Customer Reviews

The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, Fourth Edition

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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).

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.

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.

This is a wonderful reference to have on hand as it has thorough coverage of many topics regarding photography. It is updated to include digital as well. I have used it extensively while writing my thesis about photography. If you are looking for a list of photographers however, this is not for you as it is not really intended as a biographical list of photographers. It is more focused on history, careers, issues, materials, and processes - there are some key influential photographers of the twentieth century included. It also talks about photo education which not many books do!

Some would (and have) argued that you shouldn't need the complex insight into photography that this book offers. It does go far far beyond what your average "digital photographer" arguably needs to know. But if you truly love photography, and the reasons it exists from ultra-wide to super-macro... from massive contrast to ultra low light, then this book is everything you could ever dream to want to know. It's heavy, it's in-depth and it is serious. And it will last long after your current camera bodies and lenses have "passed away". Highly recommended.