Customer Reviews

Travel Photography

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I couldn't agree more to Richards introduction, when he says: "Modern automatic cameras have eased the burden of having to understand what's going on when you press the shutter. However, this often means the process and the variable elements that go into creating a successful image remain a mystery, and cannot be repeated."

To be able to repeat good quality photographs you have (you need) to understand and to control the picture-taking process. I have read this book in one hit -- I couldn't let go -- the text is short and precise, the photographs are stunning and the caption contains the details you need to know to understand the scene.

Many pictures have a counterpart to show you what had been improved by using different settings, lense or filter, etc.

Travel photography is a super-set of abilities, not only the landscape scene, not only the family album type picture, not only macro shots, but all of it. This book will not let you down, by explaining in enough detail what to watch out for... it covers the lot, from selecting a camera to suit your needs, a suitable type of film, "a guide to taking better pictures", even how to make money out of your shots, in case you want to.

The author concentrates on what is necessary, don't be scared when hearing about filters, one is a must (UV), another is very helpful (Polarizer) and two others are nice to have (find this out for yourself).

The book is definitely worthwhile the money... way cheaper than taking test pictures and to find the settings on your own. You still have to take test pictures to test your capabilities, but I reckon you'll save five rolls :-)

P.S. Why "A typographic treasure"? -- The layout of the book is excellent, the sections of the book a clearly visible, helping you to find you way around.

An okay little book with lots of tips and hints on travel photography. The real strength of this book is the coverage of potential subject matter, providing plenty of food for thought. If your a beginner you may find coverage of the basics a bit brief, though there is still useful content in these early sections of the book for all. As an early intermediate picture taker, I found the lens aperture and shutter speed information included with most of the images useful in understanding the scope and context of those combinations selected for the different subjects. If you know your way around your camera equipment and are looking for some inspiration on what to photograph on that once in a lifetime trip, then take a look at this book. It is small enough that you can take it with you without adding too much to the baggage.

Richard I'Anson has been a professional travel photograph for two decades now and has become a familiar face in the Lonely Planet series through his collaborations with Tony Wheeler, Lonely Planet: Chasing Rickshaws and Rice Trails: A Journey Through The Ricelands Of Asia & Australia (Lonely Planet Pictorials). His book LONELY PLANET TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY first appeared at the turn of the millennium, and this second edition followed in 2004.

I'Anson's book covers all the basics of photography, such as choice of lenses and film, setting of such variables as shutter speed and aperature, and when to use a tripod and when not. The book's points are illustrated with dozens of I'Anson's own photographs, mainly from the Indian subcontinent, and the instruction is coloured by his own tastes, such as using natural light as often as possible and avoiding flash. The book succeeds as a general introduction to photography, and I think that my photos are at least slightly better now than before I purchased the book.

However, I'Anson's advice is extremely simplistic, as other reviewers have pointed out. There's little here that's specifically about travel photography, and so any other introduction to photography would cover the same group, perhaps even more economically. In fact, on one of the last pages I'Anson gives a list of URLs to websites with publicly available guidance, which turn out to be even more in-depth than LONELY PLANET TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY.

The book's production is also unideal. It's annoyingly typeset completely in sans serif. That makes it hard on the eyes, and only in a roundabout way did I discover that the author's surname is I'Anson (with i) instead of l'Anson as one might assume. The book is also printed entirely on plates, which is a necessary evil of a book aiming to display full-quality photographs, but which means that the book will add significant weight to your pack.

Advance hype was that the second edition of the book would include the world of digital photography. Unfortunately, digital very much seems an afterthought here. The advice is meagre, simplistic ("make sure you insert your digital camera card properly"), and generally in those spheres of digital that would go out of date most quickly and did. The manual that came with your digital camera probably gives better advice on taking good photos that I'Anson does, especially when so much of the text is taken verbatim from camera manufacturers.

All in all, I would recommend LONELY PLANET TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY only for those travelers who are going to spend a long time on the road and unconnected, who need all the info packed into one single volume. However, you're going to get through the material very quickly, and wonder why you got such a pricey and heavy book for so very little benefit.

This gem of a book is probably the best concise guide to photography on the market (and I've looked through most of them over the years). As I am an advanced semi-pro and sometime pro photographer, it would be hard for me to judge how useful this book is to an absolute beginner, but for me it is a handy reference to review before a major trip, reminding me of things I might forget about that are not part of my everyday shooting in Coastal California (such as the advice on ways that you may inadvertantly expose your film to too much heat, and the caveats about damage from sand, humidity, etc., as well as specific exposure and filtering considerations in some of the extreme conditions one encounters overseas).

I own the 2000 edition, which I find perfectly well organised, but plan to look at the updated edition this week to see what changes have been made and if the quality has been fully retained or if the guide has been "dumbed down". What I find particularly useful in the 2000 edition is the moderately well annotated comparison shots. Most photography guides provide silly and useless "comparisons" of different focal lengths from the same standing position, or "artistic" renditions that I personally despise such as soft focus portraits, slo-mo waterfalls, etc. This guide is the best I've ever seen for picking appropriate subject matter and shooting conditions for showing the best use of specialised filters (such as 81 series and 82 series) as well as summarising Best Practices and pitfalls of graduated and Neutral Density filters.

The book spendds little or no time on subjects such as Black & White, Infra-Red, Ultraviolet lighting, etc. Other subjects are left uncovered as well, and this is entirely appropriate for a book that focuses on the likely types of photography that even a professional photographer would probably engage in during extensive travels. There is an implicit emphasis on the practical considerations of what one brings along on a longer vacation (such as three weeks or longer).

