5 comments about Binnur's Turkish Cookbook: Turkishcookbook.com - Delicious, healthy and easy-to-make Ottoman & Turkish recipes.

1. I am Syrian and love cooking traditional meals from my home town Aleppo, that is largely inspired by the Turkish cuisine.
   Binnur's recipes have guided me to the authentical taste from our mothers and grandmothers excellent dishes.
   
   I found in Binnur's on-line cookbook all the hints I was looking for when preparing my meals plus new ideas and recipes that enriched my table and wowed my family and friends.
   
   Binnur's cookbook is like her, all the delicacy and excquisiteness of Turkey!!



2. This is a wonderful series of recipes you can use everyday. I have other Turkish cookbooks that I enjoy. However, this is the Turkish cookbook I find most useful.The ingredients are not hard to find. The recipes are delicious and easy to cook. And the author's blog is tops!



3. I have two other Turkish cookbooks: Sultan's Kitchen by Ozcan Ozan and Classical Turkish Cooking by Ayla Algar. Both of these books cost less than Binnur's cookbook and have many more recipes, though it should be noted that Algar's book does not contain pictures, while Binnur's and Ozan's do. I really enjoy Binnur's blog, but I feel this book is overpriced for what it is, and does not cover anything that the other 2 books don't already. Also, some recipes call for measurements in the metric system, and others in the English system. One recipe was mistyped and said to BROIL something when clearly the instructions imply it should be BOILED. If it were cheaper, I'd keep it, but for this price I'll be returning it.



4. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY! It's more a quick sampling of recipes, akin to a nice Turkish cooking magazine than a Turkish cookbook, and bound not much better than a good children's coloring book. You may be as disappointed as I when you see what you paid close to twenty bucks for. Binnur's Turkish Cookbook is something you'd expect to pay no more than $1.99, maybe $2.99 at the close out section in a Barnes & Noble. (Where did she get the nerve to sell this for $18.99? Did I really pay so much? I checked again. Yep, I sure did. I must have been half asleep when I ordered this.)
   
   Okay, so the book is more like a magazine than a book, but what counts are the recipes inside, right? So, what about the recipes? Are they worth paying $18.99 for? I'll answer that.
   
   My family is from Turkey. I know this cuisine VERY well. I grew up on this food. So to be fair, here are the good points about the recipes:
   1: Binnur is basically a good, Turkish cook. The recipe selection, though extremely scant, would give you a somewhat decent idea of the sorts of foods that people like Binnur and I grew up on. Her recipes are the basic daily foods, and though simple, it is in this simplicity that the soul of Turkish cuisine is found--no different than any other cuisine.
   2: Every recipe has a decent, small color photograph. That's good.
   
   But...
   Binnur offers NO insight to the crucial details. For example, no real cook of this cuisine would ever use canned chick peas for Hummus. I mean, if my grandmother were alive and saw that? she would have cursed the page, torn the book in half and thrown it in the trash. In other words, at least, tell the reader the proper way, using dried chick peas, soaked for hours, and explain how to prepare and remove the skins from every chick pea. Okay, I'll admit, it is a pain removing the thick skin off of each chick pea, but if you want to make superb, creamy-dreamy Hummus b' Tahini? well, that's what you gotta do. (No wonder there's so much fighting going on over there.) In other words, I believe Binnur should give you the option--here's the authentic way, but if you think it's nuts peeling chick pea skins, then here's a quick and dirty way to go.
   
   Or, for Haydari, (yogurt dip), Binnur should tell you how crucial it is making either your own strained yogurt, or at least, purchase a quality Greek style strained yogurt like, Fage's whole milk, Total brand yogurt (which can be purchased in most good supermarkets). And, btw, this would have been a good time for Binnur to have shown you how to make your homemade, strained yogurt. (It's very easy.) I'm not being a snob here, but if 90% of a recipe's ingredients is yogurt, shouldn't it be explained the vital importance of what kind of yogurt to preferably make, or at least purchase?
   
