Digital Photography Outdoors: A Field Guide for Travel and Adventure Photographers [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by James Martin (Author) "Although digital photography opens new possibilities, the old rules of photography still apply..." (more)
Key Phrases: shutter lag, parallax distortion, digital wallet, Auto Color, Healing Brush, Adobe Photoshop (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A great all-in-one reference (and an interesting read with some great photographs). -- Digital Photographer

A must-have reference in this age of digital [photography] if you're shooting any outdoors subjects from sailfish to sunsets. -- Florida Today

If a person takes [these] lessons...into the field, odds are good [they] will come home with better shots. -- Idaho Statesman

[F]ew...photographers are getting the most out of their high-tech gear. [This book] is a new guide book that can help." -- Roanoke Times

Product Description
·Instruction on composing the shot and editing it digitally, keyed to outdoor subjects and outdoor conditions
·Selecting equipment for use in the field
·Illustrated in full color

A professional writer and photographer who has long chronicled his adventures as a mountaineer and wilderness traveler, James Martin is uniquely positioned to help others "gain the most from swapping chemicals for silicon." In Digital Photography Outdoors, he begins with the basics: how a digital camera works, special considerations for use in the field, and selecting the best equipment and most useful accessories for capturing outdoor action.

Martin presents the new rules of digital photography (why overexpose?) and reminds us of old rules that still apply (light and good composition remain key). He covers the fundamentals of digital editing, including selecting software tools, applying filters, creating the illusion of movement, and stitching photos together to create panoramas. It's about exploiting the advantages of digital, as well as meeting its challenges ("storing images safely becomes an obsession.") Martin also offers tips on care and maintenance of digital equipment in field conditions.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 157 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books; illustrated edition edition (August 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898869749
• ISBN-13: 978-0898869743
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #643,613 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbly organized and presented, April 4, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Digital Photography Outdoors: A Field Guide for Travel and Adventure Photographers (Paperback)

With every passing year, digital cameras are becoming more 'user friendly', more popular, more effective, and more versatile. Now in a thoroughly updated and significantly expanded second edition, James Martin's "Digital Photography Outdoors" continues to be the premier instructional manual and guide for the use of digital cameras in taking memorable and dramatic photographs in the field. Still providing novice digital photographers with a comprehensive and basic grounding in how a digital camera works, special considerations for its use and maintenance in the field, and how to select the best equipment and most useful accessories for capturing outdoor action and then storing those images safely, this new edition goes on to provide up-to-date information on the latest changes in Photoshop (CS3 version) and an illustrative description of the latest equipment options. Profusely illustrated throughout in full color, "Digital Photography Outdoors" provides digital camera users with a wealth of invaluable tips on photographing outdoor subjects in all manner of field conditions. Superbly organized and presented, practical and portable, "Digital Photography Outdoors" is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library Photography instructional reference collections.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My first photography book, August 14, 2008

By	Dr.K (Reykjavik, Iceland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Digital Photography Outdoors: A Field Guide for Travel and Adventure Photographers (Paperback)

This was my first ever book about photography (actually, the first edition of this book). Not that I was an absolute beginner; I just never bothered to read any photography books. James Martin's book nicely surprised me since in the first chapters I found a lot of ideas I was subconsciously aware off before. I am not sure this is the right book for someone who does not know what 'shutter speed' is but it is highly recommended for someone who wants to go over photography theory quickly and get some nice tips. It covers photo-shooting techniques, basics of composition, information on archiving photos and digital darkroom skills. My skills are definitely improved after reading the book, instantly I started to take better pictures!

The other day I wanted to purchase a digital photography guide as a birthday gift. 'Digital Photography Outdoors' book would not be available in the stores so I went through almost everything that was on the shelf. There would be lots of books for absolutely beginners in the book stores, "Dummies" books etc, we are not talking about these. Among 'serious' books, I did not find any one that can beat 'Digital Photography Outdoors'. I ended up purchasing this book via Amazon and going to the birthday party with the excuse that the gift is still on the way! This also motivated me to write this review, hope it helps.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and useful, August 23, 2007

By	Daniel Guimarans Serrano (Barcelona, Catalunya) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Very interesting book with several useful tips. It is focused in the "digital darkroom" processes and it becomes an interesting handbook while working with image processing software. Moreover, it gives some advices on photographic techniques specially oriented to digital cameras and their particular performance.