The Wandering Photographer

Photographic Inspiration and Education: Some of my Favorite Photo Blogs

Today I thought I would list a few of the photographic blogs that I return to week after week.  These are blogs that I use for inspiration, information and enjoyment.   

David duChemin’s Pixelated Image blog is one of my favorites.  David is, in his words, a “freelance humanitarian photographer.”  David is also the author of one of the year’s best photo books Within the Frame.  My advice, if you read no other book this year, read this one.

David’s blog is at Pixelated Image

Bob Krist is a well-known and popular travel photographer who contributes to National Geographic Traveler, Outdoor Photography and many others.  Bob’s latest book is the very fine and interesting Travel Photography: Documenting the Worlds People and Places.  Bob is starting to work with multi-media and is including examples in his blog.

Bob’s blog can be found at Photo Traveler

Attorney Carolyn E. Wright presents the “Photo Attorney” blog.  The “Photo Attorney” blog discusses legal issues that affect photographers and the business of photography.  Freedom to photograph and copyright issues are regular fodder for Carolyn’s blog.  Carolyn is also the author of the Photographer’s legal Guide, a must own for photographers.

Read Carolyn at Photo Attorney

The prolific author and Photoshop expert Scott Kelby writes the “Photoshop Insider” blog.  This is a combination of Photoshop and Lightroom tips and stories of some of Scott’s experiences while on shoots.  Scott is the author of many books and is the president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. 

Scott’s blog is at Photoshop Insider

Scott, along with Matt Kloskowski, also produces Nikon related how-to videos at D Town TV

Hey these are just a few of my favorite photo blogs.  Feel free to list some of your own favorites.  Next week I’ll list a few of my favorite non-photography related blogs and websites.  Be sure to head back here on Friday for another interesting “Photo Friday” post. 

The image at the top of the post is Cedar Falls in Hocking Hills State Park.  The park is located in south-central Ohio and is a photographer's dream come true.

© Tim Marks 2009 all rights reserved

Photo Books: Continuing Education

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain

On Wednesday I wrote about books that will help a newby photographer get started in the hobby.  Since a good education never ends, today I would like to recommend some books that will help any photographer improve his or her developing skills.  These are great titles to aquire after you’ve spent a few months out in the field making images.

Composition:

Developing the skill of photographic composition requires a bit of knowledge and a lot of practice. There are a number of worthwhile older books out there that cover this skill both from the general artistic and the photographic perspective.  One of those classic volumes is Photographic Composition (Amphoto 1990) by Tom Gill and Mark Scanlon, well worth a look.

One of the more recent books on composition is The Photographer’s Eye (Focal Press 2007) by Michael Freeman.  Freeman covers all of the main topics in photographic composition.  Where should we place the subject in the frame?  Where does the horizon go? Geometric shapes, how do they affect the composition?  Freeman then delves deeper into compositional theory including how the photographic elements come together the affect the viewer, how the viewer’s eye moves around a picture and other rather esoteric topics that he explains in easy to understand layman’s terms.  The images he uses to illustrate his points are interesting and well done photos.

I think this is one of the best books on photo composition on the market today.  Well worth the purchase price

The Photographer’s Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos $30

By Michael Freeman

Focal Press 2007

ISBN-13: 978-0-240-80934-2

Travel Photography Exposed:

Much of the photography that we do can be classified as “travel photography.” Even the photos we shoot around home.  With that in mind I have a few books that are worth a read.  One long out of print book by Lisl Dennis is The Traveler’s Eye Clarkston Potter).  Published in 1996, Lisl’s book is well worth a visit to the library or the used book store.  Another more recent, but still “film centric,” book is a wonderful volume by Bob Krist, Spirit of Place (Amphoto 2000).  "Spirit" is easier to find than Lisl’s book and should be available in most libraries and on-line.

