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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect, September 23, 2009
This review is from: Digital Landscape Photography (Paperback)
For those who want to learn the basics of landscape photography, this is the perfect book.
The authors have not just assembled all the information necessary for a new digital photographer to produce good landscape photography. The authors present it clearly, simply and lucidly so the readers will have no difficulty understanding the lessons. Moreover, they have organized the information on each topic so that even if the reader has missed a point earlier in the book, he will be reminded again further on.
The ten chapters in the book cover necessary equipment, exposure, sharp focusing, the effect of light, and composition. There is a chapter on special subjects that covers techniques that range from photographing from a kayak to making images of fall foliage. There are even two chapters on the newest darlings of the landscape set, high dynamic range photography (HDR) and panoramas. The book is nicely illustrated with the authors' photographs.
The chapter on exposure is typical of the book. After explaining the factors of aperture, shutter speed and media sensitivity, the authors show how their interrelationship leads to a good exposure. The authors then show how to use the tools of the digital camera, like the histogram and the "blinkies" to get the exposure the photographer wants. Once having laid out these techniques, the Gerlachs reemphasize them throughout the book so that the new landscape photographer grasps the many factors that lead to a good photograph.
The chapters on HDR and panoramas, which are items that serious landscape photographers will eventually want to try, are not comprehensive descriptions of how to use these tools but rather tell just enough so that the reader can realize their potential and not be intimidated by their apparently complex procedures.
I suppose I could disagree with a few of their recommendations, like the details on the use of back-button focusing for landscapes, but the authors are clear in indicating that these are matters of preference, and indicate other methods of accomplishing the same tasks. On the other hand, they did inspire me to reconsider some techniques that I have generally not employed.
The book has little about post processing, except with regard to HDR and panoramas, and this helps to keep the book simple. Photographers who hope to master landscape photography will have to learn these skills as well. I've talked about new landscape photographers, and I expect that advanced landscape photographers are not likely to find techniques they did not know. On the other hand, there are plenty of photographers who have tried their hand at scenery images, and who have been less then successful. For these folks, this is an ideal book.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful book - cheap print, November 15, 2009
This review is from: Digital Landscape Photography (Paperback)
The book is wonderful, the two authors spend most of their time discussing how to take excellent images in the field, rather than wasting too much time on hardware (one chapter) or digital post-processing (two chapters dealing with HDR and panoramas).
The rest deals with exposure, how to obtain sharp images, light conditions, composition etc. I like the author's style, stating their preferences where they think they matter and discussing the options where the personal needs or preferences of the individual photographer have to be considered. The book is illustrated with many superb images throughout.
What is not superb, however, is the overall print quality. On many pages the text is either faded or has a bluish tinge, making reading in low light difficult. That detracts from an otherwise excellent book.
Still an excellent purchase - one of my favorite books right now.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic, April 1, 2010
This review is from: Digital Landscape Photography (Paperback)
This book sets the standard for digital landscape photography. The serious reader will learn three fundamental concepts that will vastly improve his or her images. The first is the use of the RGB histogram, requiring the photographer to move the color channel that is farthest to the right without clipping. This technique produces perfectly exposed highlights and avoids potentially serious problems caused by working with the camera's large luminous histogram.
The second technique is back-button focusing, a term coined by the Gerlachs, and a technique which they have used for years. This technique enables the photographer working on a tripod to focus on an important subject in the frame, recompose the image, and take the shot without losing the original focus. This technique will be of enormous benefit for obtaining sharp focus on the critical element in the frame.
The third technique is using manual exposure, which avoids, among other things, the problem caused by light coming through the viewfinder and thereby altering the camera's meter and causing underexposure. Manual exposure is a foolproof method for avoiding this problem and is to be preferred to autoexposure in most circumstances.
There is a great deal more in the book than the three techniques mentioned above, and the book is rich in additional information for the digital landscape photographer. However, I believe that adopting these three techniques alone will produce an enormous improvement in one's landscape photography. The Gerlachs are to be congratulated for producing such an important book that I believe will become a classic in photography.
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