Customer Reviews

PhotoSecrets Yosemite

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you're going to spring for this book spend the extra $7, or so, and get the "San Francisco and Northern California" book in the same series. This book is essentially reprinted (word for word, picture for picture) as the last part of that book, a superb resource in its own right.

I read the blistering negative first review of this book and almost didn't buy it. It would definitely have been my loss. I can see where Photosecrets of Yosemite is going to be a great help in several ways: Taking better photographs, of course, but also in deciding what, when and where to go to view the sights. I don't know what else you could want in a book of this type. There are lots of beautiful photos with suggestions as to how to do your own. I see nothing wrong with the quality of the book itself -- I don't know what the first reviewer was even thinking! I bought three other books to help plan our Yosemite trip: Complete Guidebook to Yosemite, Photographer's Guide to Yosemite, and of course, Frommer's -- ya' gotta have a Frommer's wherever you go. All four books are excellent and will definitely add to the planning of our trip -- and I'll certainly have them along with me on our vacation. Thanks, Andrew Hudson -- I really like your book.

I bought this book just before my trip to Yosemite. The notes on what sights to see, and when, helped me to prepare a "plan of attack" as to how best to spend the precious couple of days I would have in the park. I took the "standard" shots and added some of my own twists. I came back with rolls of picture postcard photos!

A great book detailing which angles and times to get the best photos. I followed the suggetions myself and got great results, even though there was a controlled burn going on in the valley that day. The author has studied the techniques of Ansel Adams and applied a lot of that knowledge into the making of this book.

This book really helped us take awesome photos. The time of day recommendation was the best part. We took photos with the recommended time and photos that were just random times. . . of the same sight, and the recommended time pictures turned out the best. It really helped us determine where to go and what sights to see. We utilized the weather information in the book and the ten photography tips. I highly recommend this book to those that want GREAT pictures! Well worth it!

I took this book with me to Yosemite in Fall of '00. My plan was to take B&W photos to be developed in a photography class I was taking. We had only had 2 classes before my departure for YNP, so I had a grasp on the basics of depth of field and shutter speed, but I was depending on my instinct for composition and lighting.

This book was fabulous! It helped me know how to set up the shots I wanted, and the pictures were a great guide for planning our short visit to the park. Also, the tips about protecting my camera on Mist Trail and others were much appreciated.

When I developed the B&W photos in class, I was amazed! They were gorgeous!

This book is a must-get for the novice photographer visiting NYP. I will purchase more in the series as we continue to travel!

I was greatly disappointed by the book and immediately returned it. This book contains ONLY so-called "drive-by shootings" - it's obvious this author made little efforts to capture the best lights or composition. These "snapshots" were mostly taken in the mid-day sun, when almost all advanced photographers avoid taking pictures. This book is probably intended for tourists on a bus-tour, but not for serious photographers.

If you have money to waste on this book, buy two copies of "The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite" by Michael Frye. The latter book is truly a work of art and I was deeply inspired by every image in it. It's hard to believe these two books - on the other extremes - are priced about the same.

I read both this and the Frye book before visiting Yosemite. Both had good info, but the Frye book went into a great deal more detail. It also had general photography tips, similar to those covered in more detail in "Understanding Exposure".

I enjoyed both, but carried this one in the park, since it was smaller, lighter, and had all the info I needed.

If you haven't read "Understanding Exposure" or learned the basics of photography, get the Frye book. If you don't need that refresher, and don't need areas outside the park itself covered, get this book.

Better yet, get both!

I brought a disposable, a 35mm automatic and an APS camera. If you follow the suggestions and tips on how, when and where to take pictures, you can't go wrong with capturing the majesty of Yosemite. With its color photos and maps, it's a great tour guide too. It's a must have, if you're planning to visit Yosemite.

This guide had great potential, and when it was published in 1997, it probably was useful. However, this guide has not aged well. Much of the information about the park itself is woefully out-of-date, such as entrance fees, bike rental fees, and programs offered by Park Rangers during the day or evening. Things change - and for this reason, this book badly needs an updated edition. At least one photo should be removed, or its caption edited - the one of the famous Jeffrey Pine that once stood on Sentinel Dome, which fell in 2003. The author attempted to provide information on dates with full moons, but this data was provided only for 1997-2000. Did he anticipate a new edition that didn't materialize?

I also purchased the Michael Frye guide, slightly more expensive, but far superior in my opinion, and the better of the two.

Skip this one, unless you're the kind of photographer looking for those red-and-yellow Kodak signs that say "Stand HERE for a great photo". The maps in this guide tell you where to stand and which direction to look so that your pictures look just like those taken by thousands of other tourists. If your intent is to return home with "post-card" type shots, why not just purchase them at Yosemite and leave the camera at home?