Book Description
* Step-by-step lessons cover every aspect of digital nature photography
* Clear text and helpful photos demystify digital photography
* Miotke has taught hundreds of photo workshops
From the tiniest ladybug to a towering glacier, from a horse running in a field to a leaf falling slowly from a tree, nature subjects offer some of the greatest challenges and the greatest rewards to photographers. In the Better Photo tradition, here's a complete photo course in a book. Hands-on lessons cover every aspect of digital nature photography, from buying the right camera for close-ups, landscapes, and movement, to understanding how the camera works, to taking great pictures. Author Jim Miotke uses straightforward text and inspiring yet informative photos to show the best ways to approach nature photography. Everything a beginner or intermediate photographer needs to know is here, including a buyer's guide, full information on camera features, file formats and settings, exposure, low-light photography, filters and white balance, composition and lens choice, creative ideas, manipulating, and printing, along with a glossary and list of useful websites. The Better Photo Guide to Digital Nature Photography helps photographers everywhere get great photos in the great outdoors.
Customer Reviews:
My recent Amazon purchase.......2007-09-09
I've recently purchased two of these books from Amazon. They are the equivalent of new books. I'm very satisfied. So are the two people to whom I gave them.
Excellent book........2007-09-08
I bought this book and I want to learn how to shoot nature and landscape.
This book is excellent and highly recommended.
it works!!.......2007-09-07
i havent finished reading the book and i already learned a lot about nature photography.
birdwatcher in El Cerrito.......2007-08-29
Very well organized book. Easy to read. Illustrations are well done. I liked his assignments. Good for beginners because of clarity of descriptions and lack of jargon.
The new "bible" on digital outdoor photography!.......2007-04-27
I have been an avid amateur photographer for over 30 years. I am very thankful for having started my photography journey with a "match the needle" manual Canon SLR in the early 1970's, forcing me to learn the dynamics of ISO/speed/aperture. John Shaw, George Lepp, and Art Wolfe were early inspirations for the composition and artistic side of the equation. Many pieces of f2.8 and faster glass later, I have been recently building my Canon 30D system (my 5th digital camera) and hungry for a comprehensive book to complement my past learning experiences and add new tips. Usually this exercise requires multiple books that one pieces together from recent reading memory. Not the case with The BetterPhoto Guide to Digital Nature Photography. Jim's book was EXACTLY what I was looking for. A great refresh to my past learning combined with the new techniques and clear methodologies from Jim's expert experiences. I read this book cover to cover in one sitting - how could I put it down when the next unread page promised to reveal yet another gem I would commit to use? I took 2 pages of notes - many action items for me to follow through with on the prep for and during my next photo experience. I consider this a must-have photographic bible to refer to on a regular basis. Jim assumes the reader is on the path to becoming a professional outdoor photographer. This is a fresh approach. Much more of an apprenticeship style mentoring relationship with the reader. Well done Jim! 5 stars.
Book Description
100 Ways to Improve Your Landscape Photographs is an easy-reference guide to landscape photography; packed with practical advice and stunning photos this book will help and inspire photographers of all levels.
This is a simple and comprehensive trouble-shooting guide to landscape photography. The book is divided into themed sections and features simple explanations of techniques, which will help both beginners and more advanced photographers get the results they want. The thematic sections cover all areas of landscape photography, including coastal, panoramic and seasonal, as well as lighting effects, composition and exposure.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Coverage.......2006-04-18
This book is well written, provides excellent images that relate to the text, and has a notes section beneath each image explaining how the image was taken. For instance, the author will mention how he used a graduated neutral density filter, the reason for the strength of the filter & location of the filter on the lens. He will also indicate ISO, shutter speed and aperture and the reason for the selection. If a filter was used he will address the reasons why. I think the notes section is the most important part of the book as you can actually see in the image what he is discussing.
Composition, lighting & technique is also discussed and covered very well.
This book is not verbose, but rather gets down to the point very quickly. It is the kind of book you want to write on and use a coloured highlighter pen to mark important points, technique, composition ideas, etc. Ia ctually keep my copy in my car and refer to it in the field.
I won't repeat what you can read in contents and in the "see inside this book" section above - you can read this yourself.
The book, for the price (currently $11.00) is a "must have" in my view.
If you are serious about landscape photography you will not be disappointed.
Fresh approach.......2005-05-30
This is an excellent piece of work with a fresh approach to a very difficult part of photography, landscapes.
This book has 100 tips what to do to get better results. The use of light, filters, digital, lenses are covered. Also what to look for and what makes a shot interesting. All this accompanied with an image and counterexamples.
This book differs from other books I own. It is not a sum of do this, do that. It also does not cover technicallities. It's more for the ideas and dos and don'ts. For extensive techniques you have to look for another book.
