5 comments about Nikon Creative Lighting System Digital Field Guide.

1. I love this book. J. Thomas covers all the bases in this guide to your Nikon CLS. With lots of illustrations, FAQs, questions you'd never think to ask, I can't put this down. I purchased also David D. Busch's "Nikon D80 Digital Field Guide" which is excellent, but this Creative Lighting Sytem Guide is your direct link to photographic heaven. Don't buy into the naysayers neagative, neurotic reviews of "not enough bells and missiles". This guide will guide you through the minefield and morass of proper lighting. You'll be glad you got this. I certainly am!
   
   
   "Good photography speaks through silence"



2. I found the book too verbose. The marrow of if could have been condensed in a book half its size. As a practical amateur photographer, I ws looking for detailed advice on using one or several flashes, since I own a Nikon D200 and a Speedlight SB 600. When not extolling the system "the Nikon creative Lightning system is a very complex tool but alll of the complexities are taken care of whitin the camera itself", and similar phrases ocupying a good amount of text, the author talks mostly on generalities. I felt I did not get advise specific enough to actually put it to work in obtaining better flash photography.



3. I bought this book hoping it could help me with controlling nikon SB speedlights SB800 and SB600 which I own with my new SU800 remote. This book deals mainly with using SB800 as the master to control other flashguns. It would have been better if it included the usefullness of the CLS with the use of SU800 as well because this is what it is all about! It is not as comprehensive as I thought it would!



4. Good help for a very complex unit, It will help you get the most out of ypur flash. Explains how the controls work how the TTL system works. all good stuff to know.



5. I was looking to trade my sb800 for a metz, but after reading the book, which provided my super tips on the creative side i decided to buy a couple of SB800 as my portable flash system.
   (excuse my english but is not my native language)

5 comments about Night and Low-Light Photography: Professional Techniques from Experts for Artistic and Commercial Success.

1. If you've ever wanted to do any night photography, you need this book!!! This book gives so many tips and inside information from actual night photographers, you can't miss! Buy it, learn from it, and enjoy the night!



2. Finally, someone did this book!
   
   "Night and Low Light Photography" is destined to become THE textbook for any night photography and light painting class or workshop. It stands head and shoulders above all the other NP "how to" books on the market, covering all the pertinent bases in an easy to read and informative style.



3. As a professional writer and photographer, I read and review dozens of books on photography each year--from technical how-tos to fine art books. I don't often run into books of this caliber. Night & Low-Light Photography is technically informative and artistically inspiring, touching on an unprecedented scope of topics related this theme while also presenting a powerhouse art portfolio experience.
   
   What is truly impressive about Night & Low-Light is that it is equally valuable for pros, hobbyists and art-lovers alike.
   
   Jill Waterman is passionate an accomplished night photographer, a fantastic writer and a well-respected editor on topics of photography. She also has more industry connections than you can shake a stick at. It is this combination of assets--along with her clear editorial vision--that allowed Waterman to hit a home run with Night & Low-Light Photography.
   
   If you have any interest in night and low-light photography (including recording weather phenomena, painting with light and other low-light techniques often overlooked), you will definitely enjoy and learn from this book. The in-depth biographical data on the 30 contributors, the incredible list of resources and the detailed glossary alone are worth the purchase.
   
   If you are on the fence, you can get a better sense of Night & Low-Light Photography by checking out Waterman's companion website: [...]. However, keep in mind that Waterman has created such an impressive and jam-packed experience that it is hard to fully appreciate the value and pleasure of this book until you actually have it in your hands.



4. Many photographers put away their cameras when the light grows dim or dark, thus forfeiting at least half the opportunity to take photographs. This book seems aimed at those photographers.
   
   Jill Waterman has assembled a team of 30 top professionals to talk about low-light and night photography. The book begins with the usual mandatory discussion of equipment, although this chapter contains many tips on equipment use, such as stabilizing one's lens against glass if shooting through it. There are also some unusual pieces of equipment mentioned, like large portable spotlights for painting with light. Other chapters include discussions of color temperature; black and white photography, which emphasizes the role of the chemical darkroom in extending range; lighting techniques, which emphasizes light painting; weather, night time phenomena, like the aurora; and post production tools. There is a chapter that analyzes the styles of seven of the photographers and a final chapter that talks about the availability of workshops.
   
