APOGEE PHOTO MAGAZINE: Book Reviews

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	Recollections, Three Decades of Photography by John Sexton There are tons of books out there with real good images in them, and there are even a lot with what most people would consider to be great images, but there are very few books available that I would consider to be the Best of the Best, but it was not really a surprise to me when I found that Recollections is one of the best photography books I have ever seen. Probably because it is the work of John Sexton, who I consider to be the best black & white photographer and printer alive. All you have to do is look at the first 2 or 3 images in this book to see exactly why that is. A black & white print made by a true master is really hard to describe because there are so few of them around for people to relate to, so all I can say is; get this book and you will see what you have been missing all these years, and why so many people consider black & white photography to be in a class of it’s own. Recollections shows how a quality black & white print can turn even the most humble of subjects into a work of art, at least when it is a Sexton print. As a photographer myself, all I keep saying as I look at each new image is, “Oh, if only!” This hardback book is just over 12x12 inches, with 55 images on 140 pages, retails for US-$75.00 – and is published by Ventana Editions at: www.ventanaeditions.com *I Rate it: A++++*
	The Meaning of Trees Botany – History – Healing - Lore by Fred Hagender Here is a great new book for anyone who likes trees and photographing them. It is not a how-to book that will show you how to photograph trees, but it is a super book to learn all about the major trees we all see, or know about, and it is very interesting far beyond the photography part. It is basically a reference/educational book, but there are many great images in it, and some that are truly amazing, like a Baobab tree in Africa that is 45 feet in diameter. Trees that one could spend an entire day shooting nothing but it, and the book also gives many locations of special trees around the world. The pages are full of interesting facts to learn each trees history, lore, and how they were also used for medicines. This soft cover book is about 9x11 inches, with 224 pages, retails for US-$19.95 – and is distributed by Chronicle Books at: www.chroniclebooks.com *I Rate it: A+*
	uptospeed, Photoshop CS3 by Ben Willmore The best way to learn all of the upgrades in the new Photoshop CS3 is to get a book that focuses only on those features, and uptospeed is it. If you already know Photoshop, then why spend time and money on books that cover the same old things that you learned many versions ago. This new book will use your time to show you only what you need to know about the new CS3. It covers every new feature and shows you how to best use each one. This soft cover book is about 7x9 inches, with 155 pages, retails for US-$29.99 – and is distributed by Peach Pit Press at: www.peachpit.com *I Rate it: A*
	Apple Aperture 1.5: Photographer’s Guide by Mike Cuenca I did not realize how amazing Apple’s new Aperture program was until I checked out this new book, and now I guess I have yet another software program to get. This new guide book will show you how to use every tool Aperture has to; organize, adjust, and distribute your photo work to the world. It covers every tool in the program and is richly illustrated to show you how they all work. It is the perfect match to use if you have Photoshop, and this book is the perfect one to have if you have Aperture, and you will find that Aperture has organizing features that are not even available in Photoshop itself. “Take note Apple; “This is the book that you should be using as your manual for Aperture”. This soft cover book is about 7x9 inches, with 380 pages, retails for US-$34.99 – and is published by Thomson Course Technology and can be ordered from: www.courseptr.com *I Rate it: A++*
	Advanced Photoshop CS3 – Trickery & FX by Stephen Burns In regards to this book, “Advanced” Photoshop really means advanced! It is a how-to book that will teach you everything you will need to know to create the wildest of images. It shows how to take the tools in Photoshop and stretch them to the max. If you look at the image on the cover you would think that it is an artists rendering, but in fact that entire image was created from photographs manipulated in Photoshop, and this book shows you how to do the same things. In fact the book also contains a bonus CD with all of the files needed to do this, and other far-out images you will see in each section. If you want to start going “One step Beyond” (that’s an old TV program) with your images and work, this new book will take you there, but be warned, you may not want to come back to the “real” world, whatever that means. This soft cover book is about 7x9 inches, with 366 pages, retails for US-$49.99 – and is published by Thomson Course Technology and can be ordered from: www.courseptr.com *I Rate it: A++*
	Evocations of Place Photography of Edwin Smith by Robert Elwall Edwin Smith (1912-1971) was one of Britain’s most famous photographers, and was considered as without peer for his historical architectural images. The image on the cover doesn’t really give a true sense of the quality and feeling shown in the images that are inside this book. From the simple shadow of a chair on a stone floor, to the doorway into a royal chapel, the images are magnificent, and on par with those done by the more famous of names in photography. By studying the images one can learn the best of photo composition, lighting, and what the word “quality” really means. This hardback book is about 10x12 inches, with 176 pages, retails for US-$59.95 – and is distributed by Merrell Publishers at: www.merrellpublishers.com *I Rate it: A+*
	ONE/MANY Western American Survey Photographs Bell and O’sullivan by Joel Snyder “Some of the most celebrated images of nineteenth-century American photography emerged from government-sponsored geological surveys whose purpose was to study and document western landscapes.” This new book presents many of those images taken by the two best known western survey photographers of that time, Timothy O’Sullivan and William Bell. The images in this book were not meant to be works of art, but many, like the shot of the Shoshone Falls in Idaho certainly could be called that. Both photographers and history buffs will like this book. This soft cover book is about 11x8 inches, with 125 pages, retails for US-$28.00 – and is distributed by University of Chicago Press at: www.press.uchicago.edu *I Rate it: A*
	Everyday: A Yearlong Photo Diary by Byron Wolfe Every day for a year Wolfe gave himself the task of making one new picture, with the only rules being that each image had to be original and compelling. I would say that all of the images in this book are original, as I do not see why anyone else would have wanted to photograph them, and as for compelling, I found that one of the definitions for that word is, “to bring about by force”, which is how most of the images look like they were made. Granted, some might consider this to be documentary photography, but then that could also be the case for every snapshot taken by a person with their first camera. I can not find any interest in a picture of pants laid out on a floor to dry, or a lone toy doll laying in the grass, and why would a publisher put these into a more expensive hardback book? This is one of those things that you would get as a gift and immediately think of who you can then give it to. This hardback book is about 8x8 inches, retails for US-$29.95 – and is distributed by Chronicle Books at: www.chroniclebooks.com I Rate it: B-