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Showing posts with label Creative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Creative. Show all posts

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques

Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques Review


Capture the beauty of the world around you with this professional advice

Landscape photography inspires millions of photographers. If you're one of them, you'll find new insight into landscape photography in this book by professional photographer Harold Davis, as well as tips, tricks, and technical advice to help you improve the quality of your photos. You'll learn to use lighting and composition creatively, choose and use appropriate equipment, look at your subject matter in a new way, and even when to break the rules in order to capture the best image of all. Illustrated with the author's own spectacular landscape photos.

  • Landscape photography intrigues and inspires photographers, but there is more to getting great landscape photos than many photographers expect
  • Professional photographer Harold Davis teaches tricks and techniques that will enhance your skills
  • Explains how to approach the subject creatively, choose and use appropriate equipment, and refine photographic technique to create spectacular landscape shots
  • Looks at how lighting, texture, and composition affect landscape imagery
  • Lavishly illustrated with the author's own photos

Landscapes have long been a popular photographic subject; this book helps you advance your skills as a landscape photographer.

An Amazon.com Exclusive Introduction from Author Harold Davis

Dear Amazon Reader,

I’m passionate about landscape photography. I love getting out, traveling, finding new vistas, and photographing them. But, there’s a surprising paradox with landscape photography. On the one hand, this kind of photography might seem easy: It isn’t hard to find spectacular landscapes, no specialized gear is needed, and on its face, landscape photography doesn’t seem technically difficult.

On the other hand, as Ansel Adams put it, “Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer, and often the supreme disappointment.” Great landscape photography is, in fact, far harder than it looks.

Part of the trick is being in the right place at the right time. But even if the scene you are witnessing is sublime, there’s no guarantee that you’ll bring back compelling digital landscape imagery without the right creative ideas, techniques, and tips—which is where Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques comes in.

I’ve always loved landscape photography, and in the course of my career I have had the opportunity to photograph a wide variety of landscapes from many perspectives. I’ve pursued my love of the landscape by hiking solo across the Brooks Range—the northernmost Mountain range in Alaska—crossing ranging torrents with my camera perched precariously on my back and the rest of my gear on handmade rafts. I’ve gone hungry in my pursuit of the wilderness landscape. I’ve dangled from small planes and helicopters, lashed in with a harness, to photograph urban and wild landscapes from above. And I’ve sought the dark spaces of the night, to photograph landscapes and show them in ways they haven’t been seen before.

Digital has changed almost everything about the tools of the landscape photography trade, and how captures are processing in the digital darkroom.

My goal in Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques is to be your companion and guide in landscape photography. I work with you to find the right locations for your kind of landscape photography, and help you figure out the right time to be there. I share my best creative ideas about landscape photography with you, and explain the equipment, tools, and techniques you need to master. Finally, I show you how I process my landscape work in the digital darkroom.

Each of the photos in this book can be used as idea generation for your own work—how you might approach a specific kind of landscape to make spectacular photos of your own. I’ve included the story behind each photo in the book, as well as full technical data about the captures. Like other books in my Creative series, Creative Landscapes is intended to be useful as an idea book.

Creative Landscapes is divided into four parts. As you’ll see, there’s a great deal of material that covers a lot of ground:

Part I: The Tao of Landscape—Tao is a philosophy with ancient roots that refers to the primordial essence of things, the natural order of existence, and the fundamental aspects of the universe. My approach to landscape photography involves embracing the Tao of the world, and this section begins a conversation about integrating one’s work holistically with the world around us and the demands of modern life.

Part II: Tools & Techniques—Explains in detail the camera settings you need to know to make the most of your landscape photography opportunities.

Part III: One World, Many Landscapes—Photographing a mountain landscape is different from photographing a desert—and both are different from capturing a seascape, or the city as landscape. This section explores different considerations to keep in mind depending upon the kind of landscape you are photographing.

Part IV: Landscapes and Post-Processing—With digital photography, taking the photo is only the beginning of creative image making. In this section, you’ll learn to use RAW processing, Photoshop, and HDR techniques to improve the creative impact of your landscape photos.

I hope you enjoy Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques. I hope it encourages you to try new techniques. Be adventurous, and seek out awe-inspiring vistas. Explore the world around you, as you capture your own creative landscapes.

Best wishes in photography!

Harold Davis

Landscape Photos from the Author

Bridge and Stars at Night
(Click to see larger image and the story behind the photo)
Yosemite Morning
(Click to see larger image and the story behind the photo)
Yosemite in Snow
(Click to see larger image and the story behind the photo)
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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography, Revised Edition

Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography, Revised Edition Review


A classic guide to creative nature photography, now updated for the digital world.

Amateur and experienced photographers interested in taking more compelling, personal images will love this new edition of Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography, now updated to address the exciting possibilities (and challenges) of digital image-making. Author Brenda Tharp’s inspiring approach has garnered fans all over the world, as she teaches that magical skill no camera can do for you: learn how to “see.” Readers expand their photographic vision and discover deep wellsprings of creativity as they learn to use light, balance, color, design, pattern, texture, composition, and many simple techniques to take a photo from ordinary to high-impact.