   The difficult part of the project was probably wrangling the work and ideas of thirty different photographers into a coherent instructional body and it shows. The book lacks orderly development and approach to this kind of photography and often lapses into a kind of esoteric tip book. Occasionally there were interesting pieces of information that were never tied to anything else, like the distinctions between civil, nautical and astronomical twilight.
   
   What I found strange was the feeling of having entered into a time warp with discussions of film, two-part developers and enlargers. A theme seems to be that film lends itself to a greater range of exposure values then digital, although that may require chemical processing to achieve. The advantages of digital photography's HDR processing to capture a wide range of light were mentioned but not in detail, or to show special considerations for the use of the technique in the dark.
   
   The example photographs themselves were interesting, although many were too self-aware and arty to easily serve as teaching vehicles for most photographers, who probably would be interested in simpler, more direct night and low-light themes. Yet, for the experienced photographer, looking to expand his vision, these same pictures might provide some inspiration.
   
   Although I didn't down-rate this book because of the layout and design, I hated it. Many pages are printed in black with white text, or include large blocks of black-backed white text and white-backed black text on the same page, or juxtapose black background pages with white background pages, all of which are quite jarring to the eye. As difficult are the tiny guest photographer portraits adjacent to tiny unreadable dark grey text on a black background.
   
   Despite problems, there were useful hints here and there, such as changing the point of view when taking pictures to exclude illumination that would be too contrasty or using reflections to add drama to night shots.
   
   Unfortunately, I have not found many recent books about low-light and night photography that are straight forward in teaching the less experienced how to become children of the night (oops-just a joke). For photographers determined to push on into the darkness, this is about as good as anything around.



5. The book if a good source for night and low light photography. I thought there would be more for digital cameras and 35mm cameras in the book. A lot of references to film and medium format. However, it is a good starting point and I would recommend it.

5 comments about Aftermath: Unseen 9/11 Photos by a New York City Cop.

1. I think it was a well done book - I could have done without the close ups of Bush and Cheney!



2. IF you have been collecting books, videos and material about 9/11 [I'm a history teacher]
   this is a nice addition. The copy is more interesting than the pictures that we've all seen,
   sadly.



3. This book meets the criteria of the film noir movies of the 40's and 50's: oneiric, strange, erotic, ambivalent, and cruel. Well, not erotic. And unlike the films of those days, the pictures here, and the stories that they tell are true.
   
   This is a book composed of pictures made in the days after 9/11. They were taken in black and white, and are somewhat grainy. The photographer, John Botte, a police detective and world-class photographer, was assigned by the police commissioner to document the aftermath at the World Trade Center. He was there, day after day, breathing the dust from the concrete, the insulation, and everything else - getting a lung condition that almost cost him his life.
   
   Out of the thousands of photographs he too, he has selected this couple of hundred and created captions that sometimes explain, sometimes just comment on what is being pictured.
   
   It is indeed a fitting AFTERMATH to 9/11.



4. Former officer John Botte has done a wonderful job putting together images of the immediate aftermath of 9/11. The black-and-white photos show both the tragedy and hope of the people involved in the rescue -- and later, simply the clean-up -- of this horrific event.
   
   The only thing I would have enjoyed more would have been captions for all of the photographs. As it stands, only about one in ten of the pictures has any type of explanation.



5. This book contain hard and touching images about the aftermath in New York city.

1 comments about The Oxford Project.

1. It is amazing that in 1984 all of the residents (except 6) of this small town were photographed and that now they have been re-photographed in the same spot PLUS have been interviewed with an inviting, open-ended, "Tell me about your life ..."
   
   The history. The changes. The love. The loss. The realism. The dreams. The regrets. The celebrations. Wow.
   
   In our culture, we tend to live too much for today and this book is a subtle way to contemplate our own lives from a bigger picture perspective, with a much broader and more meaningful stroke than the immediate.
   
   Moments and decisions -- the cornerstones of our lives. They are ours to experience as well as ours to make. I've enjoyed the transparent view into Oxford and how it allows us to take a similar view into our own lives :)
   
   Bon Appetit!

3 comments about A Short Course In Photography.

