5 comments about Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters.

1. An excellent book on artistic anatomy. Reading this one book has taught me more than some figure drawing classes. A systematic deconstruction of how the masters of artistic anatomy have integrated their knowledge into some of the greatest drawings of all time. The book goes through the drawings of famous artists, categorized by the region of the body on which the drawings are focused, and attempts to explain how extensive knowledge of anatomy has been effectively applied. It touches on how these artists could create drawings which are more powerful than merely a photographic rendering of the model through their use of anatomy.

   Unfortunately, the book is very cheaply bound. Entire leaves have detached themselves from the spine, though I have treated the book very well. My copy has turned into a stack of paper and scotch tape, wrapped loosely in its former cover. Despite that fact, I still consider it worth the purchase.

   I have both this book and "Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters." Both are excellent books, but if you must only buy one, get this one. It is the better of the two.




2. Pick up this book if you are looking for a great artistic anatomy reference book. If you are looking for more than reference, however, you might want to look elsewhere. While this book is definitely good, it doesn't give the artist direction in how to draw or depict the illustrations. The text is pretty much straight-forward, usually only noting the parts of the bodies in the images. Second, this book lacks the poetic and great writing of Robert Beverly Hale.

   Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters is more of an extra reference book or a supplement to Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters. In that book, Hale really teaches to the reader whats needed to depict anatomy, what steps the artist must take, gives tips on how to become a great or accomplished artist, why the artists of the past were so good, what mistakes beginners of figure drawing usually make, and sooooo much more. It's pretty much an incredible book to have even if you're not into figure drawing.

   I think Anatomy Lessons would probably be more highly regarded in my eyes had Drawing Lessons been nonexistent. Anatomy Lessons is great for further reference, if thats what you're looking for though. I probably wouldn't recommend anyone to buy this book unless you already own or have thoroughly read and studied Drawing Lessons by the Great Masters.




3. I took an art class at the junior college and the instructor suggested copying the masters to improve drawing skills. I bought this book and copied every picture. Not only did it familiarize me with many artists I had not heard of but, over time my drawing skills improved dramatically. I am now buying collections of drawings of other artists and copying. I highly recommend the book not only as a reference but also to be used to improve skills. I have an engineering background, not art and this helped immensely.



4. for us amateaur artists who want inspiration to create great works of art. This book shows the details of the human body and how great artists drew from live and dead bodies as they create the greatest masterpieces in art history.



5. I will just say that this is very helpful for reference to specific part of the human anatomy. Especially the skeletal and muscular diagrams at the back of the book.

5 comments about In A Mexican Garden: Courtyards, Pools, and Open-Air Living Rooms.

1. I love the pictures and ideas presented, but after 2 days, the binding had pulled away from the pages!! I think that is flaw that needs fixing.



2. I love this book! The beautiful photographs give the reader great ideas on how to design and decorate.



3. I was very surprise whith the quality of the presentation and the beautiful pictures. Excellent!!



4. This book is an explosion of beautiful colours on every page! It is filled with beautiful photographs of Mexican outdoor living and the commentary is concise but clear, enabling the reader to copy the ideas found in the book. I intend to use the book to create my own Mexican/Spanish style courtyard.



5. This is a great book for ideas on designing your own Mexican style garden and as in my case designing an Adobe Dollhouse and courtyard.

2 comments about Eltonography: A Life in Pictures Sir Elton John.

1. This Elton John pictorial book is beautiful, but suffers from pages that stick together causing tears on the pages. In short, the printing of this book is defective. Amazon requires to ship it back to them for a replacement. What a hassle!



2. This book is awesome. It primarily covers Elton from the early 70s, through is heyday in the mid-70s, and also goes into the 80s. Most of the photos have never been published before, so it's a real treat to step back in time.
   
   One reviewer said that his pages stuck together and that the pages tore. I did not have that experience at all. My book was in great shape.

No comments about House Calls With William Carlos Williams, MD (Powerhouse Books).

No comments about The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival, and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming.

5 comments about Listography Journal: Your Life in Lists.

