Amazon: Book: The Printed Picture

The Printed Picture (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Benson has brought a lifelong love of printing to this stunning book. --Printing World, November 2008

Those without the good fortune to attend [Benson's] classes at Yale, where he was a legendary art teachers for 30 years, can have the next best thing, this soon-to-be-classic book. --Richard B. Woodward, The Wall Street Journal, December 12, 2008

Product Description

The Printed Picture traces the changing technology of picture-making from the Renaissance to the present, focusing on the vital role of images in multiple copies. The book surveys printing techniques before the invention of photography; the photographic processes that began to appear in the early nineteenth century; the marriage of printing and photography; and the rapidly evolving digital inventions of our time. From woodblocks to chromolithographs, from engravings to bar codes, from daguerreotypes to contemporary color photographs, the book succinctly examines the full range of pictorial processes. Exploring how pictures look by describing how they are made, author Richard Benson reaches fascinating and original conclusions about what pictures can mean.

Although many of the techniques he discusses have been used to create exceptional works of art, Benson concentrates on the typical, everyday pictures that have played and continue to play such a prominent role in our lives. In conjunction with the publication of the book, an educational installation of this material will be presented in the photography galleries at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in the fall of 2008.
Presented as a series of one-page essays opposite the pictures they examine, the book retains the lively, engaging style of the informal lectures through which Benson developed his ideas over the course of 30 years at Yale University. Rooted in hands-on descriptions of practical techniques, The Printed Picture offers a rich and imaginative interpretation of the enormous cultural and social influence of multiple images.

Richard Benson is a MacArthur Fellow and the former Dean of the Yale School of Art. A photographer, printer and collector, he has devoted a considerable part of his career to research in photomechanical reproduction. As a printer Benson was instrumental in developing the technologies presently used in the industry to reproduce photographs in ink. He has taught many workshops and given many lectures on photography, printing and their associated technologies. He is the co-author of Lay This Laurel (Eakins Press) with Lincoln Kirstein and A Maritime Album (The Mariner's Museum of Newport News, Virginia) with John Szarkowski. His photographic work is in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, The Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven and many other institutions and

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Book: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera

Product Description

For serious amateur photographers who already shoot perfectly focused, accurately exposed images but want to be more creative with a camera, here’s the book to consult. More than seventy techniques, both popular and less-familiar approaches, are covered in detail, including advanced exposure, bounced flash and candlelight, infrared, multiple images, soft-focus effects, unusual vantage points, zooming, and other carefully chosen ways to enhance photographs. The A-Z format make sit easy for readers to find a specific technique, and each one is explained in jargon-free language. Top Tips for each technique help readers achieve superb results, even on the first attempt.

About the Author

Bryan Peterson is the author of the best-selling Learning to See Creatively and writes a photography column "Picture Points," for Popular Photography Magazine. His many photographic awards include the Communication Arts Photography Annual (eight times), Print Magazine's Design Annual (four times), and the New York Art Directors Gold Award. He lives in Seattle and Lyon, France.

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Book: The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes

The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes (Voices That Matter) (Paperback)
by Joe McNally

Product Description
When it comes to photography, it’s all about the light.

After spending more than thirty years behind the lens—working for National Geographic, Time, Life, and Sports Illustrated—Joe McNally knows about light. He knows how to talk about it, shape it, color it, control it, and direct it. Most importantly, he knows how to create it...using small hot shoe flashes.

In The Hot Shoe Diaries, Joe brings you behind the scenes to candidly share his lighting solutions for a ton of great images. Using Nikon Speedlights, Joe lets you in on his uncensored thought process—often funny, sometimes serious, always fascinating—to demonstrate how he makes his pictures with these small flashes. Whether he’s photographing a gymnast on the Great Wall, an alligator in a swamp, or a fire truck careening through Times Square, Joe uses these flashes to create great light that makes his pictures sing.

About the Author
JOE McNALLY is an internationally acclaimed American photographer and longtime photojournalist. His most notable series is “Faces of Ground Zero—Portraits of the Heroes of September 11th,” a collection of giant Polaroid portraits. He also photographed “The Future of Flying,” the first all-digital story for National Geographic. His award-winning work has appeared in numerous magazines and, in 2008, Joe wrote the critically acclaimed and bestselling book The Moment It Clicks.

