Customer Reviews

John Shaw's Closeups in Nature (Practical Photography Books)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is worth the price for the breathtaking images alone. More importantly, John Shaw's ability to explain complex photographic issues and techniques with clarity makes this one of the best "how to" books I have ever read on any topic.

Here are a few of the book's features that I especially appreciate with each re-reading:

1. Thorough technical details beside each shot; 2. Emphasis on appreciating nature, and enjoying nature photography; 3. Appreciation of good photo gear for its effectiveness and convenience, combined with suggestions for improvising to reduce expense (such as how to shoot arresting closeups without investing in a macro lens); 4. Lots of Nikon-specific equipment references, but mentions Canon equivalents; 5. Ethical, urging photographers not to harass creatures or damage plants in the wilderness; 6. Did I mention the breathtaking images?

His newer "Nature Photography Field Guide" is also brilliant,and equally full of superb images, valuable tips, and further inspiration. There is little overlap between the two.

"Closeups in Nature" opens up a new world of perception and expression for photographers. Treat yourself or a photographer friend to a copy.

If you're interested in nature photography and especially macro work, get this book before you spend a ton of money on confusing and/or expensive equipment (ie macro lenses, diopter sets, extension tubes, lens reversal rings etc.) John is easy to read and covers about everything you need to know about how to capture natures tiny subjects on film. Although the book is a bit old, basic photo techniques don't change and his love of photography is contagious. Buy this book and you'll be out in your yard within hours, camera in hand. He is a firm believer in the old saying "necessity is the mother of invention". From calibrating your light meter, using the palm of your hand to estimate midtone exposure, making homemade flash brackets or reflectors from coolwhip containers and tin foil, he covers it all. He reviews the basics of exposure, flash, different film pros and cons and explains all the basic macro equipment so you know what lenses and equipment will and won't do for you.

I have attended workshops taught by John Shaw, sitting on the side of a flower covered mountain, listening to John discuss macro technique. This book caries all of the character and clarity of being there listening to him in person. John Shaw's work is undoubtedly some of the best nature closeup work around and this book gives you all his tricks. The photographs in the book are excellent technically and provide wonderfull examples for the techniques explained in the book. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a complete overview of different macro techniques and/or detailed instruction on any of these techniques. He gives you all the options for macro technique without spending major dollars on unneeded equipment.

John Shaw shines in this book. The information is not only helpful, but to the point and direct. Shaw explains everything in detail, but only enough as needed. Truly exceptional book!! It is a must have guide to anyone who wants to delve into the macro photography field. I have been focusing on macro for the last year now. I just recently read the book and it helped me unbelievably. From what tripod to use to what filters (if any), to how to compose that great shot. It is a wonderful book!!

John Shaw is often considered the modern master of the closeup (in reality he shares this title with George Lepp). The techniques in this book will help anyone interested in closeup photography get started on the road to mastery. I highly recommend this book!

The techniques he presents are not new; most are presented in the highly-technical (out-of-print) works of Alfred Blaker, but Shaw is much more readable.

The book was published in 1987, so it does not cover the use of more modern photographic equipment. Further, all gear presented is for Nikon systems, so users of other systems may need to do some homework to translate some of the techniques to their systems. Look for updates in his video tapes "Successful Closeups" and Advanced Closeups" available from Kirk Photo website online..

In summary, buy this book, Shaw's video tapes, and the books by Lepp (available here at Amazon.com). Then turn off your computer and start making closeup photographs!

John Shaw's were the first books I read on photography, after the Canon camera manual, and his books are the absolute best you can find.
The photographs are brilliant, no doubt. But what makes this book special is that almost each photograph is explained. You not only get to see great photographs, but also get an insight into what went into the composition of the photograph itself. Small things like using a tripod, not relying too much on filters, and the use of macros rounds off this excellent book.
This book, John Shaw's Landscape Photography, and 'Nature Photographer's Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques' make it a must-have for any budding as well as experienced photographer.
If you have read some of his other books (like the ones I mention above) you may find some concepts being repeated, but they are so essential to good photography that they are well worth being read and re-read.
Go ahead, beg, borrow, or buy this book. (No, do not steal :)

This is the best (non-darkroom) photography book available today, even by John Shaw's standard. John Shaw is like a master craftsman, a seasoned technician, a meticulous artist and a patient mentor, he tells you from fine-tuning a meter to reciprocal failure, from tripod to home-brewed flash bracket, not to mention every lens focal range and its application in macro photography. The book is well organized, most every chapter is dedicated to a specific type of equipment (flash, tripod or a focal range), yet this is not a book about equipment, it is a book about photography, or rather about the author's vision and philosophy in photography.

It's a shame that the book's printing quality is bad, the book becomes disintegrated after a few readings. The pictures are not super sharp either. This might be the results of bad publishing, or it might be John Shaw's reluctance to user larger format (which has always been a mystery to me). Hard to imagine as meticulous as he is, he is not pursuing the ultimate quality of images.

John Shaw's books are wonderful! Our local library has a wonderful collection of them. After a hiatus in photography of many years, I have jumped back in with both feet. I have found John Shaw's books amazingly helpful! We don't have many scenic landscapes, in this part of the nation :( so I have been focusing on closeup photography. I must say, that John's writing in "Closeups in Nature" has enabled me to produce some great images. I keep rereading the text and captions and continue to learn from them. I really appreciate this book, as well as his newer ones. Thanks, John!

I have been involved in various aspects of photography for more than 40 years--weddings, newspaper, school yearbook, and others, including 22 years of teaching it and have to say that I learned many new things about the world of closeup photography from John Shaw's book. He tells how to combine lenses, how to use closeup lenses with telephoto lenses and how to reverse lenses. All of this is explained in a straight forward manner that anyone can understand. And, he has actual photos to show the results of the various techniques. He lists his equipment, all of which is available at most camera stores. I plan to add this aspect of photography to my teaching curriculum and use some of John's methods in my syllabus, giving him credit. I recommend the book for anyone interested in a new field of photography. I looked at several other books on the same subject before choosing his and believe I made the best choice. I can't recall anything I did not like about the book.

John Shaw explains many good techniques for closeup nature photography, which are applicable even in today's digital world. However, this is still a book from the film-era, so anything relatively recent or digital (e.g. magnification ratios for digital cropped sensors, advancements in AF technology, change in lens lineup, etc) is not covered. It is perhaps due for a quick revision to bring it up to date to today's cameras. Also, the photos in this book are good, but perhaps not as striking as the photos in his other book, Nature Photography Field Guide.