Customer Reviews

Visual Rhythm: The Art and Business of Nature Photography by Tony Sweet

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This is not a review of the photographs of Tony Sweet. I've reviewed his book of photographs "Fine Art Nature Photography: Advanced Techniques and the Creative Process" elsewhere and I found it full of top-draw photographs. This is not a review of Sweet's skills as a photography instructor. While I've never taken a class from him, the comments in his book (and in some of the scenes in this DVD) make it clear that he has a lot to say to photographers about how to take artistic photographs. This is a review of a DVD that purports to instruct in both the art and the business of nature photography. And the DVD is not up to the quality of Sweet?s book. It is inarticulate, disjointed and, with a few notable exceptions, not much help as a source of photographic instruction.

The DVD is divided into five sections. The first is an interview with Sweet in which he tells how he got into photography and where he draws his inspiration from. It's interesting to know this man's background, but not of much help to us to take better photographs. Moreover, the recorded interviews include several photographs of Sweet, repeated several times, and then some stills of Sweet with students. Still photographs may work for Ken Burns, but these photos are just something to fill the screen while we listen to Sweet.

The next section of the DVD was apparently taken during organized discussions between Sweet and students. Sweet talks about the business of photography but most of the comments are elementary, simplistic and repetitious. For example, with regard to promotional pieces, he says they have to be high quality, they have to look good, and they have to be better than average. I would have liked his ideas on what qualities should go into the design of a promotional piece, perhaps supported by some examples. People interested in nature photography as a career would be better off with John Shaw's "Business of Nature Photography." On a technical note the production values in these discussions are quite low, with distracting settings.

The third section follows Tony in the field, and it is perhaps here that one may learn the most about improving his or her photography. In several settings, Sweet analyzes a part of the landscape for his students and tells them how to discover the pictures within it. Unfortunately the camera stays aimed at Sweet rather than the landscape he is looking at, so often the comments make no sense, until we see the final picture taken by the student, after the discussion has occurred. As an aside, I found many of these scenes in the field to be badly overexposed. However, I will admit that I did glean a few ideas from these scenes that I am anxious to try.

In the fourth section, we are shown a number of Sweet's pictures with his commentary on them. However, these pictures deserved more than a few seconds on the screen with a one or two sentence highlight. Each of these pictures could have provided a course in itself, even if Sweet said nothing and just let us explore the picture with our own eyes.

Finally, the same pictures were presented with a musical background, with too short a time for each on the screen.

In summary, if you want to learn to take pictures something like Tony Sweet, buy his book "Fine Art Nature Photography" rather than spending the price of this DVD. What's more, you'll still have enough money left over to buy John Shaw's book and a couple of good cups of coffee.

I bought this DVD and I'm very happy with the purchase. The video portions of the DVD are not the best productions I have ever seen, but the information gained from paying attention to what is being said is invaluable. Listening to what Tony has to say, during the interviews and the on-location photo shoots, is where the 'technique' learning will be found. Getting into the mind of someone like Tony Sweet is worth much more than having him explain details about how he set up his camera for a photograph. To me, understanding 'why' he pointed his camera at something is the key. There are quite a few instances in this presentation where Tony talks about that specific element. This DVD is not designed to teach you how your camera works and how you can use creative exposures to make better photographs. It's more about learning why you point your camera at something.

The discussions of Tony's individual photos at the end of the presentation are also quite valuable. He discusses his own compositions and thoughts.

This DVD is not a replacement for his book. It is a great companion for it. Buy both :)

Tony Sweet is a phenomenal photographer. He narrates the still photography by telling why he took the picture the way he did (composition), what filters he used, etc. There are also a lot of videos with Tony on field assignments with his students. A lot of information on this DVD. Well worth the money. You will view this many, many times. Awesome!

Unfortunately, I cannot endorse this DVD any longer. As this was a chance for TonalVision to produce their first DVD and served as a learning experience for them, the production is indeed shoddy, the quality is mediocre, and does not reflect the high quality of work to which I constantly aspire.

Also, the information divulged is out-dated at this time, which is the nature of digital technology.

Please keep an eye out for "Visual LIteracy" © to be released in fall 2006.

Tony Sweet is a true artist and craftsman. He shares his knowledge, which has taken him years to accumulate, having studied with the best in the business and gained experience on his own. In addition to his gift as a photographic artist he also has the talent to reduce his technique to rules which he teaches. Check his web site. If you want to know how he does it, he shows you on this DVD.

I met Tony about one year ago. After spending one week in his course I was dazzled. During the week there was much discussion regarding the DVD. I couldn't wait for it's release. After receiving the DVD I discovered it was much more than I expected. I spend a few days watching it over and over again. The images are great. As much as the image greatness; probably the best portion of the DVD is Tony taking the time to explain the details of the images. The how and why. I would recommend Visual Rhythm to everyone. It will improve your skills.
Thank You Tony,

Joe Przybylo

This is a very informative dvd. It can help the begining photographer as well as a lot of pros. He has a way with communacating with words and photographs. A must have for any grade photographer, begining or serious.

Tony Sweet does very impressive photographic work, so I was quite surpised by the poor quality of this DVD. I guess this is the fault of the production company, but the quality of this DVD is no better than what your cousin does with his new video recorder at family reunions. I was also disappointed by the fact that Tony didn't speak more to the viewer. He was simply filmed giving his talks and at times it was hard to understand him or even see what he was doing. Having said these things, if one pays close attention and really looks and listens, a great deal can be learned from this DVD. That's the reason I will keep it. It's just a shame that the producers didn't spend more time on it because they could have made this a real winnner. Tony Sweet's photography is wonderful. This DVD is not.

There's not much in this video by way of direct instructions and demonstration of the technique. Just a mishmash collection of excepts from his workshops. Not good enough value for money.