   And "Cherry Jello Dessert?" If you want a book on authentic Ottoman & Turkish cooking, do you really want a recipe for Jello dessert? and especially from a book as sparse as this one?
   
   Or, here's a good one, Binnur included Cilbir (poached eggs over yogurt), and basically, her recipe for making Cilbir is okay. But that's where she stops. Again, she has no mention of the importance in using a high quality strained yogurt, and no mention of how to serve Cilbir (perhaps with thick slices of garden tomatoes, sprigs of fresh mint leaves, garlicky olives and a good, hearty bread). Also, I'd suggest using Halep Biber (Aleppo Pepper) instead of cayenne for the garnish topping ingredient, but that's how we prepare it, and okay, now I'm being a snob.
   
   I could go on, but you get the idea.
   
   Now, If you want a GREAT cookbook for this kind of cuisine, purchase ANYTHING written by, Tess Mallos. Her, "The Complete Middle East Cookbook" is a VERY good start, it costs the same, covers a much broader region, offers great detail, clear information, background, it's in depth and wonderfully professional. (I have an old, hard bound edition, which I always refer to. I'm assuming the publisher hasn't cannibalized it.) Also, Paula Wolfert is a good author, and maybe Ghillie Basan and Ozcan Ozan are worth your exploring. All these, and other fine authors who specialize in this cuisine also offer their cookbooks here on Amazon.
   
   Lastly: I am not ordinarily a complainer. I have been disappointed in other purchases from time to time, and whenever this has happened, I'd simply accept it and move on. So, I never shared my opinion like I'm doing here and now. Yes, this is the first time I ever shared my opinion on Amazon, but this "cookbook" at $18.99 is so bad, it is such a cheat of your hard earned money, that I would be remiss if I did not write this critique. So, if I still haven't made this clear--"Binnur's Turkish Cookbook" is a total rip off. Don't waste your money.



5. My husband is Turkish and I have been wanting to cook Turkish food for him for a while but the dishes I have had just seem that they would take too long to make. One day I was searching for recipes and came across Binnur's Turkish cookbook and the recipes seemed so simple so I decided to buy it. I was a bit dissapointed though when I got it in the mail because I was expecting to get a thicker book for the price I paid for it. Overall I am happy I bought it because the recipes are easy to make and my husband likes the food!

5 comments about Deep South.

1. Mann is one of the very most gifted photographers of our time. In her landscape work, she finds the perfect marriage of technique and subject matter--marrying the processes of 19th-century photography and historic lenses to the subject matter of great sites of the South, the profound and mysterious ways in which site carries memory. In doing so she has created images that seem to derive from our own memories, carrying the ghostly presences of the past, embodying something we hold in our minds while adding something distinctly new as well. Mann's are transcendent, glorious photographs that should be examined and appreciated by anyone with a discerning eye for great work from our own time.



