Photographing the Landscape: The Art of Seeing [Hardcover]

John Fielder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1996

Nationally renowned nature photographer John Fielder reveals the photographic techniques that he has honed over his 35-year career as a landscape photographer in his first instructional book. But to call this a simple 'How To' book is a gross understatement; readers will have to decide whether to keep this book on the coffee table or the reference desk. Combining technical instruction with reverent observations of nature, Fielder offers valuable lessons for photographers, hikers, and virtually anyone with an open eye. He not only explains the basics of photography, but reveals the art of 'seeing' a photograph before ever clicking the shutter. In this newly revised edition, John Fielder gives his tips for DIGITAL photography as well as classic tips for film.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Beginners to professionals will find this a useful guide to landscape photography: it provides candid assessments of films and techniques, uses numerous full-page color photo examples to feature various contrasts and techniques in landscape imagery, and blends camera mechanics and basics with advice on how to visualize a picture and produce satisfying results. The result is an exceptional 'bible' of detail which should be a 'must' for any photographer. -- Midwest Book Review

About the Author

John Fielder is Colorado's best-known nature photographer, publisher, teacher and preservationist with 39 exhibit-format books and guidebooks to his credit, including John Fielder's Best of Colorado and Colorado 1870-2000. He is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Sierra Club's Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography (1993) and the Aldo Leopold Foundation's first ever Achievement Award (2011). John Fielder's photography has influenced people and legislation, and he has worked tirelessly to promote the protection of Colorado's open space and wildlands. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Westcliff Pub Inc (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565791509
• ISBN-13: 978-1565791503
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,601,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pictures teach more than words, May 5, 2003

By 

Ann Johnson (Warwick, RI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Photographing the Landscape: The Art of Seeing (Paperback)

John Fielder is one of the best photographers of this age. Perhaps not as commonly know as a Tom Till or a Larry Ulrich, he centers the majority of his work in the backcountry of Colorado where he's hiked virtually every inch of terrain.

This is one of the most beautiful books on photography that I own and his images taught me more than his words. He has some of the more typical landscape scenes that could be done by most competent professionals. But where Fielder stands out the most are the pictures that truly look like a complex model of math and art. He blends perfectly the elements of his trade. Photography is as much a technical craft as it is an art. To be great, you need both. Fielder is a virtual Bach of photography where he punctuates his gorgeous style with obvious control of technique.

What sets him apart from most other photographers is his style. Most of his images are not typical and clearly make use of simplicity, beautiful lines, hazy afternoons. He doesn't rely on perfect buttermilk clouds to paint a photograph for him. He uses the soft folds of a hill on a cloudy day or the sheer layers of a clear sunrise on a beach to make his pictures. He doesn't need much to turn his world in a vivid piece of artwork captured precisely on his large format.

His writing style is very much like his photographs. Simple and concise. Though at times, I did wish he would explain some concepts a bit more in depth. Mostly though, he uses his images as an example of what to do or what not to do.

He writes how he learned photography by taking pictures and then comparing them to the best (Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter). His own photographs have set a precedent, a standard beyond many landscape photographers could even dream. Take his advice and study the greats to develop an eye for the craft. The technical aspect requires some learning but to be great like Fielder, follow in his footsteps until your own style emerges.

I also enjoyed his accounts of a day in the life of a landscape photographer. To find those beautiful, untouched places, you have to be tough and be able to hike miles at altitude. It's always great to have a personal touch to an educational book. Nothing could be more mundane than a purely technical photography book especially when we all know that photographers are fairly opinionated and outspoken.

If you want a strictly technical book, invest in National Geographic's field guide. But if you are looking for inspiration, for a chance to study a master in his prime, look to Fielder. He will teach you in his images, in the subtle language of art and make the text on the page virtually unecessary.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Organized, December 27, 2002

By 

Greenbloody "greenbloody" (Sammamish, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Photographing the Landscape: The Art of Seeing (Paperback)

In comparison to Galen Rowell's books, the content is better organized and it is quite a good reference book for landscape photography.
If you have read any of Galen's books, you'll know that you literally have to mine for the relevant info in the midst of his philosophies and the accounts of his stories.
This one is closer to the idea of a how-to book and quite similar to John Shaw's style.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As with all things done well, the bottom line is hard work.., December 30, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Photographing the Landscape: The Art of Seeing (Hardcover)

Fielder's "The Art of Seeing" is above all a testament to the power of passion and hard work in the life of an artist. The author's writing is personal, proud and sometimes a bit arrogant, but he supports his panache with some powerful results--a collection of lovely and powerful landscape photographs. He moves too quickly through some of the technical information, and his "pizza" analogy is disappointing. But this "how-to" book is about more than technique. Between the lines, Fielder tells us that talent and technical skill are not enough...that life-long passion, dedication, care and hard work are the foundations of superior art.