The book is well and clearly written. The photographic work is more than excellent. The images are mostly from the UK, but also work from the US and other parts of Europe are included.
Book Description
Award-winning landscape photographer Peter Eastway shares his wealth of knowledge to help you find and capture memorable landscape images. This is the perfect guide for everyone with a special interest in landscape photography who wants to take their pictures to the next level.
• Packed with tips and techniques for taking great landscape photos in a wide range of situations
• Comprehensively illustrated with examples of what to do and how to do it
• Technical and creative know-how imprated in succinct, easy-to-understand language
• Images shot with film and digital cameras
• Comprehensive advice on digital post-production techniques
• Ideas and methods for displaying your photographs
Customer Reviews:
Recommended.......2005-10-23
This book starts out by introducing basic concepts such as exposure, composition, lightning and how this effects landscape photographs. It then continues with an in-depth description of how to approach various landscapes and weather conditions. The text is clearly written and each concept emphasized with illustrative examples. The book can be followed by novices, but the large amount of tips and tricks should definitely attract more experienced photographers. Also nice about this book, is that the description of camera gear is done in a very general way, omitting examples of todays hardware (outdated tomorrow). Reading this book has strengthened my technical background and given me a lot of ideas that I'm eager to try out. I have no trouble recommending it.
Book Description
Internationally renowned photographer Michael Coyne shares over 25 years of experience photographing people around the world in a guide that will help you find and capture the portraits you've always wanted. This is the perfect guide for everyone with a special interest in people photography who wants to take their pictures to the next level.
• Packed with tips and techniques for taking great portraits in a wide range of situations
• Comprehensively illustrated with examples of what to do and how to do it
• A guide to photo etiquette
• Technical and creative know-how imparted in succinct, easy-to-understand language
• Strong travel focus expressed in images from around the world
• Images shot with film and digital cameras
Customer Reviews:
Wow what a book.......2005-11-20
There I was thinking I knew about taking photograhs, but I learnt such a lot, and the sample pictures demonstrate with great clarity what the focus should and can be.
As a result I am now looking for more books from Michael Coyne.
some useful tips..........2005-09-21
I bought the lonely planet travel photography guide a few years ago and absolutely loved it! I learned a lot of the basics and really improved my "photo taking" skills. Therefore I was very excited when i found out about the publication of this book. However this people photography guide was disappointing. It provides some useful tips on taking photographs of people but the photos inside the book are not particularly inspiring. Some are good but many are just so-so. (whether one likes a photo or not is very subjective, in my view, but the photos inside this book are really not that exciting. may be i was expecting more from an expert in the field)
Customer Reviews:
Basic and informative.......2007-01-15
Lots of example on taking a good landscape photo and do and don't.
Good book for intermediate level photographers.......1999-10-07
Beautiful photographs. Good format. Describes how the photographer sees, thinks, and responds to produce vivid, well composed photos. Could benefit from more technical information: shutter speed, aperture, area selected for metering. Author relies heavily on multiple filter usage and exclusively on Fuji Velvia, thus a fairly narrow style is presented. A good book for intermediate photographers learning the process of composition.
Excellent value.......1999-09-27
An excellent book on landscape photography. The layout of the book is very different from other books on the subjects, and you'll either love it or hate it. I love it. The seeing-thinking-acting concept behind each picture is great. All of the pictures are excellent quality, and they're all very inspiring.
Customer Reviews:
An accessible, interesting intro to travel photography.......2003-05-29
Mr. Busselle's experience as a travel photographer shines through from the first page, where he gives the first of many tidbits of useful and straightforward advice. Specifically, he states that while many people choose to photograph their vacation, most of their pictures will represent their own interests instead of capturing their experience as a whole. In retrospect many of my vacation photos have a similar themes and as a whole my vacation photo album is more redundant then it ought to be.
Essentially, this guide's goal is to explain by example how to create an interesting, representative, photo essay of your trip. Each page shows off two or more of Mr. Busselle's photos around varying themes (such as landscape, people, flowers) and describes in a simple formulaic manner one or more of those pictures. These descriptions are broken into 3 categories: Seeing, Thinking and Acting. Each page in this book can essentially be taken in independently from the rest of the book - which greatly increases it's value as a coffee table book once you've read it through. For me the value of each page was two-fold. First it made me more aware of another subject which I might be leaving out of my own photo albums, and second, gives a brief description of what went into one of the specific photos (Why pick this light? What filters were used? Where to put the camera?).
Perhaps my favorite aspect of this book was that I felt the photos were accesible. While Busselle's photos are leaps and bounds better then my own, I didn't feel intimidated by the subjects he choose or that the decisions he made in capturing them were beyond me. I feel much more aware of the type of subjects I will want to capture on my next trip, and I feel like I'll think more thoroughly about how I want to capture them. I also finish the book as a fan of Busselle's work.