1. I bought this book for my friend for Christmas because she is always making lists and she loved it.



2. Visually it looks great! Kooky illustrations on nice paper - you do want to write in this journal. Plenty of room for your ideas. The pages are headed up with list topics and you just jot down "answers". I think the idea of the book is to add to the lists over a period of time, having a giggle at your previous comments. This is something that I do think I will continue, not like a journal which I can't keep going for longer than a month!



3. I really liked this book because i love making lists and this book provides you with great questions. One, because it's things I wouldn't have really thought of listing on my own, and two because it's makes a list of things that you might later forget in life so it's like a mini biography



4. sometimes hard to write a journal. this book let's you look back at your life by giving you simple topics, letting you remember things you might not have remembered if you just sat down to write your story. can be left as a list, or you can take what you write in the book and expound on it to give complete stories and how you felt at the time. such a simple idea, but so effective for people like me that feel overwhelmed by the thought of keeping a record of everything



5. This book is great, I tend to obsess over lists and this book is awesome for that. Some questions are a little goofy, but that's definately the fun of it. The illustrations fit the tone of the book perfectly! Highly recommended for anyone who's looking for a fun way to kill some time.

5 comments about The Family Of Man.

1. I am so glad Family of Man is still available. I would also suggest that in conjunction with this book, you offer Family of Women, and Family of Children.



2. I first found this book at Foyle's in London, about 35 years ago, and it struck me. Since then, I bought five copies of the Family of Man, but no one remained in my home, because ever I felt the need to give this book to someone I loved or trusted.
   What is making this book so precious to me?
   First the idea itself of collecting pictures from the whole world (remember, when Steichen launched his project, the Cold War and the related hysteria was at its peak). This to demonstrate that all the human beings have to pass through the same events in their life: birth, growth, education, emotions, work, love, children, reflection, death. This apparently trivial concept leads to a conclusion by far less trivial: we all do belong to one family, our species, the humans (by the way, this thinking had not so great success in the past, nor the present seems to be more benevolent).
   The Family of Man is exactly the visual demonstration of such a concept, by comparing the same events as viewed from different geographic and cultural perspectives, by means of photos from renowned or unknown photographers (of course, the pictures from the US are prevailing in numbers for logistics and statistical reasons: it was by far more simple for an US photographer to even simply receive the news of the Steichen project than for a photographer in Rwanda or in the USSR).
   Steichen and his assistants made an impressive selection, shortlisting 503 pictures from the over 2 million they received. By the way, Steichen was a photographer, and his selection also considered the aesthetic side of the question: most of the pictures selected simply are wonderful.
   The result is this book. I think no one on this planet can miss it, because The Family of Man is representative of a large part of our culture and on our very nature.
   To give an example, in my opinion this book is at the same emotional and rational level as Homer's Odyssey, Dante's Divine Comedy, Melville's Moby Dick, primo Levi's If this is a Man, or the ancient Greek lyrics, to quote some comparisons.
   I hope it will continue to be published; we, the humans, desperately need it.



3. This is my favorite book. I purchased it when I was 18, and loved black and white photography. I am now 65, and still see the same basic beauty in the photographs. It's not about the 1950's, or showing American culture. It shows how universal and similiar all people of all races and cultures are. It shows young children playing, people falling in love, weddings, births, hard work, wars, death, grieving, and even hope from various people and countries from our planet Earth. One family. One people. This is a collection of love, not about a specific time, or place, or our differences. This is a book that shows our skin colors, clothes, and countries may change; but we are all the same.
   



4. Great book! I grew up with it, and rediscovered it just now. Wonderful!!



5. Best photography book about we human beings covering pictures about love, marriage,birth,childhood, growing up, work, getting along, war, and old age.
   It is truly well done and my favourite for myself and to give as a gift to someone you care about, who is interested in humanity.

5 comments about The Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction.

1. Before you read this review you should know that I have not actually read the book in question. I'm writing the review specifically for people who are looking online for a book on color correction and don't have access to a copy in person to get a closer look.
   
