Photo Book
Reviews
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|S-Sp | Sp-Su
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W | XYZ |
Reviews by Michael Fulks (MF), Elizabeth Powis (EP) and Marla Meier (MM).
Others by Paul W Faust.
To purchase any book or to find out pricing
information, click on any of the book images.
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Yosemite & the Eastern Sierra,
by Gary Crabbe
Here is a beautiful little picture book that
is a pleasure to just sit and look through. It covers the area of
California from the Owens Valley to the High Sierras and does it in
all its glory. This hardback book may be small at 7x7 inches, but it
is tops in the quality of its images. Almost every one of its 160
pages are full of images that will make you want to pack your bags
and head out there ASAP. This book proves that a book doesn’t have
to be large to be impressive. The cover image is just a small sample
of what is inside, many of which are 2-page spreads. You will not
find a better addition to your photo library, especially at a retail
price of only US$16.95. It is published by Welcome Books and can be
ordered at www.welcomebooks.com
I rate it: A++
(Reviewed July 2005)
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Yosemite & The Wild Sierra
by Galen RowellThe late
Galen Rowell was one of the very best landscape photographers
around. His favorite place to photograph, (and live) was the Sierra
Mountains of California, which was also where he died. A collection
of his images from that area are now available in Yosemite &
The Wild Sierra. This 112-page, soft cover book is filled
with beautiful images from the Owens Valley to the tops of the
area’s mountains. Many I have never seen before. The book is only
10x8 inches, but even the smaller images are so sharp you can still
see the details in them. This book retails for US$19.95, and is
published by Sasquatch Books at
www.sasquatchbooks.com
I Rate it: A+
(Reviewed March 2005)
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Yosemite In Time
Ice Ages – Tree Clocks – Ghost Rivers
By Mark Klett, Rebecca Solnit, & Byron Wolfe
This new book on the Yosemite National Park in California is unlike
95% of the others you will find on this most photographed and
visited park. Along with several essays, it covers the history of
the nature, politics, and culture of Yosemite, but it also includes
that history in old photographs that are matched with present day
images taken from the same locations, at the same time of year and
the same hour of the day. Some of the old images include ones taken
by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, but what I found to be of real
interest is how the comparison images either changed so greatly, or
very little at all. In one set you can still see the very same trees
still in the very same spots, although some have grown tall and
strong while others are now just bare trunks. In another set,
what used to be a grand vista is now completely blocked from view by
a wall of trees that have grown up in front of it. The book is well
printed and the old images are reproduced with top quality. A very
interesting book!
This hardback book is about 12x10 inches, with 140 pages,
retails for US$45.00 – and is distributed by Trinity University
Press at:
www.trinity.edu
I Rate it: A
(Reviewed Feb. 2007)
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Your Baby in Pictures: The
New Parents’ Guide to Photographing Your Baby’s First Year
By Me Ra Koh
She is the creator of the
CONFIDENCE Photography Workshops, the award-winning instructional
DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box,
and has had work shown on The Oprah Windrey Show and VH1. Ma Re Koh
uses photo recipes to guide the learner to tell a story, rather than
pose their subjects for individual shots. These coaching lessons are
organized by the age of the baby, so as to offer suggestions on what
to focus on at different times in their life: 0-3 months their first
breath and cry, 9-12 months their independence. The author also
takes into account that not all users will have a digital SLR, some
will simply have a point and shoot, and she offers suggestions and
tips for both. Each page has at least one beautiful example of Me Ra
Koh’s photography, emphasizing the point she’s making in that
section. Looking through the book at the images is pleasurable in
and of itself.
