Books on Photography

Several photography books that have influenced me and the way I approach photography are what I would like to talk about in this blog.  Although the books listed here are not the only ones I've read, I do have most of them.  Several other books I read, I borrowed from the library and unfortunately are not available to me as a ready reference. 

I frequently reference these books because I'm constantly learning.  For new comers to photography and not I'm sure if this you, I recommend using the library initially because books are costly.  Many of the books the library has are recent and the information is relevant to photography today.  But don't discount the older books although many may be targeted towards film cameras the fundamentals are basically the same. The same is true for camera equipment maybe start with a point and shoot something you will be able to use regardless if you pursue photography as a career or just a hobby . Reading these books have provided me with a source of inspiration and has taught me many things that otherwise might have taken a long time to figure out on my own.  In general looking to those who have been in the business for quite some time is very valuable also. 

Some of the books, I've listed here the photographers have websites, but others I guess they must be very successful because they don't have a website.  I've done extensive research to find out if these books are still being published or in circulation and I have annotated next to each along with various other information.

"How to Make Money with Digital Photography" book is still in circulation.  This book is not about the technical but business side of photography. Very insightful and an often overlook aspect of the photography world. (Author Dan Heller, website: www.danheller.com)

"Profitable Photography in the Digital Age"  Dan Heller again illustrates the importance of the business side of photography.

"Designing A Photograph, Visual Techniques for Making Photographs Work". (Author Bill Smith, book is still in circulation but no personal website available).

This book covers you guessed it on how to design a photograph. It includes architecture, landscape aerial the whole gamut and is very helpful. 

"The Photographers Guide to Exposure" (Author Jack Neubart  book still available on line but no personal website available).  Although this book was published in 1988 the techniques illustrated in this book is still relevant today. Many of the large books stores offer this and other books of Jack Neubart on line.

"Photographing the Landscape The Art of Seeing" (Author John Fielder, book is still in circulation website: www.johnfielder.com) John Fielder is a photographers photographer. From reading his book I get the feeling he lives, and breathes photography. I could only hope to be as successful as he.

"John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide" (Author John Shaw, book is still in circulation website: www.johnshawphoto.com). This book focuses on technique as well, and again is a great reference.

"Understanding Exposure" (Author Bryan Peterson, book is still in circulation website: www.bryanfpeterson.com)

"Learning to See Creatively" Bryan Peterson has several other books also. He is a very talented writer and photographer. Unfortunately these are two books I borrowed from the library so I no longer have them as a quick reference. Reading these books are what reignited my interest in photography.

These are books I highly recommend.  Not that they are the sole source to photography and the business of photography but I've read them and use them as a reference.  I don't have a particular interest to see anyone of these fine photographers become more successful than they already are so if your are wondering, here is my disclaimer I don't benefit by promoting their websites or books. My only benefit and most important is that by reading these books they have made me a better photographer and artist.

I hope you too will benefit by not only reading these books but by reading my blogs also. So happy photographing and please make any comments or suggestion you have.

PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE

(Japanese Lady)

(Hula Dancer) (Keeping Cool) (Orange Hat)

Photographing people is an art and science(Technique) wrapped up in one. Let me explain. Photographing a person/model that is posing is somewhat difficult. Not all people are, to use the old cliche, "Photogenic". So to have someone pose so the end result will look natural and appealing, you must be able to combine the artistic side of you with the technical side and meld them together.

For example the picture labeled Japanese lady was a posed shot, albeit she was not posing for me. I intentionally included the Japanese man taking a picture to add a different perspective.

On the other hand some people feel very comfortable in front of the lens and do quite well without assisting them as you can see from the posed picture I took labeled Hula Dancer. She was sitting in a very relaxed position waiting for her hula event to take place. I approached her and asked If I could take a picture. She immediately responded and posed for the camera without me coaching; and as you can see the end result is very nice photograph.

Along with posed you have candid shots, catching people reacting to certain situations and doing things naturally. Of the two the latter is my favorite. So, how do you find these spots? I like to go to parks, water fountains on hot summer days, and special events. Parades are also a very good place to catch people doing things naturally. You can also get posed shots from parades and cultural events. Another spot, if you live in a large metropolitan area you can go downtown during the business hours and find many opportunities.

Photographing people is not a shy mans game. You must be able to approach people and ask permission to get their photograph at times. This is a work in progress for me. But as I do it more and more, I find that most people are very accepting of you as a photographer; as long as you give them a brief introduction of what you are doing. Other times it is not necessary, but depending on how you plan to use the photograph, if you can recognize the person then you may need to get a model release. Model releases are a whole different subject and if you visit www.danheller.com he has a book on model releases but also on his website you can find the necessary information you are looking for. Although these are not the only places to capture photographs of people, let the creative side of you determine where you would like to go.

