Customer Reviews

Large Format Nature Photography

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let me preface my review by letting you know that I do not own a large format camera. However, I am interested in the subject and have spent time looking at large format books, magazines, and internet resources. I was very eager to see this book since I am most interested in learning about using the view camera for nature photography. Jack Dykinga is a well respected nature photographer who has worked closely with the Friends of the Arizona Highway. (...) The book has many nice color examples of Dykinga's work to illustrate the book.

What the book does best is present Dykinga's own views about using the view camera in the field. For example, he has very particular preferences for lens sizes based on his expereience as a photojournalist. He details his procedure for focusing the camera in the field. In addition he shows how he has marked his equipment with reminders to help aid in the field. For instance, he has added markings to indicate exposure corrections for bellows extensions right along the rail. He has also marked his lens boards with the amount of rise and fall available with the coverage of the lens. He gives tips on working in bad weather. It is much like getting tips and tricks from an experienced user in a workshop. As a sidenote there is some material on his experience with digital.

What the book is not is a comprehensive guide to the large format camera. I would suggest those looking for that see books by Kodak, Simmons, Stone, and others. It will not give an especially technical presentation of the materials. The book did not meet *all* my hopes and dreams. I would have liked some more tips on composition and picking out a view camera. It does not cover black and white. Sometimes his presentation is so personal that it may not apply to how you like to work. However, there are so few books on this subject and most are more like textbooks. You can definitely read this book from cover to cover without being bored. It is a welcome addition to the subject and fills a gap in photography books.

A solid read from one of the premier colour landscape photographers in North America today. The author provides good insight to the techniques used to create each photograph, and contrary to one of the other reviews here I find the detailed information provided on each shot reflects the professional attitude of the photographer. If you know Jack's other printed works, his mission is to help protect the ever diminishing wild spaces on the planet, and he is careful to document exactly what he has photographed, indicating his intense involvement with the subject. His tips on how to prepare your equipment to be ready for the fastest set-up for when the decisive moment of lighting suddenly appears (based I am sure on years of being out in the field and probably missing his fair share of shots in his early days) is worth the price of admission all by itself.

This is by far the most useful book of advice on taking LF pictures, showing how to handle many important aspects of the craft. The discussions are all very enlightening: on equipment (from cameras to tripods to filters), technique, problems and their solutions, advantages of the format, and the philosophy of LF photography. The important points are illustrated with wonderful pictures of the processes and with the resulting photos. The author uses pairs of similar pictures to demonstrate the effects of variations in settings and approach.

It is also a spellbinding book of nature photographs. Each one is a like little jewel.

I believe some of reviewers on this site who express disappointment must have been looking for a primer or handbook, which this is not. Anyone thinking of trying LF or already immersed in it, no matter how successfully, should own this book and study it closely. It's all pleasure.

I have only recently made the move to large format photography and welcomed the publication of Jack's book. Not only are the photographs inspiring but there is a great weath of technical information to help with composition, exposure and camera movements. It is always interesting to learn how photographers work and this book gives insights into how Jack works a situation to get the photograph.
The section on camera movements is particularly helpful. Jack has created excellent pictorial diagrams to show the effects of camera movements on the focusing plane. In addition there are chapters on film exposure, reading the light and filters.
Making the commitment to large format photography can be a very daunting experience. This book helps. It is an excellent reference tool. One that I would not be without.

This book is incredile beyond belief! If you are a photographer, then this is the book for you. The pictures are fabulous and the text quite readable. No matter what format you prefer, this book should definitrly be readily available to you. All-in-all, an excellent book!

The book is outstanding both as a learning source for 4x5 photography and as a showcase of Jack Dykinga's photography. Of course many of the photos are designed to teach varying focal lengths, camera movements, exposure, filter effects, etc. Others are simply spectacular in their composition, color, and stunning impact. It's quite inspiring to read.

Currently I am using a Linhof Technikardan 23 which uses 120 roll film in the 6x6 through 6x9cm formats. Nonetheless the 4x5 principles apply just the same as the Technikardan is a view camera as well.

I must confess that this book has me thinking about moving up to 4x5. Some say once you get this in your mind you will never be satisfied with anything less. Of course roll film is easier to shoot, process, and scan but the size of those 4x5 chromes laying on his light table are something to behold.

One might take the book as an endorsement for Arca-Swiss although Jack it not the only one to speak so well of the camera.

Jack Dykinga together with David Muench is today's top shot of large-format-colour photograpers out in the landscape. It's quite a fortune that he shares his best advice and some of his wonderful pictures with us in that book. This is not dry physics about tilt and shift. This is pure practice and it explains why many serious landscape photographers switch to large format and it makes you want to go out into the wilds and capture your own picture in 4x5.

The Art of Large Format Photography is carefully discussed in Jack Dykinga's Large Format Nature Photography. The book reveals the thought and technique behind the creation of Jack's signature images.

For those photographers willing to devote the time and effort needed for successful large format photography this book is a must. The reader will learn a great deal about the how and why of equipment selection (even how to carry it), several techniques for focusing the camera, life as a photographer, and most importantly developing a personal vision.

I found this book to be filled with valuable tips/advice. It gives an excellent overview of Composition, Light, Focusing the Camera, Lenses, Exposure,Film, and Filters, Gear and Weather and Career. Each chapter is to the point and has Jack's beautiful photographs for use in illustrating each point he makes. Many of the photos have information regarding the lens used with additional info that ties in with the text itself.

I can assure any landscape photograper who shoots large format or is considering stepping up to large format that this is a must have book. Even though I've been using a 4X5 for nearly 10 years I have learned a great deal from this book. Actually, I've read most of it 3 or 4 times already. I can't wait to leave on my next trip so I can put the things I've learned to use.

I have read many of the technical books which describe many of the physical & optical principles of large format photography. Being an experienced 35mm, but relative novice to large format photography, I found Dykinga's book packed with good practical information readily applicable to the field. I have read it once, I re-read it a second time, and I have read it a third time once again. Each time new gems of information pop out at me. As my experience grows, so do I appreciate all the more the many practical hints & pieces of valuabel advice .

AND, if you cannot read(!) or do not understand English, this book is worth every penny, because it has what very few other large format books have, and certainly not instructional ones. It has many absolutely magnificent nature photographs by one of the best & most widely acclaimed Pullitzer prize-winning nature photographers.