - you can do better!
Book that teach you horse photography.......2007-01-18
There are quite a many photographers who have beautiful pictures and have written books to help other persons to improve their photographing skills. However in most cases you just look at those beautiful pictures in those books to understand that you will never get such pics on your own.
With Lesli Groves' book it is different. Most of the pictures shown at the book are not perfect, but it is clearly explained how you can get the same or even better results, so I find this book more valuable than many other books. You can learn much and get better results photographing horses even if you are not intended to be professional photographer.
I read this book from one cover to another and enjoyed it right form the start. And, I must say, author has good sense of humor.
Photographing Horses: How to Capture the Perfect Equine Image.......2007-01-16
Bought this book because I love photography - not only shooting and creating images, but looking at others' works too! I have photographed horses before, but never gave it much thought. This book showed me some cool secrets and great ideas, it helped train my eye in just what to look for and how to set up a shot with horses and horses with people in the frame. Besides, the photos are beautiful. Get the book, stick it on your coffee table or drag it along with you on your photo shoot!
Product Description
Learn the environmental and preservational advantages of photographing animals in captivity. Gain instruction on how to take dazzling shots of animals in zoos, aquariums, wildlife refuges and parks, as well as at home or in the studio. Learn how to shoot through obstacles like fences and glass, photograph animals in motion and close up and create natural-looking images of animals in captive settings.
Customer Reviews:
A Realistic Approach To Animal Photograhpy.......2000-05-17
The reality of life is that few of us can spend a carear in the field in pursuit of the cover shot for National Geo., but we can go to the local zoo etc. and create presentable images that we can be proud of, and perhaps sell. This book provides some of the guidelines. Nobody can give you the skills, this will only come after you apply yourself and expose a few miles of film.
Mr. Havelin's writing flows well, it is written with enough down to earth wit to keep a sense of reality. This I find rare in photography related publishing, and I credit him and the publisher for this.
The author offers useful advice, and demonstrates with his own work, and he is not afraid to show some of his shots that didnt come out perfect, to illustrate his point.
A fresh apporocah, - Thank You Mr. Havelin.
Shooting Animals With A Camera: From Awful to Awesome.......2000-05-17
I wished I had read "Practical Manual of Captive Animal Photography" several decades ago before filling albums with numerous truly awful photos showing animals or parts of them in zoos, aquariums, gardens, and on farms. By reading Havelin's newest photography book, I discovered why many of my animal photos leave a lot to be desired and what I can try to improve. Among the many pluses of the book are understandable advice, awesome and awful photos illustrating how to photograph and how not to, a colloquial writing style, print one can read without a magnifying glass, and, this was definitely not expected, ideas for locations to visit. I especially found it valuable to learn about photographing through glass and fences. For example, on page 54 in the book are several photos of a red panda in Zoo Atlanta. The first photo could have been mine. One can see a lot of metal fencing and ask: "Where is the animal?" In the last photo is only the red panda - no cage, no fence, and no wall. I am looking forward to follow Havelin's directions: "Look for right angle to minimize glare, and the correct depth of field to remove disturbing fence elements in front of and behind the subject creature."
Book Description
Flowers are often a photographer’s favorite subject, and this sumptuous manual covers all the practical skills and aesthetic considerations involved in shooting an array of blossoms. Whether the image is a close-up of a petal or a long shot of a landscape brilliantly in bloom, author Sue Bishop’s inspirational compositions celebrate color and form: they move beyond straightforward depictions of flowers into something more abstract, personal, and unique. She presents three comprehensive sections that cover technical matters such as equipment, lighting, exposure, and depth of field; using color; and artistic concerns such as the use of backgrounds, soft focus, and special effects.
Customer Reviews:
Photographing Flower by Sue Bishop.......2007-05-07
I am very happy with the book. The wrapping was seamless; the images are beautiful; and the tips are practical and they work.
Her Flower Photography is Art.......2004-11-30
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!
Book Description
The first how-to book by Art Wolfe, America's most renowned nature photographer, written in collaboration with the former photography editor of
Audubon magazine. Together, they help everyone from novice to experienced amateur to
see like a photography professional.
Full-color photographs.
Customer Reviews:
Worth Reading and Re-Reading.......2006-07-13
The Art of Photographing Nature is a unique photography book. Not only do you get a master photographer (Art Wolfe) dissecting his own work, his commentary is supplemented by Martha Hill. Ms. Hill was formerly the editor of Audubon Magazine and brings an entirely different perspective to the analysis. The hundreds of photos not only show off Mr. Wolfe's considerable ability but also provide fertile ground for the discussion of what make one shot more desirable than another.