Featuring more than 150 stunning, all-new images, Creative Nature & Outdoor  Photography, Revised Edition is for anyone who understands the basic technical side to photography but wants to wake up their creative vision. Read more...


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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Handbook of Artist Quotations: Wisdom and Inspiration for the Creative Process

The Handbook of Artist Quotations: Wisdom and Inspiration for the Creative Process Review


A compilation of over 2400 quotes spanning 2000 years of art history. From Michelangelo to Matisse, Whistler to Wyeth, the most influential artists reveal their secrets and insights into the creative process. The Handbook of Artist Quotations is an enlightening collection that is sure to provoke thought.

Topics include the value of art, beauty, the artist's environment, becoming an artist, the business of art, elements of design, fame, wealth, poverty, suffering, museums, censorship, criticism, spirituality, nature and more.

Over 400 quoted artists include Picasso, Manet, Matisse, Van Gogh, Monet, Caravaggio, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Ansel Adams, Cezanne, Degas, Kandinsky, Rembrandt, Brancusi, Braque, Cassatt, Duchamp, Durer, Hepworth, Gauguin, Ingres, Klee, Lichtenstein, Oldenburg, Mondrian, O’Keefe, Pollock, Raphael, Gropius, Sargent, Hopper, Christo, Renoir, Dali, Rodin, Kruger, Baldessari, Whistler, Stieglitz, De Kooning, Wyeth, Escher, Frankenthaler, Magritte, Giotto, Munch, Indiana, Johns, Moore, Nevelson, Viola and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Selected Quotes

[1] Art among a religious race produces relics; among a military one, trophies; among a commercial one, articles of trade.
Henry Fuseli, painter (1741-1825)

[ 8 ] Art should be independent of all clap-trap, should stand alone, and appeal to the artistic sense of eye or ear, without confounding this with emotions entirely foreign to it, as devotion, pity, love, patriotism, and the like.
James McNeill Whistler, painter (1834-1903)

[ 98 ] Every masterpiece has come into the world with a dose of ugliness in it. This ugliness is a sign of the creator’s struggle to say something new.
Pablo Picasso, painter (1881-1973)

[ 139 ] The more numerous we are, the less originality we have.
Georges Seurat, painter (1859-1891)

[ 493 ] Small rooms or dwellings set the mind in the right path, large ones cause it to go astray.
Leonardo da Vinci, artist (1459-1519)

[ 359 ] ...let yourself follow your inspiration; seek, make mistakes; but above all, acquire the habit of sincerity.
Thomas Couture, painter (1815-1879)

[ 595 ] A line has to breathe. If it doesn’t, it’s dead, and if you can see a corpse, you can smell it.
Joan Miró, painter (1893-1983)

[ 734 ] What a beautiful task lies in prospect before art, to prepare the future.
Piet Mondrian, painter (1872-1944)

[ 1266 ] Even the artists you don’t like influence you.
David Smith, sculptor (1906-1965)

[ 1274 ] Perhaps it’s true that I’m very hard on myself, but that’s better than exhibiting mediocre work.
Claude Monet, painter (1840-1926)

[ 1286 ] Painters, do not fear perfection. You will never achieve it!
Salvador Dali, painter (1904-1989)

[ 2482 ] A hill or tree cannot make a good painting just because it is a hill or a tree. It is lines and colors put together so that they say something.
Georgia O’Keefe, painter (1887-1986)
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The Handbook of Artist Quotations: Wisdom and Inspiration for the Creative Process Specifications


A compilation of over 2400 quotes spanning 2000 years of art history. From Michelangelo to Matisse, Whistler to Wyeth, the most influential artists reveal their secrets and insights into the creative process. The Handbook of Artist Quotations is an enlightening collection that is sure to provoke thought.

Topics include the value of art, beauty, the artist's environment, becoming an artist, the business of art, elements of design, fame, wealth, poverty, suffering, museums, censorship, criticism, spirituality, nature and more.

Over 400 quoted artists include Picasso, Manet, Matisse, Van Gogh, Monet, Caravaggio, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Ansel Adams, Cezanne, Degas, Kandinsky, Rembrandt, Brancusi, Braque, Cassatt, Duchamp, Durer, Hepworth, Gauguin, Ingres, Klee, Lichtenstein, Oldenburg, Mondrian, O’Keefe, Pollock, Raphael, Gropius, Sargent, Hopper, Christo, Renoir, Dali, Rodin, Kruger, Baldessari, Whistler, Stieglitz, De Kooning, Wyeth, Escher, Frankenthaler, Magritte, Giotto, Munch, Indiana, Johns, Moore, Nevelson, Viola and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Selected Quotes

[1] Art among a religious race produces relics; among a military one, trophies; among a commercial one, articles of trade.
Henry Fuseli, painter (1741-1825)

[ 8 ] Art should be independent of all clap-trap, should stand alone, and appeal to the artistic sense of eye or ear, without confounding this with emotions entirely foreign to it, as devotion, pity, love, patriotism, and the like.
James McNeill Whistler, painter (1834-1903)