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Amazon unveils Kindle DX

Amazon.com hopes a bigger version of its Kindle electronic reading device can be a hit, even if it's more expensive, and the company is aiming it in part at college students who are eager to save money on their textbooks.

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Book: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera

Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition) (Paperback)
by Bryan Peterson (Author) "Several years ago, at one of my workshops, I responded with a surprising answer to the often-asked question "Bryan how long have you been shooting?..."


Editorial Reviews
Product Description
For serious amateur photographers who already shoot perfectly focused, accurately exposed images but want to be more creative with a camera, here’s the book to consult. More than seventy techniques, both popular and less-familiar approaches, are covered in detail, including advanced exposure, bounced flash and candlelight, infrared, multiple images, soft-focus effects, unusual vantage points, zooming, and other carefully chosen ways to enhance photographs. The A-Z format make sit easy for readers to find a specific technique, and each one is explained in jargon-free language. Top Tips for each technique help readers achieve superb results, even on the first attempt.

About the Author
Bryan Peterson is the author of the best-selling Learning to See Creatively and writes a photography column "Picture Points," for Popular Photography Magazine. His many photographic awards include the Communication Arts Photography Annual (eight times), Print Magazine's Design Annual (four times), and the New York Art Directors Gold Award. He lives in Seattle and Lyon, France.

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Book: Digital Photographic Workflow Handbook

Digital Photographic Workflow Handbook: A Guide to Staying Ahead of the Workflow Curve
Author: Patti Russotti

Editorial Reviews:

Book Description
The only soup-to-nuts guide of this absolutely necessary topic for photographers

Product Description
The current existing workflow content out there deals only in RAW or DAM (Digital Asset Management) and can be extremely difficult and daunting to read. The Digital Photographic Workflow Handbook is a coherent, concise guide to all of the aspects of workflow that digital photographers and digital imagers need from shooting to archiving and everything in between -- written in a way that an artist/photographer can understand. It also has resources and links to stay current and up to speed with the rapid changes in technology, a Website that you can return to for the latest advances in workflow, and a glossary to use as you develop Standard Operating Procedures to synthesize your workflow and communication processes.

This book will give you all of the workflow steps you will need -- from shooting to archiving and everything in between -- and is written in a way that a way that you can understand. This handbook is software version independent and focuses more on the key fundamentals that are a constant from software version to software version.

• An easy-to-read guide to the principles and concepts of workflow -- to give you the fundamentals that will help you throughout your career
• Loaded with full color photographs and diagrams to give you a visual of the lessons
• An accompanying Website to make sure you always have the latest updates
• An informative monthly podcast to give you insight from industry luminaries and educators

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Book: The Digital Photography Companion

The Digital Photography Companion
Author: Derrick Story

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The Digital Photography Companion gives you creative tips and technical advice for taking top-notch digital photos in a wide range of conditions. Professional photographer and teacher Derrick Story gives you plenty of examples of how to capture great shots of people, places, landscapes, and more.

Five Fun Photography Tips by Derrick Story, Author of The Digital Photography Companion

1) Produce Do-It-Yourself Product Shots:There are two ways to shoot items using tabletop photography: the hard way and the easy way. The hard way involves multiple studio lights, softboxes, umbrellas, and seamless backdrop paper. Professionals use this equipment to produce outstanding images for commercial advertising and high-end editorial work. But if you just want a nice picture of your old film camera to sell on eBay, you probably don’t want to set up an entire studio. So here’s the easy way: Find a window that you can set up a table next to. North-facing windows are great, but not necessary for this type of shooting. Cover the surface with white paper, and if you can, create a white backdrop too. This will be your work area. Put your camera on a tripod (or another stable surface) and adjust it so it’s facing the item that you want to photograph on the table. Move both the subject and the camera to achieve the best lighting possible via the open window. Once everything is in place, make a tabletop reflector out of white cardboard, or cardboard (or another rigid material) covered with aluminum foil. Position the reflector opposite the light source (window) so it bounces light onto the shadowy side of the item. Set the white balance to Cloudy and put your camera on self-timer. Now trip the timer and stand back. After 10 seconds or so, the camera will take the shot for you to review. Continue refining your setup until you get the shot you want. This simple setup can produce studio-like results with a fraction the cost or effort. Give it a try.

