Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28
Average rating: 5.0 of 5
Editorial Review:
Pssst, wanna make a weird photograph? How about a moody blue cyanotype or a Kallitype? Or maybe a ziatype, anthotype, or Ambrotype? Or perhaps you'd just like to know more about image transfer processes or how to make a pinhole camera. Imagine knowing a really cool guy who casually tells you lots of valuable stuff about the history and science of photography while you're working in his experimental darkroom, and you've got the essence of the unusual and delightful Book of Alternative Photographic Processes. Christopher James, a photographer and former Harvard University professor, leads you carefully through the chemistry and use of materials for each process. He offers numerous ways to make negatives and prepare the printing paper, and he coaches you in understanding and accepting the enormously variable effects of each method. Seven useful appendices deal with such topics as safety considerations and resources on the Web. Unlike the narrowly task-oriented approach of average how-to guide, this one points you to a much bigger world. Even the illustrations include a generous assortment of contemporary prints--among them James's own inventive images--as well as work by 19th- and early-20th-century photographers. They were the ones who pioneered most of the techniques that are now considered "alternative."
The fun of this book--even for someone unlikely ever to set foot in a darkroom--lies in the author's fascinating excursions into the wide world of knowledge, from the workings of 3-D to Charles Babbage's steam-driven punch-card systems. Equally compelling are the author's sense of humor and his utter lack of dogmatism. "In gum printing," he writes, "there are very few absolutely correct ways to do anything." --Cathy Curtis
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Fine Art Printing, The Sophisticated Inkjet! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
This is a title on digital printing by Rockynook, a recently established publishing house specializing in books on computers, digital photography and image production. They distribute their titles through O'Reilly here in the US. They have strong ties to a German publishing house dpunct.verlag, whose specialty is computer science and digital photography. Most of the early titles published by Rockynook have featured German authors. While I don't read German, the several books I've read in this series read as if parts have been translated from German, with occasional verbiage that reads as if it were transliterated, not translated. But the overall quality of the books is excellent, they're filled with beautiful pictures representative of the authors personal work, and overall the clarity of the text is more than adequate.
This is the second edition of this work, the first was published just last year in 2007. The publication of a second edition following so closely on the heels of the first suggests the rapid changes that are occurring in digital image production.
First, some caveats. The book is not really intended for the casual photographer who may print out occasional 4x6 prints on his ink jet printer. It is not for those who are using color lasers or small dye sublimation printers. It is for photographers using photo inkjet printers. The emphasis here is on "photo." Other printers are briefly discussed, but the discussion relates to "fine art printing."
What does that mean? It means one must be willing to make a substantial investment in both equipment and time. A high quality lower end photo printer with some printing capabilities for 13", 17", or 19" paper will start around $500, and the prices go up from there. These printers typically have 8-12 ink colors, and large prints use a lot of ink. That means substantial ink replacement costs. Good quality photo paper in larger sizes may run $2-$4 per print or more, depending on size. By the time you've calibrated your printer, done several test prints, make adjustments, hopefully printed a final perfect copy, you'll have invested some serious time and money to make a single quality image.
The stated goal of the book is to teach you how to make museum quality prints. Museum quality means not only are the prints excellent in composition and rendering, it also means that they'll last for decades to centuries. Besides outlining some of the tweaks in Photoshop that are an inevitable part of printing, there are discussions of the choice of archival inks, paper weight and finish, managing workflow, color, and presentation. The use of printing packages is covered. Both Windows and Mac systems are discussed. The final framing and presentation of prints is well covered.
A real positive is that specific recommendations concerning three manufacturer's printers are given, Epson, HP, and Canon.
This is an excellent work for the serious amateur, and possibly a reference for the professional photographer who wishes to retain final control over his images. Also, this is a good introduction for those interested in discovering the requirements for high quality inkjet printing.
Editorial Review:
Today's digital cameras provide image data files allowing large-format output at high resolution. At the same time, printing technology has moved forward at an equally fast pace bringing us new inkjet systems capable of printing in high precision at a very fine resolution, providing an amazing tonality range and longtime stability of inks.
Moreover, these systems are now affordable to the serious photographer. In the hands of knowledgeable and experienced photographers, these new inkjet printers can help create prints comparable to the highest quality darkroom prints on photographic paper.
This book provides the necessary foundation for fine art printing: The understanding of color management, profiling, paper and inks. It demonstrates how to set up the printing workflow as it guides the reader step-by-step through this process from an image file to an outstanding fine art print.