1. If you are talking a College level course that utilises this book as the main text, I truly pity you. You will learn more by simple self research via the internet and using your camera over the duration of the course than this book could ever teach you. By the final chapter you are left banging your head into your desk wondering why anyone would ever choose this offal as a required textbook. Don't believe me? Read Chapter 9 and notice that the vast majority of the text is simple poetic musings followed by references back to previous chapters, as the authors were too bloody lazy to expand upon their meager ideas. Pathetic.



2. I've been using SLR's & digital cameras since early high school, including use for some publication work. This book gives good, basic information, and would be good for a novice just learning to use a film-type camera. My copy is dated 1979, so it includes nothing about digital photography. The other reviewer referred to Chapter 9 as being nothing more than verse or poetry. That is somewhat puzzling as my copy only has 7 chapters. Also, unless there have been more current editions, this book is too dated to ever be used as a textbook for any current college course. However, if you are just looking for a basic reference on basic, film-type photography, or are a new hobbyist with a film camera, this book is certainly adequate, and one could do worse.



3. I didn't realize that it would take three weeks plus, so I didn't have it quick enough for my class, so order quick! Otherwise all is good.

No comments about Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1 and 2 (Includes The Digital Photography Book Volume 1 and The Digital Photography Book Volume 2).

3 comments about Cinematography: Third Edition.

1. This has been a film orentated clasic for a long time. It was overdue for an update and David Mullen did an excellent job, including Digital Intermediate and other much needed touches. This makes for a very good film orented book



2. This is a good starting point book and/or a reference book. Let's be honest... we're not going to learn how to shoot a film just by reading a book on cinematography. Experience is the best way to learn, which is largely how I learned how to shoot film.
   
   This book will provide you with a lot of technical information, which is why I slated it as a good reference book. Little things about color temperature, filters, film speeds, lenses, etc. There are some useful diagrams and photographs in the book, and it is kind of "matter of factly" written.
   
   I give it only three stars because though it is a decent book... its competitor "Cinematography: Theory and Practice" by Brown is much more informative, much better written and organized, and perhaps the most important, has a myriad film stills as reference.



3. this book is great it gets into detail about every thing u can imagen in the film production prosses....well exept for special effects but other than that this is the book for any Film student who wants to have a chance of making it big
   
   it was diliverd fast and the quality perfect

5 comments about My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals / Portraits, Interviews, and Recipes.

1. The book is artistically lovely but the interviews too short and sometimes a bit trite. A few of the recipes are good; I feel this is a 'coffee table' book more than anything else.



2. Portraits are fascinating. Interviews are intriguing. Recipes are delicious. You don't have to be a chef to enjoy this one.



3. great recipes, nice to hear different voices, I expected the interviews to be a little more in-depth.



4. I love the idea of the book, but with a $40/$26.97 price tag, I expected more content. Using 2 pages of a coffee table sized (large) book to print less than 2 paragraphs of text seems like filler. Perhaps I'm not artsy enough to appreciate the way the text wafted across the pages, but for my $30, I want more from a book.
   I did enjoy the content. It's nice to read about and see so many chefs that I admire in their various chosen environments. I would love to have a poster of the Bourdain photo. I'd hang it directly across the room from my Zappa on the toilet poster. Beauty!!



5. This is a great book to give to anyone who loves food, especially a Chef. Very interesting and some great recipes.My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals / Portraits, Interviews, and Recipes

5 comments about Best Business Practices for Photographers.

1. I am a photographer, and as one, I(at least I think) am great at photography, but terrible on the business side. I provide arbitrary (and some times unecessarily large) discounts, or price some of my services at very low rates.
   
   This book provides very useful information for someone like me. Reminds me that in addition to the "art" aspect, photography is also a business that must be self sustained in order to support me...
   
   Very well written, and inspirational in its own unique way.



