Lancaster County, Pictorial Discovery Guide is a great book for anyone planning a visit to the most famous county in America. The land of the Pennsylvania Dutch, covered bridges, and tons of history. This book covers both what is found in this area, it’s history, and what can be found to photograph. This is not a photo how-to book, but a great reference source for finding those places that you would never know were there unless you knew about them beforehand.

There are many small towns in this area to check out, as well as Pennsylvania’s top railroad museum where you can take their short tourist train ride through Amish farmland and maybe see them farming as it has been done for generations. Chapters also cover antique and crafts shops, and Amish foods. If you go, ask to try some “Scrapple” for breakfast, (but try it before you ask what’s in it!)

This great little guide book retails for just US$19.95, and is published by Voyageur Press at  www.voyageurpress.com      
I Rate it:  A+  (Reviewed Feb. 2005)

Click on the above image to find out current pricing or to purchase this book from Amazon.com

This book will surprise you. At only 9x9 inches, it looks like any other “run of the mill” photography book. That is until you open it. Then you will make a space for it on your coffee table, because it is more that type of a book than any other. Yes, coffee table books are almost always extra large in size, but this one perfectly fits that category. The subject is landscapes, and it covers that subject in all of its forms. From the earliest work of the mid-1800s,  to the 2000's plus, there are 167 pages covering everything that artists have considered a landscape. Some of the best known photographers who’s work is shown in the book include Ansel Adams, Paul Caponigro, Alfred Stieglitz, Walker Evans, and others, as well as many other lesser known photographers, including those from many other countries. The landscapes range from the typical Adams type, to a prison courtyard, and each chapter begins with a text introduction for each form.  There are very few images that I have ever seen before, which makes this book refreshing, and new in more ways than one. It is also a hard cover book, and very well designed and printed, which makes it perfectly suited for the coffee table. It’s on mine already. At a $50-US  retail price, it is published by National Geographic.       
I rate it:   A++ (Reviewed Sept. 2004)

“How-to” tech books are just about everywhere you look, and many people don’t seem to know how to write anything else. That is sure not the case with this author. Here is one of those great rare books that talks about how you use your heart and soul to create images with feeling instead of just ones that are exposed correctly. The author covers the whole range of thought from seeing meaningful subjects to shoot to how to capture them so that others can get that same feeling when they look at them. You will learn why the heart will always create more meaningful image than the eye ever will.

This soft cover book is about 9x9 inches, with 128 pages, retails for US$30.00 – and is distributed by Trafalgar Square at www.trafalgarsquarebooks.com/
I Rate it: A++  (Reviewed June 2006)

Langford’s Advanced Photography: The Guide for Aspiring Photographers, 7^th Ed.
by Michael Langford and Efthimia Bilissi

This is an excellent resource book for any skill level of photographer. The beginning photographer would find it useful in learning about the many aspects of photography, as the more advanced photographer could easily use it as a reference for clarification. One of the most impressive aspects is the thorough explanation of both film and digital photography. Each chapter ends with a bulleted summary list and number list of projects pertaining to the chapter, making this a good textbook for a college photography class. This is not a book containing many full-page amazing photographs; its purpose is more to demonstrate concepts. The detailed and accurate illustrations are of high quality, exceptionally modeling the concept at hand. This book is a valuable reference for any photographer wanting a resource for thorough explanations of photography.

Ratings:
Text: A+
Layout: A+
Photography: A
User: All Photographers
(Reviewed by EP - Feb. 2008)

This is one of those photography books that try to give you ALL of the information at once.  Although I would be overwhelmed, this is what some people desire in a how-to book.  So many photography books are attempting to cover their topics in both film and digital which in some topics, like composition and exposure, they are the same.  When it comes to processing and production, they are two completely different subjects, but this book has them both.  The images and diagrams are superior in demonstrating the techniques and results. For someone who wants to dig their well wide, but not deep,  and gain an understanding of many things in photography, this could be a useful book.

This book is published by Focal Press; 5th edition (February 12, 2007) www.focalpress.com and retails for $24.95. It has 368 pages and measures 9.5 x 7.4 x 1 inches.
I rate it: A- (EP)
(Reviewed April 2007)

Here is a intimate and detailed look at small and independent operators of "truck farms", those who own less than 40 acres of land and sell their produce at roadside stand or local farmer's markets. These are beautiful BW photographs reproduced with care, but what is going to really surprise you is that they were all done with the Holga camera. The Holga, if you haven't heard of it, is a plastic "toy" camera introduced by the Chinese in 1982. The sometimes surprising effects of the Holga, including blurring and vignetting has attracted attention of many photographers for producing fine art prints. And the photographs in this book definitely fit that description. A culmination of ten years work, The Last Harvest pays tribute to the dignity of local ways in the face of globalism and urban expansion.

The hardback 112 page book will be released on November 25, 2006. You can preorder it from The Center of American Places. <www.ugapress.org> Retail price is $32.50. Amazon.com is also taking orders now.    
I rate it: A++ (MF)
(Reviewed November, 2006)

For those photographers who love to have great picture books to show on their coffee table, Last Places on Earth is a new one you shouldn’t miss. Meola is a world-renowned photographer, and this large hardback book is nothing but great images from cover to cover. This is a collection of the images from his assignment from Kodak to capture what remains of the world’s ancient civilizations before they are totally destroyed by “progress.” The 106 images on 224, 9x12 inch pages, covers his work from all over the world. If you know his work, then you will know the quality of what is in this book. If you do not know it, then you will be in for one great experience. I wish I could show a whole selection of images here so you could see how their colors literally explode from the pages, but you will have to buy the book and see it for yourself. You won’t be sorry! This book is published by GRAPHIS and retails for US$60 www.graphis.com      
I Rate it:  A+++++  (Reviewed Jan. 2005)

Click on the above image to find out current pricing or to purchase this book from Amazon.com

Lee Miller’s War is a super new book about one of the little known pieces of photo history: female combat photographers during World War II. It is filled with stories and images taken by Lee Miller all across the battlefields of Europe, and of her travels between them. Whether shooting images of troops directing mortar fire, German prisoners, or the victims of war, this book puts you right in the 1940s and tells you what it felt like to be there. If you have a young daughter who thinks she can’t do some things just because she’s a girl, buy her a copy of this to read and she will no longer doubt what a woman can do in life. In fact, you owe it to her!
    This soft cover book is 8.5x11 inches, with 208 pages, and retails for US$34.95. This book is published by Thames Hudson and can be checked out at   www.thamesandhudsonusa.com 

I Rate it:  A++  (Reviewed Sept. 2005)