   I read the TOC for this book here on Amazon and then went to the local book store, where they happened to have a copy, because I needed to look closer before buying, so I'm passing what I learned on to you.
   
   First, this looks like a really cool tutorial for anyone interested in a career in color correction and prepared to get the professional tools to follow that path. I also think in a few years I will be coming back to this book to learn more theory, because it looks strong there, too.
   
   It also looks somewhat (if less) useful for those learning to color correct using either Avid or Final Cut Pro (which is, I know, the majority of practitioners).
   
   However, if you are looking for a tool to learn how to color correct your own digital videos and you use the Adobe suite (Premiere Pro and After Effects), this author does not seem to feel that you have a fighting chance doing color correction at all, so you are out of his loop. I'm pretty sure that there are ways to color correct using these tools, though, especially with Photoshop CS3, so I, for one, am not going to go out and buy more software just yet. When I find the right book for us Adobe people I will post a review of that, too.
   
   Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure this book will be wonderful for the rest of you (especially if you own a Mac).



2. I originally wrote this review for my blog and decided to post it here since I think it'll help potential buyers decide if this book is for them. Enjoy...
   
   First question: Is The Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction worth reading?
   
   Answer: Yes! Absolutely.
   
   Second question: Is it targeted at newbies or advanced users?
   
   Yes. To both.
   
   The first two thirds of the book "Primary Color Correction" and "Secondary Color Correction" deals with the fundamentals of our toolsets: monitoring, understanding waveform monitors and vectorscopes, balancing shots, vignettes, HSL isolations, and more. While this part of the book can be safely skipped over by more advanced users to whom all that info is second nature, Steve Hullfish does a nice job of surveying how different software apps approach the same concepts. And when a particular software package has a unique tool for achieving a particular task, he breaks it down for the reader.
   
   The upshot: Even if you're experienced colorist on a Symphony you'll walk away with a strong understanding how other software apps work and what you might be missing (or what advantages you may have that you didn't realize). My advice, advanced users should at least skim through these parts paying particular attention when Steve takes a moment to pull a quote from the working professionals he features in the last third of the book. There are some great tips in these sections - especially on how different colorists set up multi-display scopes to help them nail black balance or tweak color values. I ended up changing some of my displays and found a few new setups that I really like.
   
   Overall, the first two parts are not a dumbed down discussion. While Steve starts by laying down the ground-work emphasizing monitoring and external scopes (the latter being a deep discussion that permeates the entire book - which I very much appreciate), he seems to anticipate some of his readers finding material redundant and thankfully breaks out basic terminology to sidebars. Appropriately, those early chapters work through the subject matter in the same order a colorist will typically approach their problem-solving.
   
   The final third of the book "Pro Colorists" is likely where the advanced users will want to begin. Why? That answer leads us to our third question...
   
   Third Question: What makes this book different than other color correction books (or DVDs)?
   
   The soul of this book is contained in the last few chapters and on its supplemental DVD. Steve sits with over a dozen accomplished, professional colorists and puts them in front of a common software color grading platform, Apple's Color (at the time called Final Touch HD), with a Tangent control surface. He gives them all the same set of footage (also provided on a DVD), presses 'record' on a DV camera and grills the colorists about the approach they are each taking to color correcting those images. The result is the author presenting up to three colorists approaching the same shot using different techniques. Or the same technique being used on different shots. Usually in the words of those colorists. It's a great education.
   
   Even better are the transcripts Steve provides on the DVD that didn't make it into the book but he thought were informative. I've just started to read those and already I've gotten some new ideas about different approaches to common challenges.
   
   Another thing that differentiates this book is its largely software-agnostic approach. Color, Avid Symphony, After Effects, Color Finesse, even Photoshop are all featured in the first 2 Chapters alone. Where interfaces are similar, Steve picks a software package and follows it through - pointing out where users of other apps might find things different. I suspect that if iMovie had a color correction module Steve would have a found a place to feature it.
   
   Fourth Question: Any final thoughts?
   