2) Use Sunglasses as a Polarizing Filter: Point and shoot cameras are the height of convenience, but not always versatility. Case in point is when you want to mount a polarizing filter to saturate the sky or reduce glare. There’s no where to put it! But that doesn’t mean your pictures are doomed to the blinding glare of a reflective world. You can, instead, remove those stylish neutral gray polarizing glasses from your head and place them in front of the camera lens. Quality sunglasses make great polarizing filters for compact cameras. Make sure that the lens of your sunglasses completely covers the front glass element of your camera. You’ll get best results when the sun is aligned along your shoulders. You don’t believe it works? Then take two shots, one with the sunglasses and the other without. You be the judge.

3) Devise a Shower Cap Inclement Weather Protector: The perfect travel companion for compact shooters is the hotel shower cap. These free accessories are the perfect rain protectors when you want to go outside and get the shot. Just poke a hole in the middle of the cap for the lens to protrude through, put your hands through the “stretchy” opening, and let the elastic close tight around your wrists. You now have a water resistant cover that enables you to work all of the controls--perfect for those shots of the kids splashing water in the gutter on a rainy day.

4) Preview Your Shots in B&W: Many cameras have a Black & White mode that enables you to capture grayscale images. This type of photography can be quite beautiful and is often considered artistic. The problem with B&W mode is that grayscale images are your only option. You may think you only want Black & White at the wedding reception... until the bride asks for color versions too weeks later. I recommend that you capture your pictures in color, then convert copies of them to B&W. That way you have all of your options open. But there’s still value to B&W mode, even if you choose to capture in color. It can help you preview your compositions in grayscale on the camera’s LCD monitor. By doing so, you can better compose your scene for the best Black & White output later on while working on your computer. Not to mention that it’s quite fun.

5) Tennis Ball Tripod Feet: Have you ever tried to use a tripod in the sand? You might as well be trying to steady your camera on chopsticks in rice. But you can bring stability to the situation, Buy a can of tennis balls, cut an “X” slit in each one, and slip them over the feet of your tripod. They will provide a much steadier platform for your three-legged friend.

Product Description
Are you ready to take photos that reflect your creative spirit, rather than just another set of snapshots? Then you want this book in your camera bag. Well-organized so you can look up topics quickly, The Digital Photography Companion gives you creative tips and technical advice for taking top-notch digital photos in a wide range of conditions, and for a variety of occasions. In other words, this book will help you make pictures that look better than everyone else's.

Professional photographer and teacher Derrick Story, whose online tips and podcasts at The Digital Story (www.thedigitalstory.com) have made him a popular photography blogger, gives you plenty of examples of how to capture great shots of people, places, landscapes, and more. He also provides a complete summary on camera features, tips for printing, sharing your images, and an overview of photo management applications.

Chapters include:

* What is It? -- Choose the right camera (DSLRs, compact cameras, or hybrids) and get a rundown on all of the typical features they offer, such as face detection, image stabilizers, diopter adjustment, focus assist light, RAM buffer, and more.


* How Does it Work? -- This A-Z guide of digital camera controls explains everything from Aperture Value (Av) Mode and Autoexposure to White Balance, the Zoom/Magnify Control, and everything in between.


* Shoot Like a Pro -- Advice for a variety of photographic adventures, such as capturing existing light portraits, creating powerful landscape images, and shooting fireworks, underwater portraits, infrared photos, and more, along with lighting and filter tricks.


* I've Taken Great Pictures, Now What? -- You get complete advice for sharing your photos, converting from color to balck & white and more, plus an overview of photo management applications, from Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to Apple iPhoto.


* Printing Made Easy -- Printing doesn't have to be a painful experience. Learn various options, including direct printing without a computer, ordering out, and selecting the right inkjet printer for home (and what to do with it once you get it there.).

You also get an appendix with Quick Reference Tables, as well as other useful tables scattered throughout the book.

The Digital Photography Companion offers you friendly advice so you can try techniques that may never have occurred to you -- approaches that will bring you more of what you're looking for when you click the shutter: Great looking pictures!