This is not a book that will satisfy those desiring a step-by-step guide to nature photography. It's more of a free form discussion that is illuminating but will provide as much food for thought as it does hard information. In fact, the two don't always see the same picture the same way and that in itself is interesting though, again, it could frustrate someone looking for one right answer. As long as you can accept the book for what it is, I highly recommend it. In fact, this is one book that you shouldn't read just once. Come back to it every so often and you'll find that it opens your eyes to new possibilities again and again.
Excellent Photograpy, Disappointing Editing.......2005-09-17
I purchased my copy of this book in 1997 and have read it more than once. Art Wolfe's photography is outstanding and the inclusion of two or more takes, with explanatory verbiage, on the images is of great value in understanding how he got the shots and what goes into making the best shots.
Martha Hill also provides interesting insight for the photographer on the inner workings of a publication or at least the photo editing function. This can be useful to those determined to sell their work for publication.
Both Art's & Martha's explanations on why they like a certain image in a comparative spread are illuminating and they occasionally disagree as to which image is best. This is, of course, perfectly acceptable as the individual perspective that each brings to the table, Art's artistic perspective, and Martha's publication-oriented perspective, as well as their personal tastes all come into play in determining what is the "best" image.
An otherwise good effort is marred by poor text editing. This book, or at least the version that I have - last date 1993 - could have benefited from a text editor. There are many instances in which the technical information - lens length, aperture, f stop or shutter speed - provided in the image caption and that provided in the text disagree. The first of these occurs on pages 6 & 7. The image caption notes that the shutter speed for the Adelie penguins was 1/250, but the text indicates 1/500. (I provided this citation so that you can see if the version of the book you are looking at has been updated. Hopefully, any newer printings would have rectified this issue.)
The frequent inconsistency of the technical information relating to how an image was captured should have been caught in the editorial process. In addition, if one of the purposes of the book is to be instructive, although not in a text book fashion, it fails, at least partially, in this mission due to the inconsistent technical information.
All in all, this was a good book with many tips for the budding nature photographer. Even experienced photographers who do not have nature experience can learn from Art's discussions.
collaboration and stronger for it.......2003-06-24
without a doubt, art wolfe, one of our foremost photographers, has outstanding wildlife work showcased here in color plate after color plate. this book's true value, however, arrives in the discussion between wolfe and martha hill, former picture editor of audubon magazine. for all but those already well-versed in the magazine and book trade, this dialogue will provide deep insights into how to photograph for publication. hill's comments on what does and does not work for various layouts is invaluable. i highly recommend this title.
Inspiring!.......2002-05-03
It makes you want to run right out there, after buying more rolls of film of course! This is a wonderful book - so crisp the colors and details. Right before I go out on a fun photo shoot I love to run through it again - inspires me to see and look for MORE - Wonderful book for the Photographer's collection!
Art's Art.......2002-01-04
The Art of Photographing Nature is probably not for the beginning photographer, but once you?ve learned how to manipulate the camera well enough to consistently make good, properly focussed exposures, you ought to look at this book if you?re interested in nature photography. And I do mean look, because that?s the way this book teaches.
This is a book about photographic composition, which is something a photographer must know well to make pictures that are more than snapshots. Technique is referred to, but if you want a how-to book get John Shaw?s ?Nature Photography Field Guide?
Although Hill claims the writing credits and Wolfe the photography credits, this is somewhat misleading. The form the book takes is to show a picture taken by Wolfe, or more often two, and then have both comment on the compositional choices. Since Wolfe is one of the greatest living nature photographers and since Hill is the former picture editor of Audubon Magazine, their commentary is illuminating. I found the comparison between two pictures of the same or similar subject matter, including why they found one better than the other, to be particularly insightful. It also adds to the discussion that each of them brings a slightly different sensibility to the pictures. There are even a few sets where the two disagree as to the better picture.
As I said before, this is not a technique book, but technique is examined as a way to enhance the composition. For example, in the section called ?Reading the Light?, the authors talk about how to find 18% gray, to get a standard exposure from a light meter. But than they talk about how to use that information to make pictures lighter or darker to enhance the subject.
There are various methods of teaching. Some teachers provide principals and then give examples. Others present the example and then derive lessons from the example. Most of us benefit by a combination of both approaches. Usually photography books take the former approach. Hill and Wolfe use the latter and this book does it as well as any nature photography book I?ve seen.
P.S. Even Wolfe?s second choice pictures are a pleasure to behold.
Customer Reviews:
An disorganized book.......2003-09-19
Taking good pictures of flowers is a specialty, and any help that a photographer can get in pursuing this endeavor is useful. Davies offers his ideas and pictures in a series of two page spreads. Some of these deal with particular families of flowers and environments and others with particular techniques applicable to flower photography. The book is profusely illustrated with the author's photos.
