Customer Reviews

Fine Art Flower Photography: Creative Techniques and the Art of Observation

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

 

 

The 100 or so photographs in this book are simply stunning and photography/author Tony Sweet shows the reader how he takes them. Each photograph is accompanied by a brief but comprehensive explanatory paragraph. Some have a set of step-by-step instructions. Sweet uses a variety of techniques to achieve these works of art but many of them are achieved with multiple exposures, slide sandwiches, filters and camera movements. Technical info, like types of lenses used and f-stop settings are also provided. In addition to technical tricks, Sweet also shows how he approaches positioning an object in the frame to achieve certain effects as well as achieving the best results with color contrasts. He also provides a list of the equipment (cameras, tripods, lenses, filters, etc.) that he uses as well as websites and addresses of the companies that sell them.

I expected this book to be more of a training manual of techniques. Instead, every page is a photo with a VERY brief explanation of how or where it was taken, often without enough detail to recreate the idea. Although the photos are beautiful and Tony Sweet is a great photographer, the book is not at all what I expected. If you're looking for a photo book of his work, it's great, but don't expect to learn much from it.

This book made me reconsider some of my fundamental feelings about art and photography. For example it made me consider the distinction between non-representational and abstract art. I realized that non-representational art has no counterpart in the world. Abstract art might have such a counterpart, but it is more concerned with line, form, color and other indicia as such than with the subject itself. I also realized that just because a photograph must start with something in the real world doesn't mean that it can't be abstract and concern itself with indicia rather than the subject.

All of this is by way of saying that "Fine Art Flower Photography" is a book of abstract art that starts with real flowers, but which has as its subject line, form and color. And it is a terrific and inspiring book.

By using a variety of photographic techniques, Sweet is able to divorce line, form and color from their subject and present them in a pure manner that delights the eye. In fact Sweet was so effective in doing this that he transformed my vision of other abstract art and its value.

Sweet accomplishes this task by manipulating depth of field, multiple exposures and camera movement to present us with a view of flowers that we would never see with the unaided eye. And these views are surprisingly striking, evoking deep, non-rational responses in the viewer. I have never believed that aesthetics was simply the province of the beautiful, but these pictures certainly can be used to support such an argument.

I've long had a feeling that manipulating a photograph in the camera in a way that one could not see in a peek through the viewfinder was somehow not real art. Sweet makes it clear though that he starts with a visualization of his final image and then takes the steps to make that vision come true, which of course is exactly what all the great photographers have done, and which is certainly a process that leads to art.

This book could stand on its own, as a set of beautiful images, but expert photographers will also find valuable lessons here. Sweet's comments are pithy, but for a person who understands the photographic process, they can suggest the technical steps that will allow the photographer to follow in Sweet's footsteps. My question is whether Sweet has set the bar so high that no one can exceed him. But perhaps these same techniques can be applied to other forms of photography to make different statements that are as beautiful.

Although Sweet has used film as his medium, digital photographers will be inspired to apply his same techniques, either in camera or in post processing.

Bravo.

If you already have Tony's other book "Fine Art Nature Photography" then you know what to expect. This book is almost identical to that one expect that it focuses entirely on flowers.

This is not a book that explains how to use techniques. Basically there is a picture on the right page and an explanation of why the picture was taken on the left page. It does tell what equipment was used along with the descriptions, but mainly this book should be used for inspiration. If you already have most of the technical aspects of your equipment figured out but are still left wanted something more, this book is a nice break from the typical photography book that talks about shutter, aperture, rules, etc. This book also makes a nice coffee table book since you don't have to know anything about photography to appreciate the photos.

I read Tony Sweet's Fine Art Nature Photography before I read this book. I was expecting similar tips as in Fine Art Nature Photography. But I was wrong.

This book has even more of his fine artistic images of flowers. And I learned more tips from this book than from Fine Art Nature Photography. There are quite some "subtle" tips buried in his writing.

I like this book more than Fine Art Nature Photography. Since I gave 4 stars to Fine Art Nature Photography, this book got 5 stars.

This book is great for those who enjoy Tony Sweet's artic images and would like to learn the techniques.

This book contains some of the weirdest and worst flower photography that I have ever seen. I photograph,exhibit and sell macrophotographs of flowers at several galleries. Out of the entire book, three photos were worth publishing. The majority were just blurred pictures created with multiple exposures and rotational effects. You call this art?
You can create similar effects with digital, scanned slide or print photographs with numerous computer programs and achieve far better and more artistics effects. Digital Nature Photography Closeup by Jon Cox and Macrophotography-Learning from a Master by Giles Martin and Ronan Loaec are far superior books.

Tony Sweet is an accomplished nature photographer.

This is a colorful and inspiring collection of close up photographs.

Sweet uses medium to long lenses with warming filters to produce delicately focused images with silky smooth bokeh.

You'll never look at your garden in the same way - a real gem of a book.

Nature photographer Tony Sweet has a practiced hand and experienced eye, as demonstrated in the many full-page color photos packed into his instructional Fine Art Flower Photography: Creative Techniques And The Art Of Observation. Here's a guide on how to see your flower subject through the lens - from experimental to traditional - and how to employ a range of photographic techniques to enhance your vision. Descriptions include filters and lenses used, and tips for achieving both similar or take-off results.

The pictures in this book are very beautiful, but I was hoping for more discussion of the basics of outdoor nature/flower photography, like lighting and composition. This book spends a great deal of time with mutliple images and zooming and "special effects" which are interesting but not really helpful if you are trying to take better pictures of flowers. Also, it seemed sort of repetetive at times.

No actual instruction. This book contains a collection of pretty ordinary photos with a small amount of detail of camera settings. The photos are in focus but could have been taken by any well equiped amateur. I find there is nothing worth really looking at. The title is so misleading it could be described as deceptive in my opinion.