About the Author
Derrick Story is the digital media evangelist for O'Reilly, as well as the author of Digital Photography Hacks and Digital Photography Pocket Guide. You can listen to his photo podcasts and read his tips at The Digital Story. Aperture fans might want to check out his co-authored video training on Lynda.com titled, Aperture 1.5 Beyond the Basics.

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Photoshop Lightroom 2 Adventure by Mikkel Aaland

Photoshop Lightroom 2 Adventure (Paperback)
Author: Mikkel Aaland

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This beautifully illustrated and eminently practical book offers a complete tour of Lightroom 2, the integrated digital photography workflow application that allows serious photographers to import, select, develop and showcase large volumes of digital images. Augmented by photos and case studies from a demanding road test in Tasmania, award-winning photographer Mikkel Aaland explains how Lightroom can improve the way you work.

After watching -- and often helping -- Adobe create Lightroom entirely from the ground up, Aaland (author of Photoshop CS3 RAW) decided to try it out in the field. He organized a group of top-notch photographers for a trek to Tasmania, the exotic island south of mainland Australia, where the only studio was Lightroom on a laptop. In Photoshop Lightroom 2 Adventure, Aaland uses hands-on knowledge from the trip to demonstrate how Lightroom can help you create the best possible image under any conditions.

This unique tutorial walks you step-by-step through Lightroom's:

* Library module for uploading, sorting, tagging, ranking and adding keywords to your images
* Develop module with Adobe Camera RAW for complete non-destructive color and tonal adjustments
* Slideshow module, where you select and size images, and export the show to HTML, Flash, or PDF formats
* Print module, which includes several templates for printing contact sheets or full images
* Web module, where you can create Flash or HTML web galleries



With many gorgeous examples shot in the exotic wilds of Tasmania, this book lets you see the results for yourself. Mikkel Aaland's trademark ability to teach complicated topics on digital imaging with straightforward, easy-to-follow text makes this book a valuable learning tool for anyone serious about digital photography.

About the Author
Mikkel Aaland is an award winning photographer and author of 12 books on digital photography, including Photoshop RAW (now in its second edition) and the first Lightroom Adventure (Iceland) edition. Mikkel is a prominent figure in the Lightroom community and with the adventure concept has established a strong place on Adobe's radar for this product. He's presented on Lightroom for Adobe at Photokina and Photo Plus Expo, and he taught the Lightroom 2-day seminar at this year's Macworld.

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DP1 Guide book now available

Sigma Corporation of America is pleased to announce the availability of the DP1 Guide book, one of the Magic Lantern series of CAMERA guide books, published by Lark Books. It is written by well known writer/photographer Jason Schneider, who describes in depth how to get the most from the DP1 camera. It is profusely illustrated and bears the distinction of being the first Magic lantern guide book published in color. The MSRP is $12.95.

Source: SIGMA

Editorial Review by Amazon:

- The founding editor-in-chief of Popular Photography magazine brings his authority on camera design and technology to this complete guide toon the world’s first digital compact camera with an “SLR-sized” sensor.

- Packed with shooting advice and insider tips on making the most of this unique camera, this is a must for all DP1 users. *(Please note that this does not include wallet card.)

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Book: Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual

Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual (Paperback)
Author: Barbara Brundage

Amazon.com Review

Photoshop Elements 7 includes new tools for everything from fixing up your photos to storing and sharing your pictures online. There's so much to this new version, in fact, that knowing how to make the most of it isn't readily apparent. Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual guides you through all of the program's features by explaining the way the tools and commands work, and how you can use them to your advantage.

Sneak Preview: Author Barbara Brundage’s Top 10 Elements Tips

1. It's still important to back up your photos. Elements 7 gives you a totally painless way with its related web site. Sign up for a free account and you can set your albums to automatically back themselves up to your space online. Once you set up album syncing, you don't have to think about it again. It happens automatically. If you have a computer disaster at home, just reinstall Elements on the new computer, turn on the backup/sync option, and sign in to the site, and your photos reappear on your new computer. This service has some limitations (all detailed in the book), but it's a terrific way to keep an extra copy of important photos. And you still have the regular Organizer options for backing up to CD, DVD, or a different hard drive.

2. Find a size that fits. If you've been using Elements for scrapbooking, take a look at the new file size presets available in Elements 7. There's a whole separate category for scrapbook sizes in the New File dialog box. Now you can create a 12"-, 8"-, or 6"-square sized file without having to set up a custom size.