Paperback: 132 pages
Publisher:
Amphoto Books (March 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780817400033
ISBN-13: 978-0817400033
Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
Text:
A+
Layout: A+
Photography: A+
User: Beginning to Intermediate
Photographers
(Review by Elizabeth Powis June 2011)
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You’re Not From Around Here:
Photographs of Eastern Tennessee
by Mike Smith
This new book is a collection of images from those “backwoods” areas
of the south that you have heard so much about, but weren’t sure if
they really existed. THEY DO, and this book will prove it. Although
this book only covers the hill areas of eastern Tennessee, it is
pretty much like many other places in this area as well. These are
not places that a city slicker would recognize, as they are of
places where the poorest of the poor live, if you can call this
living. These are also not copies of images taken 40 or 50 years ago
like most Tennessee images. A few of the oldest are from 1987, and
most of the rest are from the late 1990s, so just about every image
is of a place that most likely still looks the same today as when
they were taken, if you were able to find them. This is an excellent
book for documentary and social issue photographers, and a real good
reminder for everyone else to appreciate what we have now .
This hardback book is about 12x10 inches, with 120 pages, retails
for US$45.00, and is distributed by University of Chicago Press at
www.press.uchicago.edu
I Rate it: A
(Reviewed Aug. 2006)
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Zen in the
Art on Photography
by
Robert Leverant
This is a small but mighty little book that will empower
photographers and non-photographers alike. It communicates to all
through 162 enlightening verses. “What is a camera?” Roberts
states, “A camera is an extension of ourselves. An appendage to
bring us closer to the universe.” Throughout the book, his verses
associate and merge the photographer with the images captured--the
universe, our thoughts, what we imagine, what we see, what we
portray, the message we send through our images all become one.
It’s about really seeing what is being photographed and realizing
the “we” in the photograph at just one moment in time—then it’s gone
and on to the next. It’s a meaningful, down-to-earth look at why
photographers find just joy in photographing and why it becomes a
passion. With over 30,000 books sold, this is one little book that
you will want in your library. It’s a book you’ll want to share and
a book you’ll return to time and time again.
Paperback:
40 pages
Publisher: Images Press; Revised edition
(March 30, 2011)
Language:
English
ISBN-10:
0960037403
ISBN-13:
978-0960037407
Product Dimensions:
6.7 x 5.1 x 0.2 inches
Text: A+
Layout: A+
Photography: NA
User: All Photographers & non-photographers
(Review by M. Meier June 2011)
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Zero
by James Wakefield
This book is what you would call “different.” It is a collection of
pure documentary street photography, and except for a 3-page
forward, there is nothing else but the images. In fact, there is not
even an index or page numbers, but in this case they would probably
just get in the way of some fine images that any documentary
photographer would appreciate. The subjects cover people, places,
and politics and I am guessing that they are all taken in New York
City.
This “200 copy limited edition” hardback book is about 9x7 inches,
and retails for US$59.99 – and is published by Urban Exposure at
www.urban-exposure.com/zero
I Rate it: A+
(Reviewed March 2006)
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ZHENG HE
By Michael Yamashita
This new book is part history, part travel photography, and all
about the voyages of China’s greatest explorer, Admiral Zheng He.
Few today recognize the name, but he was a man who’s expeditions far
out did those of Columbus, Da Gama, and Marco Polo combined.
He brought back exotic animals from far off lands, never before seen
in other parts of the world, and did it long before Columbus even
set foot in a boat. He commanded crews in the tens of
thousands, on as many as 317 ships. This book covers that
history in text and modern day photography takes you to the
locations he explored. The stories are riveting and the images
are outstanding - a great history, picture book.
This hardback book is about 10x10 inches, with 447 pages, retails
for US-$39.95 – and is distributed by White Star Publishing at:
www.whitestar.it
I Rate it: A
(Reviewed December 2007)
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The Zone System for 35mm Photographers,
by Carson Graves
The Zone System for 35mm Photographers
is a guide to exposure control. If you use nothing larger than a
35mm camera, but still would like the control you would have by
using the famous “Zone System” then this book is for you. It covers
all of the things you will need to go zoning, from the initial film
and developing tests on to the best way to meter. It is all on 130
pages in this 8.5x11 inch soft cover book. There are a few
considerations you have to make when using a system that was
designed for single sheet film, but you are using 36-exposure rolls,
and this book will show you how to deal with them. The zone system
is basically for B&W shooters, but all of the info in it will help
anyone get great exposures every time. It is more than worth it’s
retail price of US$39.95 You can order it at:
www.focalpress.com
I Rate it: A
(Reviewed June 2005)
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