5 comments about 1001 Natural Wonders: You Must See Before You Die (Barron's Educational Series).

1. Some of the world's leading explorers lend their contributions and advice to the extensive travel reference 1001 NATURAL WONDERS YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE, which holds very nearly 1,000 pages packed with photos and descriptions of such wonders. From Loch Ness in Scotland to Lake Natron in Tanzania or Daisetsu in Japan, the world's wilderness places are all under one cover, with extensive descriptions charting why they stand out. While some of these places pepper other books, no other coverage is so extensive - or so well laid out, blending modern color photos with cultural and natural insights. Very highly recommended indeed; way above any other 'natural wonders' guides, and perfect for both armchair travelers and travel planners alike.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. Given the enormity of the task of identifying 1,001 of the world's greatest wonders, the authors did a pretty good job. But they were clearly biased in their selections. This book was originally published in England. Not coincidentally, 54 pages are devoted solely to the British Isles. This represents about 6% of the book. This may not seem like that much until you consider that the Britsh Isles have about 0.2% of the world's land mass. Likewise, about 170 pages were devoted to Western Europe ... 19% of the book for 2.5% of the world's land mass. Other sections of the book seemed to be given disproportionate coverage as well. 10% of the entire North America section was devoted to New Mexico. The whole of Canada barely got more coverage than this. The enormous country of Russia got just 7 pages. New Zealand - an incredibly scenic country - got just 13 pages. The breathtaking islands in French Polynesia got 2 pages of coverage (and they completely ignored Moorea Island).
   
   All of this being said, this is still a fairly impressive book that can be used to get a general idea of places you might like to visit. It has nearly 1,000 pages, so even with the disproportionate coverage, it still provides a pretty good glimpse at a lot of the natural wonders around the world. And there are some pretty nice photos, though I do wish there was a photo of every place, rather than a photo of about 1 in every 2 or 3 places. Photos can say more about a natural wonder than a couple paragraphs of text. Hopefully, the authors will someday come out with a new edition with more photos and less biased coverage of places throughout the entire world.



3. This book was amazing... I wasn't expecting it to be 3inches thick! It is chock-full of beautiful pictures and helpful discussion on destinations all over the world. A must for any curious traveler!



4. I found this not to be a sit down and read book but a dream, reference book. It takes many visits, each one a brain adventure. Great book.



5. I checked this book out of the library but we liked it so much, I am going to buy my own copy. Amazingly, my kids like to flip the book open for fun and then fantasize about going to the place they find! Better than watching Hannah Montana, that's for sure. We have a lot of places to visit now, though.

3 comments about The Complete Guide to Night & Lowlight Photography (A Lark Photography Book).

1. I really, truly wanted to love this book. I wanted to recommend it to my students, and I wanted it to finally be a useful Night Photography textbook. Unfortunately, it falls tremendously short of its potential on so many levels. As someone who has photographed at night for over 20 years, and taught Night Photography classes and workshops for 10 years, I feel qualified to make this judgment. The first and most obvious shortcoming is in the lack of inspiring, or even good Night Photographs. Most of the examples included are not only NOT night or low light images, but they are simply illustrations for the page, and not particularly good or interesting photographs. What a way to lose your audience in the first chapter.
   
   To be fair, there is plenty of useful technical information, but it is generally not very well organized. (The first thing covered in the text is purple fringing and chromatic aberration!) Unfortunately, much of the information presented, while well researched and generally correct, is not really specific to the topic of the book.
   