   This is clearly a book about concepts, not tools. As much as it necessarily covers the How To of working with color correction software, it's the Why Do that is emphasized.
   
   In fact, Why Do is the whole point of the book.
   
   Read it. Live it. Learn it.



3. I disagree with the reviewer who said that the book claims that it's impossible to color correct with Adobe products. The MAIN readers of the first color correction book by the author were After Effects users, many of whom followed the advice of noted After Effects gurus, Trish and Chris Meyer.
   
   American Cinematographer magazine's reviewer said this about the book: "likely to become the definitive text on the subject. Sensibly organized, lavishly illustrated and varied in perspective, it's a dense but highly readable summary of the current state of the art."
   
   The cool thing about the book is that it is NOT platform or product specific. The author sat in on sessions with more than a dozen colorists around the country as they all graded the same images. The book walks the reader through those corrections from the viewpoint of these master colorists, instead of from the solitary viewpoint of the author. That's the value of the book. You are literally sitting in with people who have graded TV shows like "24" and "Desperate Housewives" and "LA Law" and "48 Hours" and movies like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Spiderman" or those beautiful NFL Films.
   
   This is a book for anyone using any software product. It is a book that is more about "why" to do the things you need to do than about "how" to do them with a specific piece of software.



4. 
   I 'searched inside this book' and after reading the table of contents and the first few pages I decided to buy it. I had my reservations - not because of what I had read in the intro, but by the last few DV books I had purchased on Amazon. I am, I suppose, something in between a novice and an intermediate editor, and I edit on Sony Vegas Pro. This I have found puts me in a rather awkward category. In the past, all of the 'how to' books I've read have been far too basic or software specific.
   
   What I really appreciated was the tone and pitch of the book. Most of the time, I find introductory books condescending - they seem to assume your inexperience equals a lack of intelligence (and corny jokes are unbelievable).
   
   Before I read the Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction, I new more or less nothing about colour correction - my former corrections, dare I say it, were largely made using the contrast/brightness control - but this book made perfect sense to me. Steve Hullfish writes enthusiastically and encouragingly, and the book I believe would suit novices and pro's alike. The clear definitions in the margins are an excellent idea and are perhaps the key to the book's ability to transcend the novice/pro divide. If you understand the terminology move on, if you don't the explanations are right there.
   
   Although the book does not give examples from Vegas. It explains colorist parlance in useful analogies, and offers suggestions about where to look for color correction tools in NLE's other than Avid and Apple Color. By in large, I found Vegas had most of the tools, scopes etc, and although I love Vegas, after seeing what Apple Color can provide, I do have a little 'application' envy.
   
   One last thing... here's a small anicdote: I recently made a short film on HDV and showed a couple of people who liked it and before I new it, I was being mentored by a large post production studio. I asked them for some advice on corrections. I ended up sitting down with their senior colourists, watching the film on the big screen and talking shop with them for a couple of hours. We were talking about masks, vignettes, secondaries, colour casts, gamma and all sorts of things that, to be honest, I new nothing about until I read this book. It seems there's no substitute for experience, but because this book is full of advice from colourists with many years of experience, why not learn from your mistakes before you make them!
   
   Glen Maw
   Wellington, New Zealand



5. The Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction
   
   If you've ever tried to color correct in your NLE and have no idea of what all the adjustments mean (such as "input Black") and have been trying to teach yourself the software by just moving the knobs and looking at the results, then this book is for you. I am amazed after reading the first third of the book how much I have learned and how to use the built in scopes that come with most software. I may never become a colorist, but it sure makes my in-house projects far better. And when the day comes that I need to hire a colorist, I feel like I will be better prepared to speak the language. This will be another reference book that will be worn out from daily use.

5 comments about Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema.

1. I am very glad, that I found this book. It helps me think about making sound design in a very deep point of view.
   I love it!!!
   Thank you David Sonnenschein:-)
   
   Jan Sleska
   student of sound engineering



2. This was an interesting book, and it really gave me some new perspectives on sound design. Sonnenschein focuses on the organization and mindset of sound design, rather than the technicalities. I especially liked the excerpts from top sound designers such as Dane Davis (The Matrix, Drugstore Cowboy), Gary Rydstrom (Backdraft, Saving Private Ryan), and Ben Burtt (Star Wars, Indiana Jones).
   