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By: Magic Lantern - Model: 1600592635
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Editorial Review:
Epson is the company at the cutting edge of quality digital photo printing, and their superb equipment makes it possible for everyone to print sparkling photographs at home. With the help of Rob Sheppard, editor of Outdoor Photographer and PCPhoto magazines, amateurs can enter Epson's brave new world with all the latest information. This latest edition of the Epson guide reflects the increasing sophistication of ink jet printing, with its faster speed and better tonal and color reproduction. It helps today's photographers select a model that has the right features, choose from the new options of quality papers and inks, and succeed in creating excellent prints and have fun while doing it. Sheppard passes on valuable knowledge on developing a consistent workflow, sizing and sharpening images properly, making black-and-white and panoramic prints, and much more. To complete the picture: the guide includes gallery sections from well-known photographers who are all Epson spokespeople and users.
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
The Digital Photography Companion gives you creative tips and technical advice for taking top-notch digital photos in a wide range of conditions. Professional photographer and teacher Derrick Story gives you plenty of examples of how to capture great shots of people, places, landscapes, and more.
Five Fun Photography Tips by Derrick Story, Author of The Digital Photography Companion
Click on thumbnails for larger images
1) Produce Do-It-Yourself Product Shots:There are two ways to shoot items using tabletop photography: the hard way and the easy way. The hard way involves multiple studio lights, softboxes, umbrellas, and seamless backdrop paper. Professionals use this equipment to produce outstanding images for commercial advertising and high-end editorial work. But if you just want a nice picture of your old film camera to sell on eBay, you probably don't want to set up an entire studio. So here's the easy way: Find a window that you can set up a table next to. North-facing windows are great, but not necessary for this type of shooting. Cover the surface with white paper, and if you can, create a white backdrop too. This will be your work area. Put your camera on a tripod (or another stable surface) and adjust it so it's facing the item that you want to photograph on the table. Move both the subject and the camera to achieve the best lighting possible via the open window. Once everything is in place, make a tabletop reflector out of white cardboard, or cardboard (or another rigid material) covered with aluminum foil. Position the reflector opposite the light source (window) so it bounces light onto the shadowy side of the item. Set the white balance to Cloudy and put your camera on self-timer. Now trip the timer and stand back. After 10 seconds or so, the camera will take the shot for you to review. Continue refining your setup until you get the shot you want. This simple setup can produce studio-like results with a fraction the cost or effort. Give it a try.
2) Use Sunglasses as a Polarizing Filter: Point and shoot cameras are the height of convenience, but not always versatility. Case in point is when you want to mount a polarizing filter to saturate the sky or reduce glare. There's no where to put it! But that doesn't mean your pictures are doomed to the blinding glare of a reflective world. You can, instead, remove those stylish neutral gray polarizing glasses from your head and place them in front of the camera lens. Quality sunglasses make great polarizing filters for compact cameras. Make sure that the lens of your sunglasses completely covers the front glass element of your camera. You'll get best results when the sun is aligned along your shoulders. You don't believe it works? Then take two shots, one with the sunglasses and the other without. You be the judge.
3) Devise a Shower Cap Inclement Weather Protector: The perfect travel companion for compact shooters is the hotel shower cap. These free accessories are the perfect rain protectors when you want to go outside and get the shot. Just poke a hole in the middle of the cap for the lens to protrude through, put your hands through the "stretchy" opening, and let the elastic close tight around your wrists. You now have a water resistant cover that enables you to work all of the controls--perfect for those shots of the kids splashing water in the gutter on a rainy day.
4) Preview Your Shots in B&W: Many cameras have a Black & White mode that enables you to capture grayscale images. This type of photography can be quite beautiful and is often considered artistic. The problem with B&W mode is that grayscale images are your only option. You may think you only want Black & White at the wedding reception... until the bride asks for color versions too weeks later. I recommend that you capture your pictures in color, then convert copies of them to B&W. That way you have all of your options open. But there's still value to B&W mode, even if you choose to capture in color. It can help you preview your compositions in grayscale on the camera's LCD monitor. By doing so, you can better compose your scene for the best Black & White output later on while working on your computer. Not to mention that it's quite fun.
5) Tennis Ball Tripod Feet: Have you ever tried to use a tripod in the sand? You might as well be trying to steady your camera on chopsticks in rice. But you can bring stability to the situation, Buy a can of tennis balls, cut an "X" slit in each one, and slip them over the feet of your tripod. They will provide a much steadier platform for your three-legged friend.