There is probably a great deal of useful information here but its presentation is rather haphazard. The headings of each section don't give much help since they don't appear to have any organizing principle. Then, useful information may be buried deep within a paragraph dealing with an unlikely topic. There is a technical appendix that contains short, concise discussions of technical issues, but makes no reference to any photos. There is also a section on image manipulation that covers digital processing, with emphasis on the use of Photoshop, but this section is too brief to be of any practical use.
I prefer a more organized approach to a subject. This helps the photographer to form a checklist in his own mind. For example most books on a genre of photography include a section on composition. Davies sprinkles little composition rules throughout the book but in a manner that does not contribute to a comprehensive approach to composition.
Sometimes the author gives apparently contradictory advice, often within the same paragraph. For example in a discussion of berries he suggests using both a mid-range zoom lens and a wide-angle lens for photos, offering instances where each would be appropriate. But the photos he includes to illustrate the different length lenses appear to be much the same.
Another weakness is that he doesn't deal at all with some major problems of flower photography. For example, one of the major problems of photographing flowers in a natural environment is movement created by the wind. There are methods that can be used to deal with this factor, but none of them are covered by the author.
Although not aimed exclusively at flower photographers, I found John Shaw's "Nature Photography Field Guide" to be far more useful. In a dozen pages on close up photography Shaw covers more ground than this entire book.
If you are prepared to go through this book slowly, perhaps making notes as you go, and carefully studying the many flower pictures offered by Davies, you may find this book useful. If you want an organized approach to flower photography, search elsewhere.
How To Capture the Beauty of Flowers.......2003-06-21
Photographing Plants and Flowers by Paul Harcourt Davies belongs on the shelf of amateur and professional photographers for many reasons. It contains valuable information for photographing plants in both natural and manipulated settings. His photographs are very sharp and contain hints for photographing nearly every type of plant and flower imaginable. The stunning photographs alone make the book worth the purchase. He is able to create beautiful images from plants and flowers many people would miss. Though the book is primarily for photographers who still use film, it does contain some information on digital photography and using Photoshop. The book is inspiring, and more than likely readers will want to put the book down as quickly as possible and shoot some flowers.
How To Capture the Beauty of Flowers.......2003-06-21
Photographing Plants and Flowers by Paul Harcourt Davies belongs on the shelf of amateur and professional photographers for many reasons. It contains valuable information for photographing plants in both natural and manipulated settings. His photographs are very sharp and contain hints for photographing nearly every type of plant and flower imaginable. The stunning photographs alone make the book worth the purchase. He is able to create beautiful images from plants and flowers many people would miss. Though the book is primarily for photographers who still use film, it does contain some information on digital photography and using Photoshop. The book is inspiring, and more than likely readers will want to put the book down as quickly as possible and shoot some flowers.
Average customer rating:
- The Best Photography Book
|
Photographing Your Garden
David Bjurstrom
Manufacturer: Sterling
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
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Nature & Wildlife
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
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Reference
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General
| How-to
| Photography
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Equipment
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| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
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ASIN: 0806968893 |
Book Description
Large, richly colored images of roses, plump tomatoes on the vine, and shimmering trees shot from below, will prove more than inspirational, especially when the author explains in detail how he took them. Find out the advantages and drawbacks of different cameras and tripods; what accessories make for a smooth shoot; and which specialized lenses and filters open up creative vistas.
Customer Reviews:
The Best Photography Book.......2003-07-13
This book explains simply and logically how to photograph your garden and surrounding landscapes. Reading the clear and concise descriptions and looking at the accompanying photographs I was finally able to understand elements of photography fundamentals that have alluded me for years. The stunning photographs make this a keeper. I find myself lingering over pages just for the pictures. This is a welcome library addition and the perfect gift for any photographer or gardner.
Customer Reviews:
Photographing the Blandscape: The Art of Blowing One's Own Trumpet.......2007-08-28
Colorado is at saturation point with Fielder's books, calendars etc. Whenever I picked one up in a bookshop I would think, "yeah, nice" and put it back with all the other pretty picture books. Then I visited his gallery in Cherry Creek Mall and was blown away. Massive prints (in size and price) that take your breath away. So detailed you can almost smell the breath of that mountain goat atop a grand mountain, so intense you feel you can reach out and touch the Indian Paintbrush nestled in the vibrant mountain meadow. I was so impressed that I bought this book.
But back at home, much of what those photos gained through size, pinsharp detail and technical excellence is lost when printed page size. Look at his online gallery (do a web search) and you will get the idea. A lot of his work doesn't scale down that well at all. Compositionally I find most are pretty average, some very good, but not consistently excellent.
Is that a problem? Not really except that you realise that he is his own publisher and so crams the book with self congratulatory arrogance. To hear him bleat about how much effort and skill he put into a mediocre landscape gets to you after a while.
However, loving the Colorado mountains as I do, I find myself appreciating the subjects whatever their artistic merit. His subjects are often beautiful, and reflect his dedication (of which he reminds you a great deal) to spending his life away from home searching for that perfect sunrise by being there at 12,000 feet at 4am.