3. On vacation? Take a private tour. If your “staycation” this year takes you to a nearby tourist spot along with everyone else in your state, you can get rid of those strangers crowding into your photos—as long as you plan ahead a little. Start by getting a series of pictures that give you enough clear spots, even if there are people you don't know meandering somewhere through every photo. Then you can combine the pictures with the Elements 7 Scene Cleaner to create an image of Aunt Esmeralda and Cousin Wilberforce standing in front of the falls all by themselves, with nobody else around.

4. Make slideshows like a pro. With Elements 7 you can share your albums with dynamite, professional-looking galleries. Create a gallery where your photos appear as a pile of old-fashioned slides. Your friends can then sort through, and click the ones they like, to see a larger view. Elements has other gallery options that let you create a virtual book where your visitors "turn" the page with the mouse. And you can host these at the related web site, burn them to a CD or DVD, or even post them on your own web site.

5. Create beautiful skin. If you like glamour-type photography, check out the new Surface blur filter to create dreamy looking skin quality. It blurs without losing edge detail: perfect for smoothing skin in portraits.

6. Make dramatic skies. If you're a beginner, try the new Quick Fix/Touch Up tool for making the sky bluer--maybe too blue (and kind of green) if truth be told. Fortunately, you can soften up the effect once you're done. Go back to Full Edit and find the Layers palette (you don't need to understand layers for this maneuver). Click once on the layer that Elements just added to your photo (it's called Blue Skies), and then go up to the top of the palette and move the opacity slider to the left. Watch your photo as you move the slider. When it looks real, you're done. (Click the bottom layer, the one called Background, before you leave the Layers palette. That way you can make more edits to your photos.) Another option: You may prefer the results you get using the Smart Brush in Full Edit, if your sky has any clouds in it. In the tool presets in the Options bar, go to Nature->Cloud Contrast and drag across the sky. Presto, your clouds really stand out!

7. Never, ever work on your original photo. If you use the Organizer, good news: Elements already has your back. It creates version sets, which save different states of your image as you edit. You can create as many different versions of a photo as you like and go back to any one of them at any time. And if you’re working with Raw files, even better news: You can't alter your original (only the conversion settings). If you don't use the Organizer, make a copy of the picture (File- >Duplicate) and work on that. This way you can always start over again if you get a better idea later on.

8. Sharing photos with the Organizer. There are all kinds of fun, creative ways to share photos in Elements 7, and the Organizer makes it super easy to explore them all. Try a slideshow with music and commentary, or upload your photos to EasyShare or one of the other online services to create mugs, bags, and other cool gift items with your photos on them.

9. Don't scorn the auto buttons. If you've never tried these one-click fixes--Auto Levels or Auto Color, for example--give ‘em a try. Each version of Elements gets a little smarter and you may find that you like the results you get from one of these easy-to-use fixes.

10. Panoramas for everyone. You don't need to feel wistful anymore about the fact that your point and shoot camera's lens doesn't have a true wide-angle setting. Take a series of photos with, ideally, about a 30 percent overlap and Elements' Photomerge will automatically stitch them together into a panorama wider than you could have captured with the widest lens. Photomerge is really amazing--it’s totally automated and it does terrific blending to eliminate visible seams between images.

Product Description

Photoshop Elements 7 includes lots of new tools for sprucing up your photos, like the Scene Cleaner that lets you get rid of unwanted elements and the Smart Brush that makes touch-ups a breeze. But the one thing you won't find in Elements is reader-friendly guidance on how to get the most out of this powerful program. Enter Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual, ready to explain not only how the tools and commands work, but when to use them.

With this bestselling book (now in its 5th edition), you'll learn everything from the basics of loading photos into Elements to the new online photo-sharing and storage service that Adobe's offering (for free!) at Photoshop.com. There's so much to Elements 7 that knowing what to do -- and when to do it -- is tricky. That's why this book carefully explains all the tools and options by putting each one into a clear, easy-to-understand context.