My only criticism on the advice is one that is common to most modern photography books, and that is the advice for people to buy zoom lenses. Although the more high-end zooms are now capable of producing sharp photographs and delivering adequate light, those zooms tend to be as heavy and expensive as the fixed lenses that they replace, and my experience with moderately priced variable aperture zoom lenses is that they are unable to deliver the requisite amount of light or minimum focus distance required by most "best light" shooting (i.e. two hours before sundown in the temperate zone, or half an hour to one hour befolre sundown in the tropics). Also, learning to use a few ideal focal lengths (such as 24, 35, 50, and 105) greatly enhances the development of one's technical and artistic skills; whereas using zooms tends to make one lazy in using the zoom to frame the picture vs. thinking in terms of aspect ratio and which shooting position delivers best lighting.

Well, what can I add? ... what my fellow readers haven't mentioned yet... and I concur.

Why am I giving only 4 stars you may ask? (I would have given 4.5, but this option is not available.) Well, I rate books with four stars when the book is very well written, good quality in word and print AND will be used over and over again.

I am a hobby photographer since many years, have taken thousands of photos... and may therefore be the wrong audience. Someone said "a beginners guide", I agree. I was wondering what I don't know, going through the book twice, comparing the images and advice with my own experience. He is right. I have read it, will put it aside and most likely not look at it again.

But if you are new to the field of photography, reading this book will save you rolls of film and will let you learn a lot, in either case: in digital or conventional photography.

The book is very nice, a compact format and what I've realised later (when reading it a second time) that this is a Lonely Planet book. Another or an added bonus. They have great photographers (Richard is one of them) and the travel guides are brilliant... so is this guide.

The book also revealed the answer to a very important question I had: It's the 24 mm lens, which gives you the most action and coverage. (Just to give you an idea: 30% of the images have been taken with a 24mm lens, another 26% was shot with a 100mm lens. I found that interesting.) A finding which influenced my desire to get one.

Happy reading.

Regards,
Max

I admit to being a complete amateur when it comes to photography. I always had the simplest point and shoot cameras. Lately, I decided to see if I can improve my skills. This book opened my eyes. I learned what the different modes and options on my digital camera mean, and started taking better pictures. This book coveres the basic technical terms, with examples of pictures. It gives the non professional photographer lots of tips about photography in diferent conditions and how to treat different subject.
A book I will surely re-read before travelling.

I just went on holiday for a month to Indonesia with my girlfriend. She gave me this book about photography because I want to do more with my minolta then just making quick snapshots. I fell completely in love with it and the way Richard explains thing to the reader. You immediately feel that he is not just a professional photographer who stands above you with his experience and let you know he does. No, you really feel instantly that he talks to you as a friend who's gone through the same experiences and made the same mistakes the reader is making. And the images are stunning too.
This book was a real workbook for me during my travel through Indonesia and I'll recommend it to anyone who want to make more of his travel pictures. Thank you Richard L'anson.

This book works well both as a guide to travel photography and a simple reference book to beginners' photography. It answers so many questions that you may have wanted to know. I read it in two days as I couldn't put it down. All tips and advise are illustrated with stunning photography from around the world.

For travel photographers who want some advise and answers to better vacation pictures: then this is a great book.

The is quite possibly the most wonderful non-fictional book I've ever read. Everything about the book was great- the explanations, the pictures used for examples, the format, and the wording.
When I first saw this book, it was the cover that caught my eye. The photo, I thought, was quite beautiful, and the book it's self has a good feel- nicely printed on pages that maximise the beauty of the images, nice font and format, catchy colors, and even the feel as you held it.
I skimmed through the beggining before buying it, and was enthralled to learn that the book had been written by a real photographer. Anyone can tell you how to do something, but when each tip is accompanied by a beautiful picture illustrated the point, you feel as if you have the evidence that these tips are effective right in your hands.
I have since read the book cover to cover once, and excerps of it much more that that. When I gave a presentation on the fundemetials of good photography, I used this book not only as my resource, but as an example of wonderful photographs.
This is, indeed, a great book. I have seen a clearly visible increase in the quality of my photographs since I saw this book. Each thing was so clearly laid out, explained, and shown that I have been able to use the infomation extremly effectively.
This book is a wonderful find and a key element in anyone's bookshelf. The photos are gorgeous and the advice is extremly beneficial.

By reading the comments about the previous editions of this book apparently most of the complaints were about the lack of information about digital photography...clearly the author had most of his work on film, the example pictures showed on the book were mostly photographed on 35mm film but this 2009 edition has lots of information about digital photography, even cell phone photography is covered on this book, so "digitalized" this edition is.
It's a great reading especially for those photo enthusiasts that want to have a better use of their DSLRs. I enjoyed even the concise information on censor formats and it's so up to date it even mentions the micro four-thirds format, it also covers each situation you can find on travel photography such as shooting on different lighting conditions, crowded places, potraits of travel companions, etc and the description of how the example shots were made help you figure out a lot on the exposure/lens necessary to each situation.
That's also a great book to read along with your DSLR manual, since it will help you understand most of those functions cameras have nowadays but just the pros know how to use it. Since the information is condensed and sometimes clearly focused toward begginers it's a not a must have for a Pro but definitely a good reading for travel photography enthusiasts and those who wants to take full advantage of the DSLR world.