And he does pass on a fair amount of technical knowledge and advice (if you can ignore his back-patting style).
Some people lap his work up and I would definitely buy one of his huge prints for my living room if could afford one. I'm not disppointed I bought this book, but I feel I wouldn't have missed much if I hadn't.
Great resource for photo composition and technique.......2007-05-31
I saw John Fielder at a public event and I was impressed with his matter of fact work flow model. This book lays it all out. Its a great how to resource.
Organizes to see and capture a scene.......2005-05-22
What a great help this book is to learn to see, visualize and capture the panorama and the detail in landscape photography. The first Chapter flows through how to see, compose and capture. The illustrative photographs and the accompanying commentary are invaluable supports to the text.
If you are learning how to do better landscape photography, read this book after John Shaw's Landscape photography. The two books are quite different and quite compatible. Both authors have strong points of view, but as a learner it is good to hear these and take away the good in each.
You will, however, have to take some leaps to digital as it is a film based book -- I did not find this to be overly concerning.
My only wish is that Fielder still did photography field classes!
Pictures teach more than words.......2003-05-06
John Fielder is one of the best photographers of this age. Perhaps not as commonly know as a Tom Till or a Larry Ulrich, he centers the majority of his work in the backcountry of Colorado where he's hiked virtually every inch of terrain.
This is one of the most beautiful books on photography that I own and his images taught me more than his words. He has some of the more typical landscape scenes that could be done by most competent professionals. But where Fielder stands out the most are the pictures that truly look like a complex model of math and art. He blends perfectly the elements of his trade. Photography is as much a technical craft as it is an art. To be great, you need both. Fielder is a virtual Bach of photography where he punctuates his gorgeous style with obvious control of technique.
What sets him apart from most other photographers is his style. Most of his images are not typical and clearly make use of simplicity, beautiful lines, hazy afternoons. He doesn't rely on perfect buttermilk clouds to paint a photograph for him. He uses the soft folds of a hill on a cloudy day or the sheer layers of a clear sunrise on a beach to make his pictures. He doesn't need much to turn his world in a vivid piece of artwork captured precisely on his large format.
His writing style is very much like his photographs. Simple and concise. Though at times, I did wish he would explain some concepts a bit more in depth. Mostly though, he uses his images as an example of what to do or what not to do.
He writes how he learned photography by taking pictures and then comparing them to the best (Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter). His own photographs have set a precedent, a standard beyond many landscape photographers could even dream. Take his advice and study the greats to develop an eye for the craft. The technical aspect requires some learning but to be great like Fielder, follow in his footsteps until your own style emerges.
I also enjoyed his accounts of a day in the life of a landscape photographer. To find those beautiful, untouched places, you have to be tough and be able to hike miles at altitude. It's always great to have a personal touch to an educational book. Nothing could be more mundane than a purely technical photography book especially when we all know that photographers are fairly opinionated and outspoken.
If you want a strictly technical book, invest in National Geographic's field guide. But if you are looking for inspiration, for a chance to study a master in his prime, look to Fielder. He will teach you in his images, in the subtle language of art and make the text on the page virtually unecessary.
nice layout...concepts expressed simply.......2003-03-12
This is a book that explains basic concepts of landscape photography -- rhythm, proportion, etc. -- in ways that will allow you to easily understand and use those concepts. You get clearly explained information about different types of cameras, filters, lighting, etc. and how they affect the outcome. This author capably explains the principle AND illustrates that principle with his own work, so whether you learn best from a tutorial or a definition, this book will help you. It is laid out in such a way that it is easy and pleasant to read, and the author uses plain language. It includes some useful charts and diagrams. This book seems aimed somewhat more at beginners than advanced photographers. I've been shooting a while though and found my understanding of some concepts explained by his work. His photos may not be the best I've ever seen but they ARE quite good, certainly beyond the range of most beginners and adequate for illustrating the concepts. I collect Galen Rowell's books due to a great respect for who he was -- both in terms of his wilderness ethic and his phenomenal photographs -- but, as another reviewer mentions, his books are not nearly as easy to learn from. This author concentrates on teaching but includes enough of his own experience to make for an interesting and instructive read.
Books:
- Photoshop Lightroom Essential Training
- Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before
- Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before
- Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman: What Men Know About Success that Women Need to Learn
- Principles of Cash Flow Valuation: An Integrated Market-Based Approach (Graphics Series)
- Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins: The Autobiography
- Robert Rauschenberg: Combines
- Runabout Renovation: How to Find and Fix Up an Old Fiberglass Speedboat
- Scientifically Guaranteed Male Multiple Orgasms and Ultimate Sex: Restart natural penis enlargement, Eliminate forever premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, impotence and Enjoy daily orgasms
- Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising
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