* Learn to import, organize, and fix photos quickly and easily
* Repair and restore old and damaged photos, and retouch any image
* Jazz up your pictures with dozens of filters, frames, and special effects
* Learn which tools the pros use -- you'll finally understand how layers work!
* Create collages and photo layout pages for scrapbooks and other projects
* Fix your photos online and synch the changes to your own photo library

As always, author Barbara Brundage lets you know which features work well, which don't, and why -- all with a bit of wit and good humor. Dive into Adobe's outstanding photo editor and find out why this Missing Manual is the bestselling book on the topic.

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Book: The Moment It Clicks

The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters
Author: Joe McNally

Product Description
THE FIRST BOOK WITH ONE FOOT ON THE COFFEE TABLE, AND ONE FOOT IN THE
CLASSROOM
Joe McNally, one of the world’s top pro digital photographers, whose celebrated work has graced the pages of Sports Illustrated, Time, and National Geographic (to name a few), breaks new ground by doing something no photography book has ever done—blending the rich, stunning images and elegant layout of a coffee-table book with the invaluable training, no-nonsense insights, and photography secrets usually found only in those rare, best-of-breed educational books.

When Joe’s not on assignment for the biggest-name magazines and Fortune 500 clients, he’s in the classroom teaching location lighting, environmental portraiture, and how to “get the shot” at workshops around the world. These on-location workshops are usually reserved for a handful of photographers each year, but now you can learn the same techniques that Joe shares in his seminars and lectures in a book that brings Joe’s sessions to life.

What makes the book so unique is the “triangle of learning” where (1) Joe distills the concept down to one brief sentence. It usually starts with something like, “An editor at National Geographic once told me…” and then he shares one of those hard-earned tricks of the trade that you only get from spending a lifetime behind the lens. Then, (2) on the facing page is one of Joe’s brilliant images that perfectly illustrates the technique (you’ll recognize many of his photos from magazine covers). And (3) you get the inside story of how that shot was taken, including which equipment he used (lens, f/stop, lighting, accessories, etc.), along with the challenges that type of project brings, and how to set up a shot like that of your own.

This book also gives you something more. It inspires. It challenges. It informs. But perhaps most importantly, it will help you understand photography and the art of making great photos at a level you never thought possible. This book is packed with those “Ah ha!” moments—those clever insights that make it all come together for you. It brings you that wonderful moment when it suddenly all makes sense—that “moment it clicks.”

About the Author
Joe McNally is an internationally acclaimed photographer, whose career has spanned 30 years and included assignments in over 50 countries. Although the majority of his career has been spent shooting for magazines such as Time, Sports Illustrated, and National Geographic, in the mid-1990s Joe served as Life magazine’s staff photographer, the first one in 23 years. He also has shot commercial assignments for Target, Nikon, and Sony, to name a few. Joe is a recipient of the Alfred Eisenstaedt Award and has been honored by Pictures of the Year International, World Press Photo, The Art Directors Club, American Photo, Communication Arts, and Graphis. He conducts numerous workshops around the world as part of his teaching activities. One of Joe’s most notable projects, Faces of Ground Zero — Giant Polaroid Collection, has become known as one of the most significant artistic responses to the tragedy at the World Trade Center.

Buy at Amazon - The Moment It Clicks

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Book: The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter) (Paperback)
Author: Scott Kelby

Product Description
Written in concert with Adobe's development of the Photoshop Lightroom 2 Beta, The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers - by #1 bestselling computer and technology author, Scott Kelby - is the most complete and concise Lightroom "how-to" book for digital photographers of all skill levels.

In The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers, Scott walks readers through the basics of Lightroom use, leading them to a brilliantly devised and super efficient digital photography workflow that dramatically improves productivity and allows photographers to spend less time processing photos and more time shooting them.

Throughout the book Scott shares his personal camera and Lightroom settings, as well as the studio-tested techniques he's developed for his own photography workflow. The book is written in his trademark step-by-step, plain English style, and because he knows what really works and what doesn't, he isn't shy to tell you flat out which tools to use, which to avoid, and why. This allows digital photographers of any skill level to jump right in using Lightroom like a pro from the very start, sidestepping a lot of the frustrations that typically haunt those unfamiliar with new applications…especially those as powerful as Lightroom.