One of the other pictures posted here is at a cultural event in Waikiki. I intentionally included the gentleman in the photograph because he was taking a picture of the Japanese lady. I wanted tell the story of what was taking place.

Sometimes taking photographs of people you need to find a different angle. The next photograph is taken from behind, the zebra stripe shirt with the orange hat and black braided ponytail all contribute to the effectiveness of this picture.

I can't recall who said it, but they said it best "Make pictures don't take pictures" and that sums it up. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and found some useful information. As always please make any comments you have, and happy photographing!

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle

Honu

Danny Baker's Photography

dannylbaker.com

Although my blogs are about my experiences while I'm out photographing nature or just being creative, I'm going to depart from the norm; and use this forum to educate the readers about a subject I often photograph when I'm in a slump.

One of my favorite locations to shoot is Laniakea Beach on the North shore of Oahu. Oahu is the third largest island of the Hawaiian Islands. Laniakea is a place I go to stimulate the creative artist in me.

On a daily basis the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle (Turtle means Honu in the Hawaiian language) come here to feed and rest. The turtles come here to feed on the abundant source of limu (Hawaiian for sea weed). The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle is a threatened species and is protected under Hawaii state law, but they are relatively safe at Laniakea Beach. Malama na Honu (Protect the Turtles) is a non profit organization designed to educate the public and keep a watchful eye on the turtles. I gathered some of the factual information from their web site and I encourage you to visit it at http://malamanahonu.org .

The most important thing to remember is you can photograph and watch the turtles until your heart is content, but never touch or disturb the turtles. Just watching and observing these beautiful creatures or more appropriately called reptiles, is very enjoyable; but equally it is enjoyable to watch the reaction of people that have never seen sea turtles in their natural environment.

Although I'm not in a slump I will be visiting Laniakea Beach this weekend. Even though I've photographed the turtles many times, it just seems that I'm always able to get a different shot of the same subject. I hope I've sparked an interest and whereever you live I'm sure you will find some type of wild life equally enjoyable to you to.

So happy photographing and as always please make any comments or suggestions you have, but be kind and gentle.

UP Close and Sometimes Personal

Danny Baker's Photography

www.dannylbaker.com

One of my favorite photography subjects is up close.  Although I like using Macro lenses and tube extensions,  getting up close and sometimes personal without the aid of the aforementioned is often rewarding as well.  The personal side of my theme needs a little clarification. We all have an area of space around  us that we consider personal.  

(Rose Petals shot with 75-300mm ISO 100 1/80 f/4.5 @ 105mm) (Turtle ISO 100  1/60 f/5.6 28-135 @ 122mm) 

Now I didn't physically get inside the area I define as personal, but in a sense; I did with the lens.  The four pictures offer very different views of subjects but are keeping with the theme of up close and sometimes personal. The rose petal, plumeria, and the Aboriginal Native were photographed using a 75-300mm telephoto Canon lens with image stabilizer.  The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle was shot with a 28-135mm Canon lens with image stabilizer. So when you are capturing images of different subjects, when you think you're close get a little bit closer.

 

(Plumeria shot with 75-300mm ISO 400 1/1600 f/4.5 @ 120mm) (Aboriginal Native no data available)

Interior Shooting

Recently while shooting an interior project for a client I discovered the lens I was using, was going to be my primary lens for this assignment.  I had brought along several other lenses that I was intending to use but didn't.  

Before I begin, I must admit, I have zero experience with interior shooting.  Normally I would have declined this offer because of my lack of experience.  However my client and I agreed I would work quid pro quo.  Although I did not get paid for this project I learned some very valuable lessons that I would like to share with you. 

For the shoot I used an AF 11-18mm 1:4.5-5.6 Tamaron Aspherical LD Di II SP lens with a Canon 20D Camera. I must say that the Tamaron 11-18mm is a very capable lens and if I were to exclusively shoot interior products then this is a lens I would highly recommend to have in your camera bag.

As you can see by the photographs I've posted the 11-18mm gives you the ability to shoot close range and very tight and narrow shots. I used only the available lighting and the natural light from the windows. My camera was set on AV mode and the white balance was set on auto white balance.

While shooting I noticed I was filling my CF card very quickly so I recommend you either have enough CF cards are find an alternate source to download your pictures. A few years back I purchased a SmartDisk manufactured by ScanDisk. Although this company was bought out by Verbatim and no longer I'm sure there are other resources that are comparable. The most import feature of my SmartDisk is that is 80GB's that is a lot of compact flash disks. This piece of equipment has more than aid off it's $250.00 price tag.  Once a disk is full you simply remove it from the camera insert it to the SmartDisk and press copy.

I really found this project to be fun and rewarding as I continue to learn more and more I will share my experiences with you.  As always I would like to make a disclaimer that I am by no means an expert but I am not the rookie I use to be.

Thanks for visiting my website www.dannylbaker.com and reading my blog.  If you have any comments please share them with me. Until the next time keep shooting and have fun