   Probably the greatest flaw of this book is that it does not embrace Night Photography for what it is. The author seems to have no grasp whatsoever of what it is that makes Night Photography special. In a nutshell, Night Photography is about the accumulation of time and light in an image- be it film or digital, and the way that the camera can record time in ways that the eye cannot see at night. Rather than show readers how to take advantage of the magic possible with long exposures and dramatic mixed lighting sources found at night, Freeman instructs the reader how to overcome these "challenges". Night photography is unpredictable and to a certain extent uncontrollable, and rather than embrace these things that make it unique, Freeman does everything he can to help his reader eliminate any and all risks. Night photography that "stays inside the lines" is boring. It is only by breaking the rules that Night Photographers create really exciting images, and there isn't more than a couple in this entire book. Imagine a 225 page book on Night Photography that devotes exactly THREE PARAGRAPHS to photographing by moonlight, and has zero examples of photographs taken by moonlight! There is also no chapter on light painting, which is another large omission.
   
   There are at least a dozen books on the market supposedly about Night and low light photography, and they pretty much all focus on the "Low Light" part of the equation-Christmas lights, neon signs, fireworks, theatre or sporting events at night. This is not Night Photography, but simply how to extend daytime shooting methods into low light situations. Michael Freeman's disappointing book is just another one added to the pile. To date, Andrew Sanderson's "Night Photography" is the best text published on the subject, but it is almost entirely a black and white film book, and therefore of limited use in today's digital world. I'm sure that many people will find something useful in Freeman's book, and some will disagree with my assessment. In the end, it simply does not inspire the reader to go out and photograph at night, either with the text or especially the illustrations. It is certainly not for the novice.
   
   The resource section in the back of the book lists only Freeman's other books, and none of the other published materials on Night and Low Light photography. His list of websites does not include links to any Night Photography sites or resources, most particularly www.thenocturnes.com, which is the undisputed champion of Night Photography online resources. He also offers no resources for classes or workshops on the subject, of which there are several, both in the US and abroad. There is a strong sense of community and sharing amongst Night Photographers, supported by both online and real world resources like The Nocturnes, local meet ups, and Flickr. Freeman is clearly not in touch with this community, which to me explains to a large degree why this book fails to hit the mark. As I said earlier in the review, there is a lot of useful technical information in this book, but it has no heart or soul.
   
   Jill Waterman's new book, "Night and Low Light Photography, Professional Techniques from Experts for Artistic and Commercial Success" is due out in August of 2008, and should prove to be much better than anything released on the topic to date. (disclaimer: I am a minor contributor to Jill's book, with no financial interest) Night and Low-Light Photography: Professional Techniques from Experts for Artistic and Commercial Success



2. Great book for night and lowlight digital photography. Well set up and delivered. Highly recommended!



3. It's good for Michael Freeman that I decided a while ago that I would not hold it against a book if the content did not match the title. Otherwise this book would have to be called "The Complete Guide to Wide Apertures, Slow Shutter Speeds, and High ISO's".
   
   That's because rather then concentrating on the usual stuff like metering on the sky at dusk or setting up flash units, Freeman assumes that the reader understands exposure and most post-processing and instead concentrates on what can be done to mitigate the consequences of wide apertures, slow shutter speeds and high ISO's.
   
   After a general introduction dealing with the nature of sensors, noise and similar topics, he divides the book into two sections that at first appear idiosyncratic: hand held and locked down. Primarily he does this because he says the ways of correcting for the problems created using the two different methods are due to exposure setup. Hand held requires wide apertures and high ISOs while tripod shooting uses long exposures and these require different corrective measures in post processing. Each section first indicates methods of mitigation (steadying techniques, tripod management) and then discusses post processing, which is the meat of the book. For example, in discussing hand held shots, he points out that camera movement is a source of blur and that software tools can be used to correct for this. Freeman also has an extensive discussion of high dynamic range processing that is similar to his recent book on this topic, although the use of HDR for handheld photography is a subject not often encountered.
   
   I hesitate to describe a text as aimed at advanced photographers since the definition of an advanced photographer depends on the individual doing the defining, but I can certainly say that this is not a book for novices. Most of the post-processing techniques offered require a thorough knowledge of image processing software, the devotion of time to handcraft an image, and occasionally the use of software above and beyond Photoshop. Moreover, to apply Freeman's suggestions, I had to sit with the book in hand and follow his procedures step by step on my own images. But the techniques Freeman offered were certainly worth the investment of my time to study, and hopefully, to apply in a low light situation.
   