What really sets The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers apart from other Lightroom books on the market are the last two bonus chapters where Scott answers the questions, "In exactly what order am I supposed to do things in Lightoom," and "Where does Photoshop fit in to the mix?" Both chapters start with an on-location photo shoot, including full details on the equipment, camera settings, and lighting techniques. Readers then witness as he takes the photos from each shoot through the entire workflow process, to the final output of the 16"x20" prints. And, because he incorporates Photoshop seamlessly right into this workflow, you'll learn some of the latest Photoshop techniques for portrait and landscape photography as well.

If you're one of those people who learns best by actually doing the projects yourself; who learns best without all the complicated technical explanations and confusing jargon, and if you really want to start using Lightroom today to unlock the productivity secrets of "The new digital photography workflow,"---there is no faster, more "straight-to-the-point" or more fun way to learn than this groundbreaking new book, and you are absolutely going to love it!

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VISIONS OF PARADISE

National Geographic Photographers Reveal Their Unique Ideas of Heaven on Earth

WASHINGTON (Sept. 15, 2008)—Where — or what — is heaven on Earth? When that question was put to National Geographic's far-roaming photographers, their answers came back as varied and surprising as life itself. Their visual portrayals of what they regard as perfect or spellbinding are showcased in VISIONS OF PARADISE.

Enriched by the photographers' own recollections, each image is a compelling reflection of what is most divine in the world — and an inspiration for us to protect our beautiful and threatened planet.

"Paradise seems to be most likely in places that are remote, untouched, original, defined, organic, and just plain simple.... But paradise can also be a moment in time that is lost forever," writes editor Bronwen Latimer in her introduction.



Images by Stephen Ferry, Paul Chesley, Medford Taylor, Brian Skerry

The photographers' choices lead to realms as diverse as Canada's Queen Charlotte Islands, where Raymond Gehman found a natural paradise "so rich in everything — the life, the water, the forest, the light...you can almost see things grow"; the rain forests of Borneo, where Tim Laman captured a spellbinding scene of three hornbills skimming the treetops; and Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas, where Jim Richardson had a "smell-the-roses moment" when photographing a million fireflies amid the wild alfalfa one summer night. Flip Nicklin found perfection in whale watching in Hawaii; Gerd Ludwig felt the essence of freedom as a cyclist glided past in rainy Berlin; Eugene Richards found beauty in the relics and fallow landscapes of North Dakota ghost towns; Susie Post Rust proved that the act of breathing sea air in Ireland can be a heavenly sensation.

The images often reveal bliss in a mood, a moment, a ray of hope: Syrian children playing on beehive rooftops; a transfixing scene in a New York City park; undulating clouds that look like the wings of God; Darfur refugees eagerly awaiting a humanitarian airlift.

Paradise can be felt, found...and lost. Nick Nichols shares his heartache for Africa's Virunga National Park, where war and strife now permeate the forest. William Albert Allard contributes a Montana landscape altered by man but "good enough still to make one almost tremble at the thought of just how wonderful it must have been."

The book, featuring 155 images from 82 world-renowned photographers, is divided into three themes — land, water and air — each introduced by a noted writer. Linda Kulman outlines the important issues facing the land and how we need to change our ways to keep it healthy. Joel Bourne Jr. paints a bleak picture of the state of the world's water, but offers some hopeful solutions. Brian Doyle extols the miracles of air in a lyrical salute.

But if bliss is the air we take in, the water we long for, the lands we inhabit, what happens when paradise is no more? "To look at what we have done to heaven is startling," observes photographer Maggie Steber. In these galvanizing pictures, we find hope as well as urgency. VISIONS OF PARADISE urges us to see and take action, to make every effort to heal the environment and protect every precious place that feels like heaven on Earth.

VISIONS OF PARADISE is a sumptuous gift photography book in the tradition of National Geographic's "Through the Lens," "In Focus," Wide Angle" and "Work." Thought-provoking, life-affirming and visually breathtaking, this volume is for everyone who enjoys great photography and values the stunning natural wonder and diversity of our planet.

To coincide with the publication of the book, a nine-week National Geographic "Visions of Paradise" photo contest will be held starting in October. Photographers are invited to submit images that best represent their unique vision of heaven on Earth. Entries will be accepted from Oct. 21 through Dec. 21, 2008, and will be posted on the competition Web site at www.nationalgeographic.com/myvision. Each week, the general public can vote on their favorite images. Entries will also be judged by an expert panel of photographers and art directors. Three winners will be selected for each of the nine weeks of the competition, with the first week's winners announced on Nov. 3. Winners will receive a customized edition of VISIONS OF PARADISE with their photograph as the cover image.