   My only knock on the book is that Sonnenschein was repetitive at times. The book would be about 30 pages shorter if he didn't repeat points that were made in previous chapters. Never the less, it was an interesting read, and I still think it is a great resource.



3. This eloquently written book describes the rhyme and reason behind all the sounds - music, effects, and dialogue - that are blended together to create the sophisticated soundtracks we're accustomed to. Sonnenschein, a director, musician, and award-winning sound designer, combines practical wisdom with sound theory and exercises to inspire and educate both new and experienced sound professionals. The book will appeal to non-professionals and other filmmakers as well because it's fun, entertaining, and enlightening. The author clearly loves and knows the world of sound and it's a joy to be brought into this world.



4. Sonnenschein effectively covers the theory behind shaping the soundtrack, and gives great examples of the ideas in action. I loved the candid quotes from masters like Ben Burtt, Gary Rydstrom, Walter Murch, Dane Davis, and others. I started noting down all of the films he mentions as examples of good sound design, until I noticed Sonnenschein was one step ahead and had already noted them all in the back. Only 4 stars 'cause I personally wanted more technique and a little less theory.



5. The book "Sound Design", the expressive power of music, voice, and sound effects in cinema, is one of my favorite in my collection. I always recommend it to colleagues and customer. During my technical seminars-workshop and product training sessions, I have often taken inspiration from the book, particularly the sections "TRY THIS" that the author has included in various parts inside it.
   
   The book is written with great passion!

2 comments about Digital Infrared Photography.

1. The digital photography revolution has changed the approach to all aspects of photography for everyone on the planet. If you're not using digital devices, you're using a smaller and smaller selection of equipment, and if you are, there are many interesting areas now open to you that had high admission prices in the film era.
   
   One of those areas is digital infrared photography. Perhaps you've never considered infrared photography. It is the world pictured through infrared "eyes," using wavelengths largely outside of the visual spectrum. It is possible because many CCD and CMOS sensors used in today's digital cameras are sensitive to these wavelengths that are invisible to the human retina. It is especially appealing to those interested in still life pictures, in landscape photography, and to those who love to play and hone their skills in the digital darkroom. Infrared imaging has great importance in astrophotography as shown in the images from the Spitzer Space Telescope, our prime astral infrared imager.
   
   This book by Cyrill Harnishchmacher is a great introduction. In simple, flawlessly translated text, the book briefly touches on the physics of infrared light, the equipment necessary to begin experimenting in the medium, then spends the rest of the book on the practical steps necessary to make stunning infrared images.
   
   Space is given to lighting, different filters and their influence on the final product, composition and shot selection. A variety of subjects of covered, including tabletop, still life, infrared lightbrush (using a flashlight to illuminate the subject), macro photography, and using a "dark" flash.
   
   The last third of the book covers the digital darkroom. Using Photoshop as the demo system, it goes through several methods of converting infrared photos to black and white. It includes a primer on optimizing photos with layers in Photoshop, and using Channel Mixer to add subtle coloring to infrared pictures, many of which in their original state appears to be photo negatives due to green colors in the visible spectrum being rendered as white.
   
   There are many beautiful images throughout the book, they're included in depictions of photographic techniques and in demonstrating the effects of darkroom special effects.
   
   This is a beautiful introduction to digital infrared imaging and its enhancement in the digital darkroom.
   
   Highly recommended



2. This is a beautifully produced book but that is the best I can say about it. To be fair I have been doing infrared photography with film for many years. If you are completely new to infrared photography this is a good introduction. However, if you know anything about the subject you will be very disappointed. There is very little, perhaps nothing, in this book that cannot be discovered with a quick search of internet resources on the subject. I can honestly say that I was shocked at the lack of new information but again, I am not new to infrared or to digital photography.