What's left to make this a five star book? I felt that in a few instances the explaination stopped short of what I required. Occasionally, there are tidbits about selling your photos which seemed somewhat extaneous in the context of the rest of the helpful explainations of lighting or composition. It's also a shame that some of the photos span across the spine of the book, making them less pleasant to look at in general.
With that, I'm going to make a checklist of the photos I'd like to have from my next trip, and when I'm out there I'll have many more options about how to capture those subjects then the last time around.
Different approach that works well.......2001-01-29
The layout of this book is different, and it is very helpful the way it is done. On each two page spread there is one photograph that the author goes into details of what it looked like in real life, what he was thiniking about how the photo should come out, and what proceeducres he used to get there (what filters, what rules of composition, what lighting challenges, etc.). Then also on the same two page spread, another one or two photos supporting the same idea, and some additional information blurbs. It all works very well and does help one look and learn.
Average customer rating:
- Nice Pictures, Little Content
- How-to-itis
|
Landscapes Seas and Skies (Better Digital Photography Gde)
Michael Bussell
Manufacturer: Aurum Press, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Nature & Wildlife
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Digital Photography
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Equipment
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Still Life
| Painting
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Digital Photography
| Digital Photography & Video
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Design
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1902538412 |
Book Description
The Better Digital Photography Guides are aimed at amateur photographers who want to explore the potential of digital technology to improve the quality and range of their work, be it snapshots of family activities, records of their travels, landscapes, portraits, or still-lifes. Master photographer Michael Busselle breaks down the image-making process into three phases: Capture, Enhance, and Print. While his stunning photographs educate through visual inspiration, his clear step-by-step text simplifies all the procedures.
To landscape photographers, digital offers previously undreamed of possibilities for enhancing their work or eliminating snags that were not apparent at the time a pictures was taken. Telegraph lines can be removed, skies can be improved, and light and shadow effects that didn't quite work can be strengthened. In short, photographers have a second chance to produce a print that more fully reflects the vision they had in mind at the point of capture. Each of Michael Busselle's stunning images, which he uses to demonstrate the ways in which landscape photographers can use digital techniques to improve their work, is accompanied by instructions broken down into three phases—Capture, Enhance, and Print—which explain his original intentions and the ways in which they were finally realized. Inspired by these examples, amateurs will quickly discover the immense creative possibilities opened up by the new technology.
Customer Reviews:
Nice Pictures, Little Content.......2006-08-18
If you are looking for a coffee table book with nice pictures of places that you may not get a chance to visit, then this may be a good book for you. However, this is in my mind, NOT a book that lives up to its title. It did not give me any insights on "better digital photography", nor any real tips on photographing "landscapes, seas and skies."
What this book did appear to be was a nice way to showcase all of the fabulous places that the author has visited and photographed. Where I might have expected an insight on how he managed to pick the right time of day, or other "tip", I instead read the name dropping of far away places. When I expected a photoshop tip, I instead was told to "play with levels or curves".
The biggest tip that the author provides, which he refers to in a large number of his pictures, is on pages 64-65. This is how to "replace skies". The short essence of this tip is: if you don't like the look of a sky, use Photoshop to replace it with a better one. Again, this is in the book "The Better Digital Photography Guide to Landscapes Seas and Skies". This is not the type of tip that I was hoping to learn.
How-to-itis.......2006-05-02
Michael Busselle is one of the world's great landscape photographers. One would expect that this book would provide a complete guide to digital landscape photography with an emphasis on seas and skies.
The book is divided into four parts. The first is called "Nineteen Steps to Capturing Images". Rather than being a process for digital landscape photography, this is a series of random tips, with accompanying photographs, for landscape photography. The next part is called "Ten Steps to Enhancing Images" and this provides tips on digital post processing. The third part is a gallery of the author's images with a brief discussion of the circumstances of the capture and sometimes, of the digital post-processing. The final part is a brief discussion of equipment.
This is another example of what I'm beginning to think of as "how-to-itis". This is the circumstance when an author or publisher decides that the photographs available from the photographer are unlikely to sell as a picture book, so they cloak the pictures in the garb of an instructional manual. (A related disease is "digital-itis". This disease is related to the fact that many photographers are now seeking help in using their new digital cameras.) How-to-itis sometimes works as an instructional manual when the pictures are organized in a pedagogical way with well organized teaching points made strongly. Sometimes these books work as picture books when the pictures are somehow related and are really of the best quality.
Unfortunately, this book meets none of these tests. The tips and related pictures are presented in a random way and the depth of instruction is quite shallow. During the discussions of capture there is nothing that tells how taking a picture with a digital camera requires more than pointing and shooting. The digital tips will only be understood by those who understand how Photoshop tools work and they probably will not need the skimpy instruction provided. As a photo book, the pictures are quite small and are not related in any way so there is no synergistic effect.