An exhibit based on the VISIONS OF PARADISE book will be held at the Smith Farm Gallery, corner of 16th & U streets, Washington, D.C., from Oct. 29 to Nov 24.

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Book: National Geographic: The Photographs

National Geographic: The Photographs (NG Collectors Series) (Hardcover)
Author: Leah Bendavid-Val

Product Description
This stunning volume was the gift book of the year when it first published, and the images that grace its pages remain iconic. From the famous Afghan girl whose haunting green eyes stare out from the book’s cover, and her poignant story that captured the world’s interest, to award-winning photography culled from the Society’s vast archives, The Photographs offers readers an inside look at National Geographic and a sharp-eyed view of the world. The book showcases the skill and imagination of such notable Geographic photographers as David Doubilet, William Albert Allard, Sam Abell, Jim Stanfield, Jodi Cobb, Jim Brandenburg, David Alan Harvey, and many more. They share their techniques, as well as personal and colorful anecdotes about individual images and their adventures in the field—sometimes humorous, sometimes terrifying, always vividly compelling. Author Leah Bendavid-Val writes about the photographers’ achievements from technical, journalistic, and artistic perspectives.

Five chapters cover core National Geographic themes—wildlife on land and water; cultures in the United States and around the world; and science, from astronomy to archaeology to the human senses. The photographs in each chapter capture rare moments in nature and the lives of animals, along with defining events in the lives of people everywhere. This exquisite collection is as elegant as it is timeless.

About the Author
Leah Bendavid-Val , Director of Photography Publishing for National Geographic Books, is the author of Propaganda & Dreams; Changing Reality; National Geographic: The Photographs; Stories on Paper & Glass, and most recently Song Without Words: The Photographs and Diaries of Countess Sophia Tolstoy. She has curated photography exhibitions for museums worldwide.

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Book: Annie Leibovitz at Work

Annie Leibovitz at Work
Author: Annie Leibovitz

Product Description
“The first thing I did with my very first camera was climb Mt. Fuji. Climbing Mt. Fuji is a lesson in determination and moderation. It would be fair to ask if I took the moderation part to heart. But it certainly was a lesson in respecting your camera. If I was going to live with this thing, I was going to have to think about what that meant. There were not going to be any pictures without it." —Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz describes how her pictures were made, starting with Richard Nixon's resignation, a story she covered with Hunter S. Thompson, and ending with Barack Obama's campaign. In between are a Rolling Stones Tour, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, The Blues Brothers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keith Haring, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Patti Smith, George W. Bush, William S. Burroughs, Kate Moss and Queen Elizabeth. The most celebrated photographer of our time discusses portraiture, reportage, fashion photography, lighting, and digital cameras.

Pre-order this book now at Amazon.com for $26.40 (list price $40)

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Microstock Photography: How to Make Money from Your Digital Images

Author: Douglas Freer

Book Description
One-stop guide to making money from microstocks, the world's fastest growing imaging phenomenon.

Product Description
Be a part of one of the worlds fastest growing imaging phenomenons: microstock photography. Microstock photography provides both professional and amateur photographers an opportunity to diversify their income and expand their artistic visibility by turning day trip photos or photography portfolios into viable business investments.

Douglas Freer has written a comprehensive book that details the technical and commercial processes of the microstock industry. A must read for entrants into the microstock photography field, Microstock Photography shows you how to:

Choose the right microstock agency
Shoot work that will sell
Navigate the strict technical requirements
Understand the likely financial returns
Review licensing models
Understand copyright issues

Over 60 illustrations and photographs help you improve your skills, learn new techniques specific to shooting stock photography and better understand what the microstock market demands. Anyone can shoot digital stock photography, but in order to make money and be successful, you need the practical advice that can only be found in this book.

*Learn how to start earning money fast from your personal photos or professional portfolio
*Contains invaluable information on the crucial technical and commercial requirements you'll need to meet to be successful in the microstock industry
*Over 60 full color images show you what sells and what doesn't

Amazone.com has this book avalible for $16.47 (list price $24.95)

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