2. whether this is Mann's best work it certainly is the most thought-provoking, when you think of the Deep South, you think of a place much like Stravinsky's Russia,Eastern Europa,or parts of New York State intolerant,class-orineted;superstitious,but also one that savors progess and the science of the image, the sensual,the evocative,but a place also defeated,Appomattox, that really has takened long to live with, in fact defeat is covered everyday in the macho-isms that has been part of popular strains in music.
   The opaqueness-es of Mann's reveals a fascinating abstraction,touched daguertypes, I don't know the correct technical affiliation,and that takes you someplace,it has rails to take you someplace,but more like an archeologist for you do merely sit and stare,and examine closely; where you need to decipher the layers of history,meanings seems to be held in abeyance for now, suspended the layers of reference, and this might be difficult for someone who has not really lived in these places, in Virginia,Antietam and Manassas, but these are works of art nonetheless you return, Mann does draw you into her work; to again and again and you cannot say that for other of post-modern forms, yes these are manipulations as if Mann had lived herself in the Civil War,as a recluse held up in a forgotten city, as Knoxville or as the viewer had lived then and these are remnants of this discovery.
   Her photos are of natural landscapes, spots, where the horizon quickly becomes blurred, it is not the sense of things to have perspective here,merely one image, one-dimensional,like her subject matter is some respects; yet placed with layers of hue, mists,nebuli and filigrees of time,durations and their ruins,we see decapying Greek columns,made of wood, with chipped paint, white of course,now deteriorating like those of an ancient time in the USA, but we know the time of here where we live, lost civilizations, or Persopolis.
   Curious how you really cannot find these works beautiful unless you know something about history USA for that matter,and then their beauty is arresting for a moment;Mann's voice here speaks within a distance,like the faces of her children in her previous work, a voice once or twice removed, here a voice that has no resonance; or if you have followed the forms and shapes of the human spirit, you come to understand these photos. Mann has created a work that can stand alone in a void, they refer to a time, well no one today knows from real experience,perhaps Toni Morrison's "Beloved" has some resonance here but only from a great distance between her prose in parametrical time exposed as you read. Mann has found a way between representation and abstraction two of the paradigms of the 20th Century,the late Kirk Varnedoe had wanted to devote a study to this very subject, why the two have persisted throughout a century, or barely less than one. You also not only come to understand the South, but most places where such similar occurences have takened place. The American Civil War seems closer in a way, like these places are icons, yet not icons that form a critique with them,asking questions, there are no special spiritual places, here only where men have died, slaughtered along with mosquitoes and peaceful trees, Magnolias gently alive to witness the human condition.



3. I am again deeply moved and awed by Sally Mann's work. Using older photo processes, combined with a deep seeing, these photos create a sense of place that I can feel as well as see. Ms. Mann also writes beautifully about these images and the people and place she is photographing. Though I shoot digitally, I am still inspired and in some ways try to emulate what I'm seeing here
   
   I like the imperfections of these images, but if you want bright colors and tack sharp images, these my not be for you.
   
   David.



4. Landscape photography has never spoken to me until this book. Sally Mann has created gorgeously abstract and ethereal images of the south and has coupled it with very eloquent text. It has forever changed the way I feel about landscape photography. If straight up landscape photography isn't your thing, by all means give this book a chance.



5. Strip away all the defensive aesthetic gibberish, and this volume is nothing more than shots taken with a broken antique camera and damaged glass plates, then over-toned to make them appear old. There seems to be too much left to chance in this collection, certainly not what I admired about Mann's work in the past: sharp images that get to the point and hide nothing.
   
   To myself, a person who actually lives in the deep south, the images here are evoke nothing other than an urge to grab a bottle of Windex; it's sheer caricature; an attempt to imitate the effects of time, cliched images of the Old South, or imitate Matthew Brady. It's a photographic contradiction-in-terms; a brand-new antique. Some of the images are invisible -- there's nothing but overexposed light and (deliberately) scratched glass. Pretty self-indulgent. A teenager with a Holga probably could have produced something similar.
   
   Hardly Mann's best work. A serious misstep, in my opinion. The process is interesting; the choice of plates seems almost perfunctory. The results barely scrape the surface. I'd sum it up by saying that this volume is not art, on the grounds that the "envisioning" of the final work is pretty much left to the camera, and not the person holding it. For final punctuation, this book is also out of print and in the bargain basement.

5 comments about Fine Art Nature Photography: Advanced Techniques and the Creative Process.

1. The shots are nice enough and Sweet certainly has his technique down pat. However, I really learned nothing from the book.
   
   Perhaps I was expecting too much. I've been a serious photographer for nearly 40 years. Not to pat myself on the back, but I know the basics as well as anyone and was hoping for a bit of insight into Sweet's reasons for making certain shots.
   
   All this book provides is an explanation of what equipment was used. If you're into using filters for every shot you might learn something here.
   
   I think that the money would be better spent on one of John Shaw's books. "Focus on Nature" comes to mind as Shaw really explains his thinking behind each photo and doesn't just list the equipment that he used to make it.



2. Tony has done beautiful photography in nature, great for calendars, greeting cards. If that is what you want, Tony covers with many photograhphic treats.
   I want more serious landscape photographic examples, so will look elsewhere for more profound content. It is a matter of taste and philosophy.



