Customer Reviews

The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression

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I've read many books which cover the finer points of photography, each has it's purpose and adds to my understanding. This book I felt helped find my own way to view what I want in an image. Bruce first gets the reader to explore their own likes in a photograph, getting us out of the confines of rules we've been told are required for a "Good Photograph", be free to explore all possibities not a fixed grid we tend to think of as the parameters of photography. The thing I found most helpful in this book is the topic of film and paper exposure. I've read much of the Zone System and understood it to a good extent, but Bruce takes it to a more practical level and I found I could apply his points with a much better understanding. It has made an improvment in my black and white large format work. Now, after reading this through a few times I have a much better understanding of how to use the range of the film and paper to their fullest extent. I can get most negatives to print on normal contrast paper, don't need to use contrast filters to get something to work and can get much more detail in the shadow areas. This book is wrote for the advanced photographer and prior basic knowledge will make it more usable but written in a very comfortable pace that I as an amature photographer could grasp with no problem. I feel this has saved me from many years of experimentation and let me get on with making photographs which I love to do! Greatly improved my confidence, this is the way photography should be taught, we each have our own abilities and creative aspects.

I have always admired Bruce Barnbaum's prints and really appreciate the clear guidance in this book regarding seeing, understanding light, exposing film, and printing. Among the useful aspects of the book are the photographs that show how control over the exposure and printing can affect the final result. This book is perfect for photographers looking to make a serious advance in the quality of their images.

I am a serious photography student, albiet a green one. My instructor has been a photographer for 50 years and once ran the biggest portrait studio in Niagra Falls, NY. He has studied with Mr. Picker (BTW, the fore mentioned is rather discredited by both Mr. Burnbaum and my instructor, so if you are a "dry down" sycophant move on now.) He likens Mr. Burnbaum to the caliber of Mr. Adams: both being masters of the media. I was also truely blessed to see both Mr. Burnbaum himself and his work at an exibition here in Oklahoma. His prints are truely stunning. His book is equally so. I can't say I know a whole lot about photography -- it is a vast and imposing subject -- but I know quality when I see it, and I know more about photography after reading "The Art of Photography". My opinion isn't that important, but I value my instructor's and I think that I can safely say it's a must read for any photographic artist -- B&W, color, small, medium, or large format.