   (Freeman appeared to be using an older version of Adobe Camera Raw in some of his examples that did not include the new input sharpening facility which works in tandem with ACR's noise reduction and I wondered if there were some advantages in processing low-light images with the newer software. Hopefully he'll answer that in another book.)
   
   The more skilled one becomes as a photographer, the harder it is to find useful advice that one has never encountered. For many skilled photographers, this book may prove useful.

4 comments about Let Me In!.

1. First of all, let me tell you I may be a little biased with my review, because I love Mario Testino's work as it is. His photos of beautiful glamorous worlds and people living in them are always sleek, suave and well-polished, and they display, to my taste, a delicate sensitivity within image, reality and make-belief. You know: the whole smoke and mirror thing, but it is obvious his mirrors and smoke have some magic in them. All the celebrities, models etc, or let's say his subjects, look like a million bucks, especially in this carefully edited book. Not that any of them are not gorgeous in real life, but they seem extra sublime, and believe it or not, still human. By risking to sound superficial, and shallow even, I daresay I love it. I appreciate to see so-called 'glamor' handled and manufactured in a way this sophisticated and tasteful.
   
   'Let Me In' is a wonderful piece of high profile celebrity photo collection, which tends to catch its subjects in parties, social gatherings, or behind the scenes at fashion shoots or editorials. It is rough, time-to-time feels out of focus as a collection: more like a photo album of a photographer's 'work in proogress' pile. Some photos I had seen before, but some are fresh from the oven. It may seem obviously celebrity obsessed to look at the photos of these actors and models that only display their general celebrity magnetism and magnificence, and one may ask what the difference is between this book and let's say a junk like People magazine. And it is this: these photos do take joy in their pop culture value in a tongue-in-cheek way. It has no excuses for it other than it's title: LET ME IN! It is a naughty, almost forbidden, and intimate collection.
   
   I love it. I love the roughness of the photos, how generous Testino is, and how wonderfully generic most of the photos look. It does not mean to say anything special. It is what Testino does best: beautiful people, a lot of skin and a surprising sense of intimacy. I highly recommend the book for anyone who appreciates the perception of a high fashion photographer on celebrity and the slight obsession that we are all in.



2. Beautiful photos of celebrities in their more casual moments. Though some of the photos are posed, they are all stunning and vivid. A great gift for the movie fan/celebrity watcher in your family.



3. This was a hard book to find. But, like anything you have to wait for, it's worth it once you get it! It is gorgeous! From the moment I took it out of the box, I didn't move. I even took it to my best friends house the next day and shared it with her. I love photography and especially photos of my favorite celebrities. I highly recommend this book. It's also a good-looking book on your coffee table.



4. Mr.Testino does take perfect photographs of people and that's probably all those celebrities loved him. doesn't really think he has his own style though except clear picture, pretty colors and perfect angle....that makes him more of a technician than artist i think. and again for this book, which offers a slightly more SOLID content than his previous ones, looks more like a last minute pull out from all of his vanity fair and vogue spread from previous few years. don't just look at the cover and be conned like me, look thorally inside and then decide.......^_-

2 comments about Richard Avedon: Photographs 1946-2004.

1. this is by far one of the greatest photographers of all time.
   this book is also one of the most inspirational books i own or have read.
   the pages are some of the finest paper and the images all look like no others.
   the text is written so well and executed perfectly.
   
   a must for any photographer in any aspect at all.



2. According to photographer Anthony Snowdon, a viewer, when looking at a picture, should not be able to tell who the photographer was. That may be true about his own photographs; he was wrong, however, when it comes to the work of Richard Avedon. Many of his photographs are instantly recognizable as uniquely his or the shots of someone imitating him. Mr. Avedon gave the world the portrait where the subject, often powerful and famous-- although that is not the case in his series "In The American West" when he shot unknowns-- is photographed looking straight into the camera without flattering lighting or camera angles before a white background. These models rarely smile although Janis Joplin and Willem de Kooning are two exceptions.
   
