Customer Reviews

Digital Nature Photography Closeup

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For me, I found Jon Cox - "Close-up" book to be the perfect companion book for "John Shaw's" Close-up book.
(John Shaw's books are for film. Jon Cox's- Closeup book, are for digital cameras).
Both books are "easy to read" and are packed with information.

Sometimes,I don't care how knowledgeable a photographer is. If a book is a "chore" to read or understand, (because the author is a lousy writer or the layout is lousy or both)..... the book is practically usless.

Readers quickly grow tired of books that are badly written, (regardless how "chock-full" of information)... and soon stop reading the book.

This is not the case with Digital Nature Photography Closeup by Jon Cox. (or John Shaw's Close-up book).

I love the beautiful photographs. But, more so, I love how Jon Cox photographs are shown in duplicates of the same image,(side by side), shot with different "lenses" or "field of depth" or "white balance" or "exposure" etc. etc. etc.... So the reader instantly see's identical photographs "change" when settings are tweeked.
AND, if you don't understand what "field of depth" or " white balance" or "Diopters" or "exposure" or "f-Stop" etc. etc. etc. are.... he explains in easy to understand writing .... what all these are and how to use them efficiently.
This book isn't just for beginners.
It is also for intermediate photographers and even advanced photographers who are switching from Film to Digital.

I highly recommend this book!

This book is essentially a discussion of macro digital photography. There are many macro books in print for film cameras, few for digital photography and very, very few that are for digital photography macro that excel like this book does. It is thorough- every detail is covered of how to shoot macro in practice yet it is in language that anyone with a semblance of knowledge in photography can understand. This book is a rare book - one you wish you could award more than five stars for.

I've noticed a problem with specialized photography books: not enough specialized information. Digital Nature Photography Closeup is well organized, clearly written and very attractively designed with some striking photography. Unfortunately, more than half of the book is devoted to basic photo equipment and concepts.

What I've wanted - and have yet to find - is a book on macro photography that assumes I have basic or intermediate photo skills and want to extend them into a new space. The chapters of the book are:

- Equipment
- Camera features and techniques
- Light & Color
- Composition
- Flash
- Working with Histograms
- The Digital Darkroom

It could be the outline of almost any photo book - and much of the content in each is applicable to any photography, not macro in particular.

If you're relatively new to digital SLRs and have an interest in closeup photography, you'll probably get a full meal here. If you're beyond the basics, it's not much more than a light snack. Well presented, but not very filling.

This book is gorgeous! Jon really has outdone himself. The photos are not just accurate, naturalist recordings of nature... they go far beyond that. The images are inspiring and will motivate you to become both a better photographer and a better person - one who treats the environment with respect.

Jon's writing is accessible, accurate, and useful. I particularly benefited from his explorations of the histogram, camera raw and the digital darkroom.

I highly recommend this guidebook to anyone looking for help with digital nature photography. This will prove to be a valuable tool for those interested in macro technique as well as those shooting larger subjects in the natural world.

Whether you are new to digital or an old hand at it this book has something for everyone. In easy to read style it not only gives you information about macro photography in nature but, help with working on the computer with your images. It tells you how digital macro photography is different from film macro photography and how to adjust for just that.
I found this book most useful and carry it with me when I am doing macro photography. It also covers important basic photography information.

Digital cameras have some special requirements for close-up photography of nature, and this one covers all of them very well. It's easy to follow and tells you everything you need to know. I have always found picture-taking of skittish living things very challenging, and this book helped me a lot. My pictures are now 100 percent better. Thanks!

Not too technical, not too basic. This book provided the perfect level of information for someone who enjoys photography, wants to understand manual settings and composition, but isn't interested in getting bogged down with every nitty gritty detail.

This book only covers the basics of macro photography and is suitable for 'newbies' at photography. Book and pictures are average quality. Experienced (macro) photographers should look further for technique and inspriration.

This writer put some very nice photos into his book. He lists the camera and lens that he made the shots with but not the camera settings he used, which would be helpful to someone learning the art.

Wonderful photography, great suggestions and ideas written in "layman's terms.

Would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in closeup nature photography.