3. This and his accompaying books in the series are superb. He not only provides an explanation of the technique he employed to create the image, but often also explains the composition or artistic "merit" of the photo. The title is indeed accurate: he does teach the "creative process". While most of the photos were created with film (vs. digital) the instruction is such that translation to the digital world is straightforward, and effective. As you read the text and study the photos, Mr Sweet encourages you to think of why, when and how you would apply the techniques to your own photography. I know that my own skills "jumped" a level after even the first
   reading of this book.



4. This is a fabulous book! It has great ideas. The techniques used in each photo are described in easy to understand language. A beginner photographer using an SRL camera will easily be able to follow the instructions used for each technique. I also like the fact that there is not much written information so solely focused on each photo and how to produce the same image. Great book for the money!



5. Tony does in this book what I wish more photographers would do, he tells you in plain English his thought process on composition, and balance, why he took the shot and the technical aspects of the shot (ie, filters, and lens used and multiple exposures in the camera and the lab). I use Tony's techniques when I am composing my shots, and they have improved.

5 comments about Snowflakes in Photographs.

1. I read Snowflake Bently to a group of four year old children. They loved the idea that it was a true story. The next day I presented this book and the kids couldn't get enough.



2. This book about lived up to my expectations -- which wouldn't make it worth it for everybody. In our case, we were doing a unit study on snowflakes and we covered Bentley's biography (from children's picture books for the young ones to more complete adult biographies for the older) and the point of this book for us was simply to see what it was that he did. I explained to my first grader that the large camera he had was also very young in terms of the history of photography and that what he accomplished was marvelous for his time. I also explained that today's equipment is able to do so much more. We turned to Libbrecht'sThe Snowflake-- being from Caltech he's probably a good one to take up the cause and the photos are incredible. My first grader loved them so much that we ended up getting the calendar, Snowflakes 2008 Calendar: Featuring the amazing micro-photography of Kenneth Libbrecht (Calendar). The high school student was more interested in the text, and I loved both.
   
   Since I was familiar with Bentley's photos I knew I was buying this one for historical interest to go along with the biographies and not for anything more -- therefore, I didn't experience any disappointment for it perhaps not being as good as other books mentioned.



3. Snowflakes in Photographs
   
   You can't imagine the variety of design in each individual snowflake until you these photographs. From simple to complex, these photos show how absolutely symmetrical and stunning these fragile crystals are.



4. Bentley photographed the ephemeral and hidden: snowflakes. He did this on his own with limited education and equipment. His glass plates remind us of the awe, beauty and wonder of frozen water. The book reveals Bentley's efforts on his Vermont farm over his lifetime. His dedication and creativity help us grasp the complexity, simplicity and three-dimensional images of snow. Snow is the most unstable substance on earth - always changing, even while it is forming in the atmosphere, falling through the atmosphere, depositing on a ground surface (water, soil, fence, glass, trees), sublimating (going directly from a solid to a vapor), hoar frost depositing out of a saturated clear atmosphere at night to produce a fairly land in at sunrise, going through continuous metamorphism (melt-freeze, temperature gradient, equitemperature gradient) and finally melting to return to the liquid form of the hydrologic cycle.
   
   Bentley's photographs enable us all to grasp snow from nursery to graduate school - the images all make sense - physically and mentally. Many images have been transformed into ornaments, framed photographs and other high end works of art.



5. I bought this book hoping the kids (8&5) would be intrigued by all the patterns of the snowflakes. They weren't, but the adults loved it!
   
   The photography and the story of the how these snowflakes were captured on film is very interesting.

1 comments about Life: Dream Destinations: 100 of the World's Best Vacations.

1. The book is wonderful and what is even more wonderful for me is that I LIVE in one of the dream destinations...beautiful Bucks County PA.

5 comments about PugTherapy: Finding Happiness, One Pug at a Time.

1. As a wanna-be pug owner, this book is the next best thing! This is the perfect gift for the pug-lovers in your life. The photographs are beautifully done with inspired captions. It's nothing less than page after page of cuteness. If you are a fan of pugs, this is the book for you.