   This latest collection of approximately 200 of Avedon's photographs is the catalogue that accompanies a traveling exhibit of the master photographer, which began at Denmark's Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and will close in San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art. It must have been a difficult assignment to select the images that are reproduced (so beautifully) here. Many of Avedon's most famous photographs are included although there were some that I had never seen before and some I missed seeing. (For example, I would have included the magnificent shot of Tina Turner that usually fills a museum wall when it is exhibited.) The one color photograph by Avedon here is the famous or infamous, depending on your point of view, of Nastssja Kinski and the Serpent (1981). Several fashion shots are included. My favorites are the two of the model Dovima-- with the elephants in 1955 and in front of the pyramids in Eqypt in 1951.
   
   The photograph of Peter Orlovsky and Allen Ginsberg, naked and embracing, that was-- I believe-- the cover for an issue of "Evergreen" magazine in 1963 made the cut, as did Andy Warhol and members of the Factory (1969). Some of my favorites, although I cannot always say why, are the shot of Bob Dylan taken in 1963 where he looks to be about 13, (I think it is the tilt of his head that intrigues me) W. H. Auden standing in the snow in New York in 1960 and The Generals of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Photography doesn't get better than that shot.
   
   Avedon always said that he just photographed the surface and that the viewer only gets whatever the photographer sees in a brief moment of time. He contended also that the photograph usually tells you more about the photographer than the subject. On the other hand, the writer Albert Camus said that we are all responsible for our faces after the age of forty. Some of these portraits cry out with Camus' message. I would nominate the image of Truman Capote (1974). The word "dissipated" comes to mind immediately. Contrast the Capote photograph with, say, those of the Dalai Lama and Salman Rushdie, from whom a sense of peace emanates. It is poetic justice that the artist Francis Bacon's own face takes on the grotesque shape of many of the faces in his paintings. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor (1957), looking into Avedon's lens, would make you believe that the rest of the Royals were right about them, that they were dreadful people.
   
   Accompanying this great photography collection are essays by several writers and art and photography critics assessing Mr. Avedon's contribution to 20th century photography including Helle Crenzien, Geoff Dyer, Judith Thurman, Michael Juul Holm, Rune Gade, Jeffrey Fraenkel and Christoph Ribbat. If you do not read all the essays, do not miss Geoff Dyer's discussion on what has become Avedon's signature, the portraits where the models are in front of a stark white background where the people who posed for him, if not known to the public before they sat for him, were famous thereafter. The people included in In the American West series-- drifters, waitresses, coal miners, truckers-- are every bit as engaging as those of the rich and famous and are now just as immortal.

5 comments about Using the View Camera.

1. This book is very well organized, clearly written. Everything you need to know to start to LF Photography is there, even the zone system. But I believe it's not only a novice's handbook, it may be very useful even for experienced photographers.
   I liked the 2nd section where LF images, of super quality, are explained in a detailed manner.
   Buy this book, you won't be disappointed.



2. The only reason I gave this a 4 star instead of five is that it doesn't cover digital backs. That said I guess this was written a few years ago before the digital revolution came on so strong. I had some information on large format cameras because I took the NYIP correspondence course and knew a little about them, but wanted to know things like how to load film in them, which the NYIP course didn't cover. He went into how the tilt and rise adjustments can make your photography like no other camera can. I found this book very complete and is a great book to find out if LF is for you. I also bought the book Large Format Nature Photography and that does go into digital a little, however he doesn't think much of it so maybe that is why this author left it out. I don't think you would be disappointed with this book.