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
The tools and techniques necessary for great digital output are now readily available and more affordable than ever. "301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers" shows photographers of all levels how to make high-quality prints through step-by-step instructions and hundreds of full-color examples from more than 20 professional photographers and other artists. Youll discover how to choose the right inkjet printer for your output needs, how to save time and select the proper materials when prepping files and prints, how to manage your digital images, how to create captivating portfolios and framed art, and much more. Whether you are a professional photographer or a serious hobbyist this book will help you learn how to enhance and perfect your digital output skills and use your computer and inkjet printer to better express your vision and creativity. You can read the book cover to cover, or only the chapters that feature the specific tips and techniques that interest you. A comprehensive index and a searchable companion web site will ensure that you find the information you are looking for. Additional content for this book, including hundreds of clickable links to many of the resources covered throughout the book can be accessed at: www.inkjettips.com
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
One star for each good section 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
This book was fantastic from Page 1!
(... All the way to page 161.)
Then I'm afraid the author spends about 200 pages on topics clearly outside his expertise. He seems a good and enthusiastic photographer and while most of the photography sections were review, I found them engaging and full of useful reminders.
But I couldn't stomach his spouting on the digital side.
He seems clearly out of his element. Most of the information was at least somewhat wrong, and some was laugh-out-loud silly. (For example recommending using PDFs to e-mail images to friends instead of the pervasive JPEG standard.) His advice on choosing Mac versus Windows was balanced (good), but missed the salient points like tolerance for errors, desire to be more "mainstream", and what your friends have. Virtually all the technical content is extremely pin-point dated, as well, which makes the book useless in this area about 12-months later.
His product mentions are the other offensive point.
He omitted any mention of alternatives! I can understand the strong (if unmerited) weight placed on Photoshop Elements--after all, it's in the book's title. But to only mention one specific name-brand plug-in filter or some specific memory-card rescue software without ANY mention of the dozens or so other options is unforgivable. It's either lazy or a sell-out to sponsored product placement. (I expected him to say things like, "Your camera uses a device called 'Sandisk Extreme II' to store its pictures...") I would not be surprised if Adobe Marketing had first crack at editing this 450-page advertisement.
I don't review things often. And it's usually when I find something so disappointing that I must warn people against it.
Bottom line: (a) I would find the book worth the read, for the first 160 pages or so, if you can borrow it from a friend or library. But skip from page 161 to about 350 where he gets back into some useful (albeit lightweight) photography tips.
Better yet, (b) get a separate good book on photography (there are hundreds), and get some *other* dedicated book on just digital workflow or Photoshop, or whatever.
Editorial Review:
"Clear, concise, lively, well-organized and opinionated."—Popular Photography and Imaging
In this thorough revision of his best-selling guide, Rick Sammon covers all the steps in the digital photographic process. The book teaches basic technical picture taking and the art of photography, plus introductory and advanced digital techniques.
Orchestrating over 1,000 images into easy-to-read lessons, Sammon uses an approach of "learning to see and seeing to learn" with pairs of images, software screen shots, and the best photographs from his own shooting assignments.
New for this edition, all the image editing tips feature the popular Adobe Photoshop® Elements®; file format discussions now include working with Camera RAW files; and more than 170 new color images have been added. 1000 color photographs.
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
The very nature of black and white photography places a premium on creative interpretation of the image. Advances in digital technology have expanded both the precision of imaging techniques and the interpretive possibilities for black and white imagery. Never before has such a wide array of tools been available to photographers who have a passion for black and white. Mastering Digital Black and White is written for these photographers. It serves not only as a comprehensive guide for creating black and white images and prints, but also examines the role of artistic craft in the imaging process. Learn how to employ your digital tools as extensions of your photographic vision. Read in-depth interviews with, and view images from, five accomplished photographers as they discuss their process and inspirations. Prepare to indulge your passion for gallery-quality black-and-white images in the digital darkroom. Additional supporting content for this book and a discussion forum for photographers and printmakers with a passion for black and white can be accessed at: www.masteringdigitalbwbook.com
*Combines a traditional technique--black-and-white photography--with the latest technology
*Shows readers how to create their own high-quality, fine art prints
Black-and-white photography has always been a favorite topic among amateur photographers, but many digital photography books assume the reader is working with color images. With this concise guide, black-and-white enthusiasts can finally learn exactly how to enhance their creations with digital techniques. The book covers everything from scanning, manipulation and printing to advanced, digital darkroom techniques. Amidst inspiring and distinctive black-and-white photos, readers will find tricks and advice for making their images more creative than ever before!