Finally, there are a few annoying characteristics. For example, Busselle loves to insert turbulent skies from one picture into another picture. One quickly tires of the repeated comment that the sky was added "using the method described on pages 64-65." This is made even more irritating when one looks at the description on pages 64-65. It would have been nice if there had been really detailed instruction on inserting a new sky in a picture. I would have liked to see a discussion of how Busselle considers cloud formations to make sure the lighting is consistent with the landscape below.
There are some excellent pictures that prove the author's skills but the presentation is not designed to make the book interesting as a picture book or as an instructional manual.
Book Description
Flush those boring old gifts and give your friends and family something they can really sit down and digest! The Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series is one of the longest-running, most popular humor collections in the publishing industry. It taps into a vast resource of forgotten readers -- the 66 percent of North Americans who admit to reading in the bathroom. It's our 15th year and we're still going strong!
Customer Reviews:
Looks Good.......2007-01-10
For a used book, it was in perfect condition. Great value for my money.
My shelf grows with another addition.......2006-01-21
The Bathroom Readers are, as always, fun and informative. I find myself using the factoids as conversation-starters and, like one reader mentioned in a prior edition, have won radio contests because of something I learned in the books.
The reason I am writing a review on this particular edition is a page entitled Tendjewberrymud. I laughed so hard tears were squirting helplessly from my eyes; read it again and laughed harder. That single page alone was worth the entire price of the book....and I'm far from done with this one or any of the well-thumbed others that line the shelf I have devoted exclsively to Bathroom Readers.
Great books.......2005-07-09
As others have said, this is a perfect book! No more reading from old magazines, newspapers, or the label of your shampoo (just kidding). I'm so glad that my mom bought this for me, they're great. Even if you just don't want to read them in the bathroom!
More info than a person should know!.......2004-02-06
I got this book for Christmas and have literally made unnecessary trips to the restroom just to read some more. It is filled with thousands of pieces of useful and not-so-useful information. For example, did you know that a penny, because of the extra weight on "heads" will come up "heads" just a little more often than "tails"? Some of Cliff Claven's best quotes from Cheers? That the first videogame was created in 1958? How about the legend of Lincoln's ghost at the Whitehouse? There are also articles on the JFK and Priness Diana conspiracies as well. The author is good at not preaching or putting in his own opinions and the info covers the entire gamut from politics, to true crime, funny stories, strange facts and everything else.
OK, time to end this review and get back to reading more of this book. Alright, one more fact, Did you know that until 1965 pennies were legal tender only up to 25cents? A creditor did not have to accepts more than 25 pennies or more than $10 in coins? Crazy huh?
One of the best books I have ever read!.......2004-01-17
After receiving this as a Christmas gift, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. People always fidget around in the bathroom to find reading material while doing their business, and the idea of a Bathroom Reader...a book specifically written for everyone (because we all gotta use the john at some point, right?)...is very novel (no pun intended)! So, there I was staring at this book, my newest Christmas present, and I was truly awaiting my next visit to the throne, just to see what the book was all about. The first chance I got in the bathroom, I opened the book, read a few pages and was instantly hooked! Believe me when I say this book has it ALL! Short stories (and interesting ones at that!), jokes, trivia, wordplay, brainteasers, and so much more! Many of the facts are useful, and some of the facts may seem meaningless, but in truth, they are quite interesting! I guarantee this book has something that pertains to everyone!
As the title of this review states, this is one of the best books I have read. So, what are the other best books I have read? Why, the other Uncle John's Bathroom Readers, of course! Buy them, you will not be disappointed! I never thought I would say this, but these Bathroom Readers make doing #2 my #1 priority!
Book Description
The Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series is the longest-running, most popular series of its kind, with more than 22 editions in print and over 4 million sold. This is our third installation of our miniature Readers, another engaging anthology packed with fun facts, amusing stories, and enough trivia to fuel a television game show, all in a condensed, portable form. With toilet paper roll charm attached.
Books:
- The Big Book of Library Grant Money 1998-99: Profiles of Private and Corporate Foundations and Direct Corporate Givers Receptive to Library Grant Proposals (Big Book of Library Grant Money)
- The Big Fat Kill (Sin City, Book 3: Second Edition)
- The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide for Managers and Boards (Jossey-Bass Nonprofit & Public Management Series)
- The End: Montauk, N.Y.
- The Global Challenge: Frameworks for International Human Resource Management
- The Green Lantern Archives, Vol. 1 (DC Archive Editions)
- The Law of Tax-Exempt Organizations, 7th Edition
- The Mouse in Biomedical Research, Volume 1-4, Second Edition (American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine) (American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine)
- The New Investment Superstars: 13 Great Investors and Their Strategies for Superior Returns
- The Real Book - Volume 2: C Instruments 2nd Edition (Real Books (Hal Leonard))
Books Index
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