3. I thought this book was just about excellent in its thoroughness for informing the reader how view cameras work. There are lots of photographs displayed as examples of what the author is discussing at the time. This book is excellent for those either just getting into view camera photography, or, like me, interested in moving into that area of the art. I am a digital photographer, and have been since the early days of digital, but have been drawn to medium and large format work because of their reliance upon the shooter's eye and the absolute skill required of the shooter. Anyone can point and shoot a picture, but it takes intimate knowledge of the camera's capabilities and the patience to move the photograph from the mind's eye to the camera's eye. The quality of large format is unsurpassed, and ught to be around for a long time. Kudo's for the author for this instructional, yet inspirational book on view camera photography.



4. A very nice introduction to large format. Gives more then a few a-ha moments that I needed badly after reading The Camera. Good to have around while starting your LF journey :-)



5. I found this very helpful being old to photography but new to large format. Illustrations are excellent as well.

No comments about China, Portrait of a Country.

4 comments about Jeff Smith's Posing Techniques for Location Portrait Photography.

1. Jeff Smith does a nice job of conveying the strategy behind photography outside of the studio. Not only informative but also teaches the reader to sharpen his/her skill. Posing techniques for both individuals and groups as well as maximizing environmental surroundings to work for your photographs are discussed in detail. An invaluable book for any photographer's library.



2. Jeff Smith is certainly one of my favorite authors in the field of photography. This book, like his many other texts, is well written and illustrated. Jeff breaks down posing into the simplest of terms so that anyone can follow his step by step instruction. His examples of group portraits are especially helpful and beautifully executed.



3. I received my order yesterday and started to read this book. I couldn't put it down. It had so many points I would have never considered, and wouldn't have guessed that would matter to a woman. For example, ankles are about the only thing I never notice on a woman, but they do. I would have thought leaning a person up against a rock for example would be a great shot, well, not exactly. Mr. Smith covers nearly everything from the tilt of the head to how the toes should be positioned. Also another thing is how to creatively hide areas of a person that are going to make an otherwise great shot into a reject. Great pictures of women, guys and families. He certainly brings out the beauty of the gals in his poses. (I must say though that with most of these gals, making them look good is not too hard.) Well worth the price. Amazon delivered in about 4 days. Ric.



4. While text in this book is useful at times, but you can get pretty much same stuff from most of "Posing techniques" (including brilliant books by Gomez on glamour photography) books out there (including few very good ones). There is VERY little specifics about on location posing, which book supposed to be about. Couple of chapters on how to sell your work - dont even understand why they were added, apart from making up for volume. Most of images in book are pretty mediocre, and like 70% of them reminds you of what person who just learned how to apply gaussian blur in Photoshop to smooth skin and make Orton's effect would be keep doing out of sheer excitement (and i kid you not. Image on the cover is one of very few good ones).
   
   On the whole - very few good tips and loads of repetition of other books. And very few good shots , which actually looks professional (sorry for repeating this, but its kind of strikes me. I never saw such a horrible stuff before in a book that pretends to teach people)

5 comments about Painter X for Photographers: Creating Painterly Images Step by Step.

1. As photographers, we're always looking for ways to extend our art and stretch the boundaries of our craft. So it was intriguing when Painter was introduced to us. The thought of transforming our phtography into the world of oils, watercolors, pastels had to be explored - so we bought it. Even if you are experienced and comfortable with applications like Photoshop or Lightroom, Painter will have you scratching your head for a while. Like Photoshop, the initial learning curve is a challenge, but it's a worthwhile journey. "Painter X for Photographers" was a great help. It takes youthrough the process, step by step, suggesting settings and explaining them and makes sense of the workflow. You learn how to work with the brushes to get the results you're looking for and it comes with a DVD loaded with many examples and exercises. To see an example of what can be done with Painter X, go to the following page:
   [...]



2. I love this book. the dvd instruction gets one immediately into practice // and soon enough gets your head spinning with a smorgasbord of creative possibilities. the author gives detailed instructions regarding cloning, layering, painting, and montages, etc. I highly recommend this book for aspiring photo/artists, digital artists, photo/artists and photographers delving into the digital world. Yes, there are other painterX books out there...but this seems to be the one for me. thank you mr. addison.



