The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, Fourth Edition [Hardcover]

Michael R. Peres (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0240807405 | ISBN-13: 978-0240807409 | Publication Date: April 25, 2007 | Edition: 4

*Searchable CD ROM containing the entire book (including images)
*Over 450 color images, plus never before published images provided by the George Eastman House collection, as well as images from Ansel Adams, Howard Schatz, and Jerry Uelsmann to name just a few

The role and value of the picture cannot be matched for accuracy or impact. This comprehensive treatise, featuring the history and historical processes of photography, contemporary applications, and the new and evolving digital technologies, will provide the most accurate technical synopsis of the current, as well as early worlds of photography ever compiled. This Encyclopedia, produced by a team of world renown practicing experts, shares in highly detailed descriptions, the core concepts and facts relative to anything photographic. This Fourth edition of the Focal Encyclopedia serves as the definitive reference for students and practitioners of photography worldwide, expanding on the award winning 3rd edition.

In addition to Michael Peres (Editor in Chief), the editors are:
Franziska Frey (Digital Photography), J. Tomas Lopez (Contemporary Issues), David Malin (Photography in Science), Mark Osterman (Process Historian), Grant Romer (History and the Evolution of Photography), Nancy M. Stuart (Major Themes and Photographers of the 20th Century), and Scott Williams (Photographic Materials and Process Essentials)

* Searchable CD-ROM containing full contents of the book
* Full color throughout and highly illustrated
* World wide industry leaders contributing

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A huge volume of knowledge, we would call this book no less than a bible... it is something to be studied and not simply read. Every serious photographer should have a copy of The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, and anyone who is genuinely interested in learning, will find himself going over its pages again and again."--Better Photography

"There is hardly an aspect of photographic practice and equipment that is not covered in this encyclopedia." -- The Picture Professional, Quarterly Magazine of the American Society of Picture Professionals, third issue 2007

"This work is without doubt one of the most important single-volume encyclopedias in print."

"It is a must purchase for all public and academic librabries, and the relatively low price puts it within reach of most individuals who are involved in the photographic arts."
-CHOICE (Nov. 2007)

About the Author

Chairman of the Biomedical Photographic Communications department at the Rochester Institute of Technology and Professor in the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 880 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 4 edition (April 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240807405
• ISBN-13: 978-0240807409
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.9 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #962,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Destined to be a Classic!, April 18, 2007

By 

Andrew Ilachinski (Springfield, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, Fourth Edition (Hardcover)

Focal Press (i.e., the Media Technology component of Elsevier Publishing) has just published a "book" (a pristine copy of which I have been happily browsing through after it had - literally - landed on my doorstep with a loud THUD!) that has all the tell-tale signs of being a classic scholarly reference for photographers and students of photography for years to come: The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, Fourth Edition, edited by Michael R. Peres (also available from Amazon).

The encyclopedia is a significant update of its predecessor volumes (the first edition, a classic in its time when it was published in 1956, has been long out of print and is obviously extremely dated given all of the advances in photographic science, engineering and art that have occurred since then; the third edition (edited by Richard D. Zakia and Leslie Stroebel), which I own and love, is only a decade old but has very little on the burgeoning field of digital photography; still, it contains a wealth of useful information and, though it is also out of print, is still available in some used book stores).

The new fourth edition has 880 pages in all, over 400 images, covers all major (and minor) areas of photography (ranging from photography and art / society / commerce, museums, the science of photography, galleries, workshops, education, publishing, history, theory, practice, criticism, and short biographies of selected photographers in the 20th Century), and comes with a CD-ROM that contains the entire (and fully searchable) text + images in the book (this one surprising, and most welcome, addition is worth the "price of admission" on its own).

The book is very handsomely produced, with strong, thick covers and thick, semi-glossy pages that give the volume a "classy feel" and give the overall impression that the editors designed it to be well thumbed and used, and to last a long, long while (which I pray it does since most of my photo books, particularly reference works, tend to become tattered and grow nested dog-ears in no time, as I repeatedly dive in for the shear pleasure of discovering some morsel of photographic delight).

The encyclopedia does have one unfortunate, but arguably unavoidable, drawback: it is so big and heavy that it is impossible to just "whip it out" on your lap and sink into (a flimsy chair) for some leisurely reading; you have to plan on when and where you will be reading this monster! ... and, God forbid, don't even think of taking it to an upstairs room to read in bed: if the staircase doesn't collapse from the weight before you get there, your bed surely will! ;-)

Kudos to Focal Press' editorial board for producing such a fine masterwork. It will likely become the "standard" such reference for all current and future generations of students of photography (and, I suspect, quite a few working professionals as well).

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A vast and authoritative but not perfect publication, September 24, 2007

By 

Graham Wootton (Hobart, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, Fourth Edition (Hardcover)

It is difficult to know where to start and finsh with a review of a publication like this. It is vast in scope and content, authoritative, immensely good value (particularly with the included CD-ROM)and provides many hours of interesting reading. It will continue to provide a valuable reference source over many years. However, it is not perfect.

It tends to be more of an anthology and historical study than a practical working encyclopedia. That is not to say that there isn't a great deal of practical information in the book. However, in aiming to be a comprehensive history of photography and an encyclopedia of both current and past photographic technology it sets itself a daunting task. Some sections, probably the majority, are handled well. However, probably as a result of the authors efforts to all inclusive, some subjects are treated rather superficially. Others, such as the sections on image formation and color science delve too deeply into higher mathematics to be of relevance to most of the book's readers. The section on biographies of selected famous photographers is very good but seems to have an over-representation of American photographers in its selection. The spell-check has managed to slip a few items past the proof reader and the Voigtlander Vitessa camera has been rather humourously changed to the Voigtlander Vanessa camera.

In spite of the above quibles, I think most readers will find the book eminently readable and worthwhile and will come away with a much better apprecation of the vast scope of photography in all its fields.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Resource, June 7, 2009

By 

Ralph W. Lambrecht (Leverkusen, Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, Fourth Edition (Hardcover)

I'm a proud owner of all editions of this fine book, but this one beats them all. This new 4th edition is a must on every serious photographer's bookshelf. It covers every aspect of photography to the nth degree and in total depth. Written by many authors, all experts in their field, it is beyond any single-author book. Digital or analog, everything is in here. The 'history of photography' section with its timeline is highly educational. Every time I've picked it up, I have learned something new, and the CD (combined with my laptop) makes a valuable resource when travelling.