National Geographic: The Ultimate Field Guide to Landscape Photography (National Geographic Photography Field Guides) [Paperback]

Robert Caputo (Author)

Book Description

Series: National Geographic Photography Field Guides | Publication Date: January 16, 2007

Ever wonder how landscape photographers manage to capture every detail in a panoramic shot of the Grand Canyon? Want to make a waterfall look like velvet? Or highlight the shafts of sunlight in your pictures of forests? All these answers and many more can be found in this definitive new guide to landscape photography—a must-have resource for amateur and experienced shutterbugs alike.

In clear, straightforward language, master photographer Robert Caputo reviews the basics of landscape photography for both film and digital camera users. Using concrete examples, he reveals recent directions in style and sheds light on the latest technology, advising how and when to use it. For additional guidance and inspiration, every picture shown in the book includes specific details on shutter speed, aperture settings, ISO settings, lenses, and types of cameras. Profiles of top landscape photographers provide more innovative tips for making your pictures unique. And a hefty chapter shares up-to-the-minute, information on new equipment and software for creating better digital images.

Filled with practical information and step-by-step instruction, this 160-page volume will easily fit in a camera bag for handy reference in the field. A glossary of useful web sites and professional resources completes this authoritative guide from National Geographic—the ultimate "professor" for anyone eager to learn how to take better landscape photos.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Caputo a master photographer, cameraman, and writer, has contributed photographs to National Geographic and other leading magazines for more than thirty years. He has written photographic books for children and adults, including the single-volume National Geographic Field Guide to Photography and the landscape book in our original photography field guide series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic; 2nd edition (January 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426200544
• ISBN-13: 978-1426200540
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.4 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #806,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing, September 17, 2007

By 

Mark Olwick "Research-aholic" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: National Geographic: The Ultimate Field Guide to Landscape Photography (National Geographic Photography Field Guides) (Paperback)

With the title containing National Geographic, I had high expectations for this book. I am eagerly learning about Landscape Photography and wanted a book tilled with the technical details that would allow me to approach a certain level of professionalism in my photos.

Here's what you should know before buying this book:

1. The digital portion is only a few pages in the back. The book was clearly adapted from the film version of the book. When people started crying for digital info, they just stuck a few pages on.

2. The digital portion is also incorrect or misleading (shockingly). Here's one example from page 126: "More pixels usually means finer detail, and this holds true for both compact cameras and SLR's." Well...this isn't really true. It's the marketing hype that camera manufacturers are pushing. In reality, it's a combination of the size of the sensor, the megapixels and the ISO speed you set, along with the quality of the lens that means finer detail. If you squeeze 10 megapixels onto a tiny sensor, all you get is more noise.

3. 95% of the book is just talking about EXTREMELY basic stuff. Ie: The rule of thirds, including an "S" shape in your compositions, shoot at sunrise or sunset, etc.

4. This is the biggie for me: THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO TECHNICAL INFORMATION ABOUT HOW ANY PICTURE IN THE BOOK IS MADE. Other books, such as the excellent National Audubon Society Guide to Landscape Photography, include camera and exposure info, plus which filters are used and even how the filters are oriented in their holder! Filling a book with pretty pictures (as NG's guide does) teaches me nothing. Telling me how to orient and expose using a Graduated Neutral Density filter (a la Audubon Guide) will allow me to duplicate their results!

This book was a complete waste of money due to the above reasons.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great teaching tool, April 1, 2009

By 

Turnings (Rogers, MN USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: National Geographic: The Ultimate Field Guide to Landscape Photography (National Geographic Photography Field Guides) (Paperback)

This is a great book to use to improve your photographic skills. There are field trip lessons which concentrate on the techniques from the book.

6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Captured in This Book, July 4, 2007

By 

Lola Paloma (Pupukea, Hawaii, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Geographic: The Ultimate Field Guide to Landscape Photography (National Geographic Photography Field Guides) (Paperback)

Before a camping trip in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, I invested in my first digital camera and read this book. This field guide was informative, interesting and inspiring. It provided useful tips on not only handling the camera itself, but also how to look at one's surroundings and be able to convey the sensations at that time to others viewing the photos later. The images throughout the text provided moving examples of Robert Caputo's and other professional photographers' pointers. Advanced photographers looking through this book would appreciate the mastery of these photos, and novices would gain confidence through this guide to eventually achieve this level of photography.