3. I am a photographer, not an artist, who wanted to be able to create paintings and sketches from my photographs. When I first got Painter X I found it intimidating and did not find the help and tutorials very helpful. After reading reviews here, I purchased Martin Addison's Painter X for Photographers and it has been great for getting me going fast.
   
   It is geared towards photographers wanting to make artwork from their photos, but Martin covers all the background info as well. I followed all the tutorials on the cd and then worked through the book. His style is clear and easy to follow and he is actually quite charming. I feel like I have a solid mastery of Painter X now and can proceed to learn and explore more with confidence. I am so glad I bought THIS book!



4. The way this book is organized and the quantity of exercises has done a great job of introducing me to Painter X. I did some video tutorials before buying this book and didn't remember a thing once I was done viewing them. But the combination of reading the text and doing the exercises at my own pace instead of trying to keep up with a video has given me a good idea of what I can do with Painter. The exercises are great because you feel like you've really achieved something with each one and that you could duplicate the effect on your own images. I only used the accompanying DVD to copy the practice images (there are a couple missing that you can download from the author's website). I would recommend this book as an excellent beginner's text with the caveat that you probably need to have a good working knowledge of other graphics programs (like Photoshop) to use the book or you might get stuck following along in the excercises for lack of detail.



5. This book is fabulous! The video tutorials are crystal clear.
   It' just loaded with pracitical, easy to find knowledge.
   I especially liked the Choosing Brushes section which gave examples of what each type of brush can do.
   Highly recommended.

3 comments about Nursery Style.

1. This is an amazing Nursery book, it does not matter if you are vintage, classic or modern in your taste. It's very instructive on how to create a one of kind nursery. Loved It! Beautiful rooms and ideas!



2. I found this book to be worth every penny. The inspiration in decor can be applied on any budget, which is the beauty of the authors' suggestions. I thumb through this book every night and seem to find something I hadn't noticed before each time I do. I love this publication!



3. I've flipped through many nursery books and this book is beyond compare. Buy this book if you're looking for modern beautiful and unique styles. The book does cover 'vintage' decor aswell but the authors have done it in a very current and modern way that most moms our time will love. It comes with design tips that help you cut your budget aswell. I feel that, if you're the type of parent that wants to decorate a nursery without it looking too childish or toys'r'us looking this books is for you. A fantastic find for me.

5 comments about Composition Photo Workshop.

1. Since moving to Alaska two years ago, I've taken up photography. The abundant wildlife and breathtaking natural scenery moved me to purchase a digital camera and start shooting. I had no formal training, but figured, much as with automobile repair, if I could read about it, I could figure it out. I read a variety of websites, participated in discussion forums, took many photographs, and generally have been trying to figure things out myself. With this background, picked up this book with interest and curiosity.
   
   Composition is divided into eleven chapters, breaking things down into background, compositional elements, photographic styles and tips for improvment. The first chapter goes over a variety of background bits, talking about the the history of photography, sight and optics, eastern & western approaches to design and layout, and the interrelation between these items which is what makes up composition. The book clearly states that it comes to the discussion from a 'western' point of view. With the foundations properly set, the book delves into meat of the topic. Framing is tackled first, with discussion of shapes and thematic elements, shapes, the rule of thirds, symmetry and other topics explored. Next, focal depth and shutter speed, how lens selection determines output characteristics and photographic capabilities, ISO speed selection, and on. The quality and types of light are examined, and how to best make use of what is available at any given time. Two chapters are spent on color and black & white photography. Filters are examined for the positive effects they can have in bright and contrasty situation, and when they can be beneficial to filter out or highlight a particular portion of the spectrum. While some will argue that postprocessing and editing on the computer afterward render all filters other than ND and polarizing ones useless, I appreciate that the information hasn't been discarded onto the scrapheap of history. The final three chapters of the book deal with portraiture, landscape/scenic photography and tips on improving your photos further through post-processing.
   
