Author
Ernst Wildi has lectured worldwide on medium format photography,
and is a consultant to Victor Hasselblad. He has written several
hundred articles on photography, and is perhaps best known
for his book The Hasselblad Manual.
Dubbed
by the publisher as "the" definitive book on medium
format, cameras and technique, this paperback book examines
all aspects of the medium format, including SLR, twin lens,
panoramic, rangefinder, wide angle, press and view cameras.
It also illustrates and discusses lens and their accessories,
as well as motor dries, films, and flashes. The book is also
chock-full of photographs and drawings to help illustrate
the proper use of equipment and various techniques and effects.
New
material for the second edition includes topics of panoramic
format, apochromatic lenses, aspheric lenses, tele extenders,
glass and relative illumination and motor drives. Updated
material covers perspective control, tilt controls, built-in
metering systems and the use of apertures.
The
artwork from nearly 100 top photographers are featured in
this book that does a fine job at explaining techniques like
cyanotype, Polaroid transfers, platinum and palladium processes
and photo weaving. The book's biggest achievement, however,
is in linking concept with technique through use of step-by-step
directions. It also does a good job in exploring a variety
of chemistry formulas, special cameras, films, conventional
(and unconventional) light-sensitive materials and equipment.
Other topics cover black-and-white film developers, toning
for visual effects and altering photographic concepts.
The
authors also make the bold step of trying to unite analog
and digital methods, with new material on digital imaging
and how to use the Web as both a medium and exhibition space.
Coming
from different backgrounds, the authors make for a good team:
Hirsch has led many seminars and workshops, and is author
of Exploring Color Photography and Seizing the Light:
A History of Photography; Valentino, a former photojournalist
and reporter, currently teaches photography and electronic
imaging at the Univesrity of Buffalo.
Building
upon her previous book, Infrared Photography Handbook
(Amherst Media), the author this time delves deeper to discuss
how films differ in contrast and spectral sensitivity, how
to choose a light meter for infrared exposure, and shares
common problems and solutions.
The
author examines the sensitometric curves of various infrared
films, and demonstrates how to analyze exposure latitude and
contrast. Hayball later looks at filters, including sharp-cutting
filters, color correction filters, neutral density filters
and polarizing and special effect filters.
Her
subsequent chapters explore common light sources, and she
shows how both natural and artificial light can be filtered
and manipulated. The final chapters of the book offer tips
on visualizing color scene in infrared, scientific applications
and other tricks of this genre of photography.
Spiral-bound and small enough to fit in your
back pocket, this tried-and-true Kodak guide contains useful
information and tables on films, exposures, filters, flashes
and other photo essentials. It provides quick tips on using
accessory lenses, determining depth of field and selecting
the correct exposure settings. Convenient, color-coded chapters
deliver information easily, and seven dial calculators (depth
of field, exposure scenarios, electronic flashes, etc.) are
provided. Very helpful for those in the field, and a necessity
for any photographer’s camera bag.
Suggested retail price is $14.95.
Creative
Camera Control:by Peter Laytin, (3rd edition,
Focal Press, 2001, Woburn, MA), 141 pages.
Despite the author’s claims that the book
is written for beginning and intermediate photographers, there’s
enough information here to enlighten even those at the serious-intermediate
level. Introductory topics include the basics on the 35mm
camera and lenses (focal length, f-stops, autofocus) and then
moves quickly into the meter system and film selection.
Things pick up in subsequent chapters, including
one on “creative control via halves and doubles”
(with useful tips on the depth-of-field scale and the reciprocity
law), and then hits full stride in subsequent chapters on
light concepts and creative control (meter control, zone system,
filters, etc.). New additions include a chapter on digital
photography and APS. The book ends with several appendices
and a large glossary of photographic terms.
This user’s guide to evaluating the features,
condition and usability of classic cameras is perfect for
both the novice and expert. One of the author’s aims
is to teach photographers all they need to know about using
cameras made between 1920-1965. It gives the pros and cons,
for instance, of shopping for SLRs, subminiatures and folding
cameras on the Internet, as provides useful information on
film availability for many classic models.
Levy provides the “ins and outs”
of using classic cameras, and discusses how to repair torn
bellows, respool film and how to determine proper exposure
when using a camera with a long-dead (and irreplaceable) selenium
cell.
Suggested retail price is $17.95
Alternative
Photographic Processes: A Working Guide for
Image Makers, by Randall Webb and Martin Reed, (Silver
Pixel Press, 2000, Rochester, NY) 160 pages, $27.95, US
Designing
A Photograph:
Visual Techniques for Making Your Photographs Work, By
Bill Smith (Amphoto Books, 2001, New York, NY) 144 pages,
$24.95 US
Photoshop
6 Cookbook, by Dieter Froebisch, Holger Lindner,
Thomas Steffen and Kate Binder (Silver Pixel Press, 2001,
Rochester, NY) 216 pages, $29.95 US.
Complete
Nikon System:
An Illustrated Equipment Guide, by Peter Braczko (Silver Pixel
Press, 2000, Rochester, NY)
Printing
Special Effects: B&W Photo Lab, by Julien
Busselle (Silver Pixel Press, 2000, Rochester, NY)
Creative
Exposure Control : How to Get the Exposure You Want Every Time by Les Meehan
List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $19.96
To
order or for more information, click
here
List
Price: $50.00
Your Price: $40.00
To order or for more information, click
here
The
author (the son of Paul Caponigro, a photographer in the tradition
of Minor White and Ansel Adams) of Adobe Photoshop Master
Class is a skilled art photographer who specializes in intriguing
naturescapes that often employ compositing and mirroring.
In this book, he shares the photographic wisdom and Photoshop
methods that helped create these colorful, mysterious images.
Price:
$32.95
To order or for more information, click
here
Editorial
Reviews From Book News, Inc. A practical guide to the refinements
of color and black and white photographic printmaking. The
first two of the 15 chapters address how we see and how the
film sees. The rest of the book covers technical issues including
calibration, enlarging, contrast control in color, fiber versus
resin-coated black and white paper, and many other topics.
Numerous fine illustrations, including 16 pages of color.
Book News, Inc.¨, Portland, OR --This text refers to the Paperback
edition.
This is the best photo mag for those of
us passionate about photography. It has long in-depth articles
on techniques and equipment. Moreover, it features how-to
examples from some of the best fine art photographers of
our time. It is thus quite different from other magazines
that feature some no name staff writer pretending to be
Paul Strand.
