Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography (Paperback)

by Brenda Tharp (Author) "What are you trying to say with this photograph?..." (more)
Key Phrases: nature and outdoor photography, visual tension, macro lens, Fujichrome Velvia, Fujichrome Provia, The Essential Element (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Professional and amateur photographers alike will find an array of surefire strategies in Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography, an indispensable guide that demonstrates how to use classic visual design principles to create strong, compelling, nature photos.

Veteran photographer and naturalist Brenda Tharp presents a full-color guide that incorporates classic design principles with a deeper understanding of the natural world and its “moments.” While many photographers may be experts with the technical aspects of photography, they must also know how to incorporate visual design, strong composition, mood, and bold use of color in order to take their work to the next level. Learning to capture the moment in nature—which, as all photographers know, is an unpredictable subject at best—is the primary focus of this valuable reference.

Readers will find not only dozens of specific techniques for effective outdoor photography, but also practical advice for creating photographs that are emotionally compelling and, in turn, an artistic success. Individual chapters are devoted to such topics as “Light—The Raw Material,” “The Elements of Visual Design,” “Using Color Effectively,” and “Putting It All Together.” Plus, clear and to-the-point exercises along with 200 lush, full-color reproductions inspire readers to achieve more creative, more expressive, and more personal photographs.

About the Author
A well-known photographer and lecturer, Brenda Tharp has long specialized in nature/outdoor photography. Her extensive client list includes the National Parks Service, Colorado Tourism, Costa Rica Tourism, the Chicago Academy of Sciences, and many others. She has lectured at all the major photo shows and workshops (Maine, Santa Fe, Photo Plus East and West, to name only a few), and lives in Novato, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Amphoto Books (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081743738X
• ISBN-13: 978-0817437381
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,216 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

153 of 159 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can Creativity be Taught?, May 9, 2003

By	Conrad J. Obregon (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Somewhere along the line between beginner and expert most photographers decide that they want to be more creative. It is to this audience that Brenda Tharp had addressed her work. But one question this book raises is whether you can teach someone to be creative. The author believes the answer is yes, although she acknowledges that it takes a lot of work on the part of the photographer.

Tharp begins and ends the book by telling you that the secret to creativity is learning to see. But as you go through the book some of the chapters on subjects like light and composition and perspective sound remarkably similar to a lot of other photography books that are concerned with technique rather than creativity. Tharp's method is to give you a rule like "simplify" and then to tell you how to simplify. She does this well and the pictures that she uses certainly show her creativity, but it's hard to make the connection between these rules and developing our creativity.

I wish she had spent more time on telling us how to see because I think she is on the right trail here. But if you speed down the highway too quickly you might miss it, which would be a shame. Assuming you can teach creativity, Tharp makes a decent try of it, providing the reader is willing to work at making the connections to seeing.

There are many approaches to teaching how to be photographically creative. In "Fine Art Nature Photography: Advanced Techniques and the Creative Process" Tony Sweet presents us with a series of pictures and a narrative for each that explains what he was trying to achieve with the photograph and what techniques he used to achieve it. In "Creative Landscape Photography", Niall Benvie talks about the different subject matter one may encounter, like wilderness, and then talks about what that subject means to him and what techniques he uses to translate what he sees and feels into a photograph. And my favorite photography book, "Photography and the Art of Seeing" by Freeman Paterson, in a very touchy-feely work, provides a number of unusual exercises that are designed to teach a photographer how to see.

None of these books actually teaches creativity (although for me, Paterson comes closest.) Instead they show creative work and the considerations that the authors had in creating that work. Whether any method works in developing creativity is an open question. If it can be developed, which authors' approach will work best will depend on the individual reader. A serious photographer will want to try them all until he or she finds one that works for him or her. Tharp's book is certainly one that ought to be examined in this difficult search.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Strong on Composition, Weak on Technical, April 22, 2006

By	KenPic (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

If you are looking for a book to improve composition and develop you own style, this is a very good book with great example pictures. It talks a lot about methods you need to consider in making taking interesting picture that will give the "wow" effect. It includes discussion on techniques such as the rule of thirds (contrary to what another reviewer says), balance, and framing your pictures. The focus of the author is to get you to look for ways to create a mood, design a theme or tell a story with your pictures.

The book falls short with techniques. The books primary purpose in discribing technical aspects is to define what the equipment and settings will have on the picture results. It describes techniques such as the use of a wide angle or telephoto lense and the effects of the equipment on the picture, how to use light for more dramatic effects, shutter speed impacts, panning and focusing to emphasize a subject with the background out of focus to eliminate the clutter(this is called bokeh although not mentioned in the book). The book falls short in the technical area because it talks only about film, use of filters and developing film techniques. There are many techniques available for the digital photography that that can do a lot with the picture once loaded into the computer and use of filters for digial photography (some references say) can be reduced to a poloarized and UV filters. Changing ISO settings, adjusting white balance, and correcting light problems with software (versus using a neutral desity filter)are not discussed.

If you are looking to improve your picture composition and ideas to be more creative with your pictures, I recommend this book. If you are looking to understand technical terms, digital camera equipment, and software techniques to make adjustments to your pictures, this IS NOT the book for you.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, October 26, 2003

By	Ellen Cantor (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

Excellent book that combines not only beautiful images, but also valuable technical information that is easy to understand. The book is very well organized and covers a wealth of information from the basics to some very interesting and unusual techniques for creative photography. This book goes beyond the usual landscape photography book. It will give you lots of ideas to make your photography more meaningful.