2. I went through a really dark period in my life. After trying everything, even electroshock therapy, I found this book and it changed my life. Thank you, pugs!



3. This is the most adorable book with lovable pugs. The captions are so cute and fit the charm of the pug.



4. This is just an adorable gift book with equally adorable pictures of pugs in costume and in their natural condition. Little tidbits of advice are given, but mainly this is just a feel good book with some cute pictures of cute chubby curly tailed pugs.



5. This is one of my favorite books. I always joke that pugs are better therapy than I could ever provide!! My husband and I are profoundly pug people, and this book exemplifies the natural humor and grace of our curly tailed loved ones! An absolute must have if your favorite therapeutic tool snorts a lot and farts like crazy!!! (smile)

2 comments about The Most Beautiful Villages of Ireland.

1. This is a fantastic coffee table book. The photographer has captured so much color in each photograph, you almost expect some sort of visual explosion -- how can such a dynamically variegated palette be contained in a single picture?! The whitewashed cottages, the blue-green sea, the dun colored old castle walls... even the street signs are beautiful. I myself am half of Irish descent, and half of Italian descent. Although I must confess that in culinary terms, my Italian forebears had considerably more "on the ball" than my Irish ancestors, this book makes me appreciate some of the beauties that Ireland itself has to offer. It makes me determined to visit it at some point.

   The book is divided into four parts. Each traditional ancient Irish kingdom has its own section -- Ulster, Leinster, Connacht, and Munster. Each section is also followed by a brief photographic essay, dealing with such topics as "Ancient Ireland," "Bar and Shop Fronts," and "Painted Villages." At the end, there is a useful map, a travellers guide complete with phone numbers and addresses of Inns and hostels, and a very handy little bibliography.

   I would just like to also recommend, for anyone with an interest in Irish history, "The Atlas of Irish History" by Sean Duffy. It is out of print, but you should ask your local librarian if he or she can find it, using OCLC or inter-library loan. If, like me, you have Irish blood in you, you will be familiar with the feeling of being quite alienated from the broader sweep of European history prior to the settlement of America. I once looked in the index of an encyclopedia, and actually found more entries on Native Americans, who of course are considered to be a marginalized people, than I could find on the Irish. This book, and the atlas I recommended, can help remedy that situation, and "The Most Beautiful Villages of Ireland" can beautify any home. Two thunbs up -- check this one out.




2. Perfect! Just what I had in mind and the person I gave it to liked it a lot! Great pictures!

2 comments about First Cut: Conversations with Film Editors.

1. Gabriella Oldham has collected a wide variety of editors from a wide variety of backgrounds to ask about editing.

   A really useful book on the various approaches people have on editing and what their working methods are. Comphrehensive interviews from people who have worked on films such as Ben Hur to documentaries. Those who enjoyed this book should also have a look at Vincent LaBrutto's 'Film Editing'.




2. Got the book for my Step Son, your guess is as good as mine, as how good it is.

5 comments about The Best of Teen and Senior Portrait Photography: Techniques and Images from the Pros (Masters Series).

1. Start by looking at the cover. This book as so many digital ideas (not what we were looking for) but they chose such a poor image for the cover. Instead of such gimicky digital ideas, maybe Mr. Hunter and the others should have retouched the cover image. Blood shot eyes, yellow teeth, a floating eye and stray hairs will put most professional photographers out of business in less than a year. We have been in business for over 15 years and are now thinking just about anyone can write a book. Maybe we will.



2. Bill Hurter has managed to assemble a collection of some of the finest senior photographers in the country to create an exceptional set of images and text. This is like the title implies, the best in senior photography.
   
   This book is a must-have for all senior portrait studios



3. I ordered this book with the hopes of expanding my photography from wedding and family/children portrait work to do senior work. And this book provides great deatils about getting into this line of work. But it does much more. It covers details for all types of portrait work to fine tune your photography with chapters on proper posing, lighting and much more. Whether you are just starting or have been in the business for a while you will benefit if you read and apply the information within. Great Job!!!