2. If you're looking for a behind-the-scenes view at what it takes to be a truly successful commercial photographer, this book offers about the best picture you're going to get. I don't think John leaves one stone unturned in detailing all the facets of the business. Here is a sampling of some of the topics covered:
   
   - Tactical decision making and serving the overall strategy
   - Importance of proper equipment
   - Being prepared for the unexpected
   - Working with employees, contractors, interns, and apprentices
   - Pricing and licensing your work to stay in business
   - A real cost-of-doing-business approach with a photography-tailored CODB calculator
   - Proper bookkeeping and accounting
   - All types of insurance needed, and the importance of a COI (certificate of insurance)
   - Everything about legal issues including copyright registration, infringements, and contract breaches
   - All types of contracts and negotiations with real-life examples, and when to say "no"
   - Why you need an accountant and an attorney, and what to ask them
   - Great methods for dealing with slow and non-paying clients
   - The power of email and professional writing along with the use of proper signatures
   - Great advice on proper storage archiving, redundancy, security, and the importance of backing up both onsite and offsite in this new digital age
   
   John also offers ample recommended reading at the end of each chapter, and sites excellent references from other sources throughout the book. There's no question John has been around the block multiple times in this industry. Some of the stories he tells are invaluable lessons and give real insights into the rapport of the business. The book is also up to date with discussions on the new and various methods of tapping into that extra stock revenue using the latest stock portals such as Digital Railroad and PhotoShelter. Through all of this, John does not lose sight of the importance of the human aspect, covering everything from the proper care and feeding of your clients to ongoing education, networking, charity, and giving back. And in case you are wondering, he explains how it is possible to do what you love and still have time for your loved ones.
   
   In summary, a fantastic book, and one that will have a lasting impact on both your business and your personal life. Thanks John for paying it forward.



3. I am always a little suspicious of reviews of books, since so many of them are made by friends of the author, but this book is definitely a "must read" for any photographer that is serious about making it in this business, regardless of what sector you are interested in. It definitely is an eye opener on some subjects, and makes you aware of things you never thought of, on others. Regardless of whether you are a working pro now, or thinking about it, buy this book, period! This book pretty much covers it all from a business standpoint. I'm glad I choose this one over all of the others.



4. I read John's excellent book on business twice and then met him at the ASMP seminar in LA. This is not a how-to take good photos book rather a how-to negotiate effectively and stay in business and MAKE MONEY!
   I have applied all his techniques and can promise it increased my income! I learned to price on usage and value.
   Highly recommended to professional photographers and starting out photographers that would like to learn the business side of photography.
   Jason
   www.wallisphoto.com



5. There's a lot more to earning a living with your photography than simply creating a great image. John's a successful pro and his advice is very thorough, very professional and based upon actual experience. Highly recommended!

5 comments about Gonzo.

1. "Gonzo" is almost a coffee table book. It's worth EVERY penny! Beautiful pictures of HST and his first wife, Sandy and their son Juan. The images are glorious and creative. Don't be distracted by the price. BUY IT! (HST would approve :o)



2. I went to see an exhibition of these photos in a very exclusive gallery in London and enjoyed them very much. However the gallery was selling the 1st edition of this book for £150 and i couldn't help thinking that the only people who might have the means to afford it at that price would be people whose lifestyle was the antithesis of Hunter's. I'm glad of this non yuppie priced release and will be buying it as soon as i have a bit of spare cash.



3. I got this for a gift a year ago and it is a brilliant well made book. If you a fan of Hunter S. Thompson you will love this and if you do love this book I have some other reading suggestions for you:
   
   "Gonzo" by Jann S. Weener & Corey Seymour
   That too also has a introduction by Johnny Depp
   
   and "The Gonzo Way" (Coffee table book) by Anita Thompson (Hunter's former wife)
   
   This is one of the greatest journalists that ever walked in the shadow and light on this Earth. This is a wonderful book.



4. The review for this stated, "..this extraordinary package includes a specially designed box that contains the book and a limited edition gallery-quality photograph by Thompson. ...offering of only three thousand individually numbered copies available worldwide..." This was a gift for my wife: A huge Gonzo Fan, alomst of mythical proportions. Not too sure what happened to the box it was supposed to come in, or the Gallery-quality photgraph for that matter. Couldn't find anything indivually numbered except each page. Kinda like any book. However....Got her this and a Bukowski piece and Bukowski lays forgotten and she loves Gonzo. It is a beautiful book that inspires joy and laughter in someone who I know would have left me for Hunter in a heartbeat.



5. Great read. Illuminates both his genius and his jackassery. The many voices providing retrospectives create a vivid 360-degree view of what it was like to work and live with HST - the good, bad and the ugly. Bravo.