[ 98 ] Every masterpiece has come into the world with a dose of ugliness in it. This ugliness is a sign of the creator’s struggle to say something new.
Pablo Picasso, painter (1881-1973)

[ 139 ] The more numerous we are, the less originality we have.
Georges Seurat, painter (1859-1891)

[ 493 ] Small rooms or dwellings set the mind in the right path, large ones cause it to go astray.
Leonardo da Vinci, artist (1459-1519)

[ 359 ] ...let yourself follow your inspiration; seek, make mistakes; but above all, acquire the habit of sincerity.
Thomas Couture, painter (1815-1879)

[ 595 ] A line has to breathe. If it doesn’t, it’s dead, and if you can see a corpse, you can smell it.
Joan Miró, painter (1893-1983)

[ 734 ] What a beautiful task lies in prospect before art, to prepare the future.
Piet Mondrian, painter (1872-1944)

[ 1266 ] Even the artists you don’t like influence you.
David Smith, sculptor (1906-1965)

[ 1274 ] Perhaps it’s true that I’m very hard on myself, but that’s better than exhibiting mediocre work.
Claude Monet, painter (1840-1926)

[ 1286 ] Painters, do not fear perfection. You will never achieve it!
Salvador Dali, painter (1904-1989)

[ 2482 ] A hill or tree cannot make a good painting just because it is a hill or a tree. It is lines and colors put together so that they say something.
Georgia O’Keefe, painter (1887-1986)


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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Arizona Highways, January 1984 (Arizona's Center for Creative Photography)

Arizona Highways, January 1984 (Arizona's Center for Creative Photography) Review


Large Volume (12" x 9" x 1 1/2" -) embossed hardcover (looks like leather) - beautiful photography - scenes from Arizona - great articles - a "coffee table book" Read more...


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Friday, September 16, 2011

Creative Black and White: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques

Creative Black and White: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques Review


Learn how breaking photographic rules can result in stunning black-and-white photos

Black-and-white photography poses unique challenges; without color to guide the eye, contrast, lighting, and composition take on even more importance. Renowned photographer Harold Davis explains these elements and demonstrates the basic rules of black and white photography as well as when and how to break them. He breaks through the complexity of this photographic medium, explores opportunities for black-and-white imagery, and shows how to capitalize on every one.

Richly illustrated with the author's own images, this beautiful guide presents the skills needed for great black-and-white photos while encouraging your confidence and creativity.

  • Goes beyond basics to teach photographers how to conquer the challenges posed by black-and-white photography
  • Appeals to professionals and serious amateurs who are interested in exploring creative black-and-white imagery
  • Presents photography fundamentals and shows how black and white requires some of the rules to be bent
  • Encourages creative thinking and confidence
  • Lavishly illustrated with Harold Davis's outstanding monochromatic photos

Whether you're a professional just venturing into black and white or a serious amateur, Creative Black & White will both educate and inspire you. Read more...


Check Price & Order Now!





Creative Black and White: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques Specifications


Black-and-white photography poses unique challenges; without color to guide the eye, contrast, lighting, and composition take on even more importance. Renowned photographer Harold Davis explains these elements and demonstrates the basic rules of black and white photography as well as when and how to break them. He breaks through the complexity of this photographic medium, explores opportunities for black-and-white imagery, and shows how to capitalize on every one.

Richly illustrated with the author's own images, this beautiful guide presents the skills needed for great black-and-white photos while encouraging your confidence and creativity.

  • Goes beyond basics to teach photographers how to conquer the challenges posed by black-and-white photography
  • Appeals to professionals and serious amateurs who are interested in exploring creative black-and-white imagery
  • Presents photography fundamentals and shows how black and white requires some of the rules to be bent
  • Encourages creative thinking and confidence
  • Lavishly illustrated with Harold Davis's outstanding monochromatic photos

Whether you're a professional just venturing into black and white or a serious amateur, Creative Black & White will both educate and inspire you.

Black-and-White Photography Tips from Author Harold Davis


Black-and-White Photography Tips

Photos by Harold Davis

Tips for Seeing in Black and White [PDF]



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Thursday, September 1, 2011

Original Sources: Art And Archives At The Center For Creative Photography

Original Sources: Art And Archives At The Center For Creative Photography Review


The Center for Creative Photography, located in Arizona, is home to one of the largest and most eclectic photographic collections in the world. This publication offers a virtual guided tour of the center's extensive holdings, including a visit through the archives of some of the 20th century's most important North American photographers: Ansel Adams, Richard Avedon, Harry Callahan, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Lee Friedlander, Tina Modotti, Beaumont & Nancy Newhall, Aaron Siskind, W. Eugene Smith, Paul Strand, Edward Weston, and Garry Winogrand. With scholarly commentary on artists' books, 19th-century travel photography, early 20th-century travel albums, and the CCP's collections of French, German, Japanese, Mexican, and Spanish photography, Original Sources is the most comprehensive introduction to one of photography's most treasured repositories. Read more...


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