   I found Composition to have a nice layout (which it should, considering the subject matter); it is full of useful information and generally an enjoyable read. I had no problem picking it up and reading through a chapter here and there, then getting back into it later. At the end of each chapter, there is an assignment which directs you to apply the topic covered in the chapter in a variety of ways and try to get a better feel for what they are discussing. In addition, there is an accompanying online forum where you can upload the photos you take for the assignments, discuss them with others, and see how other readers approached the topics. A brief exploration of the website took a while to find the proper place to go to upload and see the images others have captured. As of this writing (10/1/2007), the forums there do not appear to be terribly active, with perhaps 11 photos uploaded to the busiest assignment; as the book was released recently, I'm sure the activity will pick up.
   
   Composition is written for someone with an SLR camera - people with simple point and shoot cameras will gain some knowledge from the book. To be able to take full advantage of the book should have an advanced P&S camera - one that falls into the super-zoom or bridge-camera categories - if not a full dSLR setup. (This isn't necessarily a complaint about the book, per-se, but hey, we non-dSLR owners are photographers too!) With the stiff competition, many new models and rapidly falling prices in recent years for dSLR cameras, this book could act as the missing manual. While it won't tell you what all the switches do on your new Nikon D80 or which lens is best for your Canon 400d, it goes a long ways toward giving you a better understanding of how to make use of the capabilities of your camera, and will help train your eye to find those details, the shapes, colors and lighting which will produce outstanding images.



2. I am an advanced amateur who purchased this book hoping to improve my skills, or at least learn something new. This book was a total disappointment. The author simply fails to uncover in depth the principals of composition. If you are a total beginner and want to learn about photography and the history of photography in general, this book is for you. You will be reading pages and pages of completely useless and non composition related information only finding the mediocre picture and a very brief explanation on how the author took that shot. The pictures are short of being "fantastic" and leave you with serious doubt of whether you are really learning from the best.
   
   As for me, I will continue looking for a truly educational book.



3. Unstoppable woman running at full gallop into focus and into the future.
   A page-turner. Articulate, pleasant reading. Not too much jargon
   A buffet of eye candy and brain candy and camera candy
   Opened my eyes and enhanced my views in many ways
   So many avenues and so many approaches expressed
   Provides skills to make me and my camera more versatile and powerful
   A ton of info in one book. A treasure chest of tips, tricks, and fundamentals.
   Sort a personal guide, cicerone, to a world of photography that is becoming more complex and more simple at the same time
   A nice addition to my art library.



4. How a photo is composed can determine what it communicates, and while Photoshop and after-shot programs can help render images with greater precision, they are no substitute for decent composition. That's why any college-level class on photography and any library strong in photography references needs COMPOSITION PHOTO WORKSHOP: it shares all the elements which make up a masterful design, from color and lighting to design and symbolism. There are different techniques for portraits, landscapes and still lifes alike: COMPOSITION PHOTO WORKSHOP covers them all in great detail.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



5. I was quite impressed with this book. I've been very actively taking digital photos for 4 years now and am reaching for the intermediate level of proficiency. The first reason I would recommend this book is that it went far beyond the "Rule of Thirds" and leading lines on into color, framing, lighting, placement, etc., etc. There's a wealth of good information and ideas supported by beautifully composed photo examples. Secondly,staying in keeping with the "Workshop" portion of the book's title, at the end of every chapter is an assignment the reader can embark on to REALLY learn what he/she has just read. The assignments are highly creative and fun. And finally, taking this learning experience yet one step further, the reader is directed to send the results of the assignments to a website where other readers are sharing as well. A great deal can be learned from looking at their submissions and reading reviews. I also discovered other links in this website that take you into a very exciting world of sharing and learning more about digital photography. This book is a keeper!