A newer book by Bob Krist is Travel Photography (Lark 2008).  This one is digital based and outdoes his earlier, excellent volume.  Krist starts out talking about gear, file formats, and digital workflow.  He then moves on to the elements of travel images such as light sources and quality, photographic composition and capturing the moment.  Krist also has chapters on flash photography, photographing people and survival tips for traveling and keeping yourself and your equipment safe.  The images are excellent and illustrate his points perfectly.  This is a must-buy travel photography book.

Digital Masters, Travel Photography: Documenting the World’s People and Places $25

By Bob Krist

Lark Books 2008

ISBN-13: 978-1-60059-110-5

One more recommendation:

I have to give a plug here for what I consider the photo book of the year.  David DuChemin has hit a home run with his absolutely inspiring Within the Frame.  This is a book, not about the how but about the why of photography.  David writes about all of the standard photographic topics such as lenses, composition and light, but his emphasis is on why rather than how.  Vision is David’s real topic.  This book will help you find yours.  He talks about getting to know your subject, whether a person or a place.  The book is illustrated with images the will inspire any photographer to go out and create images, to shoot to tell a story. 

When David writes about photographing people he tells you not only how and why he made the image but also how he got to know the subject on a personal level.  He explains how he joked around, shared tales and in a true sense became a friend of the people as he created their portraits.

This book will challenge and inspire you.  It will make you a better photographer if for no other reason that you have thought about what David has written. 

If you buy no other book this year, get this one!  You won’t regret it! 

Within The Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision $40

By David DuChemin (forward by Joe McNally)

New Riders (2009)

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-60502-3

Wednesday I blog about photographing The Point Betsie Lighthouse on Lake Michigan. Come on back and visit then.

© Tim Marks 2009

Photo Books: Starting Out

Nikon D200,  Nikkor 18-70mmf/3.5-4.5 @ 25mm,  ISO 100,  1/60 @ f/7

Once people get either an advanced digital camera or a new dSLR the first question is, how do I learn to have fun with this thing.  Well there are a number of things they can do including taking a class.  To begin with though, I would suggest two things.  First go out and take pictures, lots of them.  At the same time, read a book. 

Ah, but what book?  Well here are a few suggestions.

Back in the early 1980s Kodak published a bestseller called The Joy of Photography.  If you can find a copy cheap, get it (now out of print).  Of course it talks about film, no digital back then but the basics haven’t changed.  One of the contributors to that fine volume was Jeff Wignall. 

Wignall has written a new entry level introduction to photography called The Joy of Digital Photography.  It covers the gamut from snapshots to fine art photography.  He nicely explains everything from composition, exposure and gear to pixels, file formats and the digital darkroom.  This one is a nice starting point.

The Joy of Digital Photography $20

Lark Books

ISBN 13: 978-1579909475

National Geographic has published a series of books on digital photography.  Newly updated is their The National Geographic Ultimate Field Guide to Photography.  This comprehensive guide starts with everything you need to know when you buy your camera and continues on through familiarity and use.  Aimed directly at the beginning enthusiast photographer, this guide covers such topics as exposure, composition, depth of field and Flash.  Lenses and their use is explained in plain English, and technical topics such as sensors and pixels are demystified. 

Chapters cover topics ranging from the digital darkroom, printing and archiving to cell phone photography.  Each chapter is enhanced by a professional photographer’s profile and portfolio that pertains to the subject of that chapter.

This is a comprehensive how-to that is intelligent and readable.  Well worth the read.

National Geographic Ultimate Field Guide 2nd Edition  $25

National Geographic

ISBN 13: 978-1426204319

Let me mention one other overview book.  This is the gold standard in introductory photography books.  Weighing in at 432 pages, Photography 9^th Edition is used as a text in many college level Photo 101 classes.  Barbara London, Jim Stone and John Upton have written an comprehensive volume that can be considered the bible of photography.  This one is more book than most beginners will need or want.  However it is a great addition to the library of any intermediate or advanced photographer.

Photography 9^th Edition $125

Prentice Hall

ISBN 13: 978-0131752016

These are just a few of the books available for beginning photographers.  Monday I’ll write about some of my favorite photo books for expanding on the skills that the above books introduce.

Do you have any favorite beginning photography books?

© Tim Marks 2009