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
"This is the magnum opus on digital printing and the book to read before color calibrating your monitor or wondering about differences in pigmented and dye-based inks. With little in the way of “how-to,” the book focuses more on why and showcases eloquent photographs, including a heartbreakingly beautiful portrait of Marilyn Monroe, a naked World War II bomber tail gunner, and the inevitable “Emperor’s New Clothes” work. Equally heartbreaking for far different reasons is Henry Wilhelm’s essay “A History of Permanence” that includes a section called “The Totally Lost Kodacolor Era” that will leave you stunned by the corporate callousness that’s described. This book not only deserves to be on the bookshelf of anybody who cares about photography, it deserves to be read." -- Joe Farace, Shutterbug
Most of us know him as one member of the band Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, but what you may not know is that at the same time Graham Nash was rocking the world, he was also pursuing a parallel career in photography and digital imaging. Nash Editionsâthe world’s premier fine-art digital printmaking studio, which Graham co-founded with R. Mac Holbertârepresents the pinnacle of those efforts. This book uses thought-provoking essays and glorious artwork to sum up not only Nash Editions’ achievements but also the state of fine-art digital printmaking. After a brief history of printmaking, you’ll reach the heart of the book: an essay by Holbert on the genesis of Nash Editions and fine-art digital printing (which details the studio's interactions with major artists like David Hockney); an essay by MoMA consultant Henry Wilhelm (which includes a technical comparison of traditionally and digitally prepared prints); and commentary from Nash Editions artists. The book’s more than 100 illustrations include Nash Editions artwork, photos of artists in the studio, images of the machines used in digital printing, and illustrations of the proofing process.
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Immediacy and control are big parts of digital photography’s allure. That’s also why more and more people are printing their photos at home. Even beginners can quickly achieve professional results with the straightforward instruction and color computer screen grabs provided here. The advice helps budding photographers make smarter choices when purchasing and using photo printing equipment and supplies. There are tips for using computer workstations and software programs and easy-to-follow technical steps for making test prints, correcting color saturation, and repairing dust marks and scratches. Various printing styles are explained, such as Victorian vintage, hand-painted, and grainy documentary tones. Plus, there’s instruction on choosing inks and papers, turning digital photos into calendars, printing on canvas, making textured and translucent prints, and more.
1) Produce Do-It-Yourself Product Shots:There are two ways to shoot items using tabletop photography: the hard way and the easy way. The hard way involves multiple studio lights, softboxes, umbrellas, and seamless backdrop paper. Professionals use this equipment to produce outstanding images for commercial advertising and high-end editorial work. But if you just want a nice picture of your old film camera to sell on eBay, you probably don't want to set up an entire studio. So here's the easy way: Find a window that you can set up a table next to. North-facing windows are great, but not necessary for this type of shooting. Cover the surface with white paper, and if you can, create a white backdrop too. This will be your work area. Put your camera on a tripod (or another stable surface) and adjust it so it's facing the item that you want to photograph on the table. Move both the subject and the camera to achieve the best lighting possible via the open window. 
3) Devise a Shower Cap Inclement Weather Protector: The perfect travel companion for compact shooters is the hotel shower cap. These free accessories are the perfect rain protectors when you want to go outside and get the shot. Just poke a hole in the middle of the cap for the lens to protrude through, put your hands through the "stretchy" opening, and let the elastic close tight around your wrists. You now have a water resistant cover that enables you to work all of the controls--perfect for those shots of the kids splashing water in the gutter on a rainy day.
4) Preview Your Shots in B&W: Many cameras have a Black & White mode that enables you to capture grayscale images. This type of photography can be quite beautiful and is often considered artistic. The problem with B&W mode is that grayscale images are your only option. You may think you only want Black & White at the wedding reception... until the bride asks for color versions too weeks later. I recommend that you capture your pictures in color, then convert copies of them to B&W. That way you have all of your options open. But there's still value to B&W mode, even if you choose to capture in color. It can help you preview your compositions in grayscale on the camera's LCD monitor. By doing so, you can better compose your scene for the best Black & White output later on while working on your computer. Not to mention that it's quite fun.