4. Good inspiration! Only thing this book lacks is really how it was done. If only it had a page after each concept telling how it was done this book would be absolutely perfect! But if your starting out this is what you should read so you can know what you dont know and where to start your education!



5. A great resource for anyone either entering the Senior Portrait market, or seeking to refresh business and photography techniques. As one who works a lot with teens, I believe that the author's sense of how to work with them througout the entire process is right on - refreshing and honoring of Teen spirit. The photos and posing suggestions are helpful, as are the ideas and results from several very accomplished Senior Portrait artists.
   
   Definitely worth adding to your library

2 comments about Bob Richardson.

1. Bob Richardson was (he died in 2005) an amazing Photographer Famous for his sexy druggy Debauched Style in the Swingin 1960's Everyone who saw his Photos in Martin Harrison's Unparalled " Appearances"(Fashion Photography since 1945) in 1991
   has waited with bated Breath for a Book on this Mans work. Robin Derrick and Robin Muir (from English Vogue) Put out "Unseen Vogue, The Secret history of Fashion Photography" in 2003 I cannot Rave enough about this Book, If you Don't have it Buy it right Now and Martin's Magnum Opus.In 'Unseen Vogue' which I have to Look at every Day its so fabulous!! The Robin's included Richardson"s Pictures and there in color. The Problem With the new Book on Richardson is its all Black and White. (But not even good black and white ). If the Photos were as clear as the Cover Shot it would be fine , But his editorial work from Vogue, French Vogue etc.. are so poorly produced
   Grainy, out of focus It looks as if they were Badly zeroxed!! In Contrast helmut Newton's excellent book of editorial work called "pages from the Glossies" the production is clear and well produced and In Color!!! So do you want to spend 75.00 on a picture of angelica Houston looking like a Glam Rock Cinderella? well if it were better Quality I would say, Sure !sign me up! The real part of the book thats worth good money is Bob Ricardson's Poignant Autobiography . This Bisexual Bombardier of Vogue in the 60's and 70"s Had a major Chip on his shoulder.(he truly was his worst enemy someone once said)
   His Avedon on Quaaludes style did not sit well with those Up-Tight Magazine editors of the time. Nor would they today. Of Course He raves about how much better he is than Everyone and that hes a God in Europe! (great Hubris, but a Great talent)
   His Superciious Diatribe is Frustrating and Vexing and at heart Touching but very Discourteous towards the industry That fed him those fat Checks. A sort of "Answered Prayers" on the Fashion Biz and The man Names Names!!! So if you enjoy William Klein, Avedon, Burt Stern, David Bailey,and helmut Newton you will love Richarson!



2. I have been hawking to get a book of Bob Richardson photography because the man was a major inspiration as the fashion photographer who was about the people and not the fashion. Ironically even as he lambasts the industry that loved him, he still perseveres as a creative force to be reckoned with.
   
   To each his own.
   
   When I got this book I poured through it. Really lovely stuff. I noticed some of the pages looked grainy, maybe because the last surviving examples of these works in his estate are in fact the magazines themselves in somebody's basement. For someone who became so revered for taking photos that revealed his subjects' inner expressions, would he even have been happy with a book of his work that looked like the over-saturated pages of other photographer's biographies?
   
   The usual photo books people rave about are typically so touched up far beyond what the original shot looked like that you can't ever really count it as a work of photographic art. With Richardson, and judging by his auto-biographical notes, would he have been happy with a representation showing only that most of the grit he so loved got washed away in the repackaging process? I think not. Complaints about the printing apparently miss the point of the works all together. Here's the sort of stuff originally found in tattered and pulpy haute fashion magazines that elevated the commercialism back to an art form that said something about the people themselves. It's fitting, really. Black and white and all.
   
   What I find imminently annoying is the fact that even now, after producing this book, no one has yet had the inspired idea to republish "Beyond Cool" which became an early viral marketing inspiration once upon a time as an online biography. I'd pay three times for one copy of that book on my coffee table. I don't think I'm the only one.
   
   Too bad photographers are so terrible at making business decisions.