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 enlarge | Author: John Shaw
Publisher: Amphoto Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy Used: $9.90
You Save: $15.05 (60%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  78 reviews
Sales Rank: 14118
Media: Paperback
Edition: Rev Sub
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.5
ISBN: 0817440593
Dewey Decimal Number: 778.93
EAN: 9780817440596
ASIN: 0817440593
Publication Date: October 31, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
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| Customer Reviews:
 Awesome book. My de facto reference now February 6, 2008
I did understand the basic concepts, but this book really got me started on photography. I now shoot most of my images in manual mode!
Really great book. Highly recommended.
One of the best photography books! January 9, 2008
This is one of the best books on photography. I have several books on photography, and this is one is probably my favorite. The information is abundant and very detailed. I learned so much. My favorite sections were on lenses, film, and my favorite part: John's simplified exposure system (based on the zone system). Also, I think the photos in this book are some of the best I've ever seen. Every photographer needs to own this book!
 Very helpful guide but leans toward gear-related issues as opposed to nature-related issues January 5, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I've found this to be a very helpful guide to nature photography. Shaw is particularly good at getting you to think through what you're doing while on location setting up a shot. Though the author would probably disagree, the book emphasizes gear and technique - - it consists of lots of sections, each 2-6 pages long, discussing particular topics. The topics range from the big (the theory of exposure) to the minutiae (different types of ball heads on tripods). The book is illustrated with Shaw's photographs, which are a joy.
Though Shaw makes occasional references to digital cameras, the book is clearly written for the pre-digital era (or for those who continue to use non-digital cameras). If you want to learn how to get the most out of the specifically digital features of your camera, I'd look for another book. However, the basics of nature photography don't change, so for most of the book it doesn't matter that Shaw is shooting on slide film.
Shaw might not use digital film, but he does discuss all the other technology in your modern camera. Most important, he tells you how and why to ignore what the camera tells you when you leave it set on auto exposure, auto timing, and auto focus.
I would have liked him to spend more time on several topics. For example, I would have liked to see more shots that don't work. The section on orientation includes examples of the same scenes shot horizontally and vertically, and there are occasional examples of the same shot at different exposures. I would have liked to see a lot more of this - - why do some choices work better than others, and when do several choices all work for different purposes?
Similarly, I would have liked to see more attention to composition. Shaw discusses basic themes (breaking frame into thirds, limiting yourself to a single subject, and so forth). He also provides a number of good rules of thumb. However, these issues are listed more than discussed. Here especially a comparison of good and better shots would have been very helpful.
Finally, for a book on nature photography, there isn't all that much advice about nature. The final section consists of a calendar of good times to visit particular locations (Yellowstone in winter, New England in fall, and so forth). However, there's only a little advice on using blinds, and almost nothing about finding wildlife in a camera-friendly way. Shaw also doesn't discuss the challenges of photographing birds, and in fact, he has few pictures of birds in the book.
A fantastic reference book with wonderful images December 28, 2007
I am trying to advance my photography skills (from novice) and I found this book to be very helpful. It covers everything I was looking for.
Terrific book as always from Shaw December 25, 2007
I have Shaw's advanced photo book and his previous book on outdoor photography, both of which are excellent, and this one is no different. Starting with the premise that photography's unique dual nature is part of its fascination--the way the process of aesthetic composition must work with the science and technology--he takes you from the fundamentals, and working from the basics of exposure and F stops up to the more advanced concepts and applications. He takes you step by step through each level of understanding and technical difficulty, giving you the rigorous background and understanding that one needs to truly improve one's photos at the more professional levels.
Shaw points out that he has seen very intelligent and competent people, lawyers, doctors, and other professionals, become quite baffled when it comes to using a camera, pointing out that there is no reason for this, and that a camera is no more difficult to use than any other modern piece of technology.
I'm in the same boat. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to photographic technique, and my shortcomings, like most amateur photographers, tend to be technical rather than aesthetic--something which is easily rectified by a book like this. In other words, I know how to compose a good photo but frequently make technical mistakes that are easily correctible that a pro would already know how to avoid.
For example, recently I took photos of elephant seals at a beach on a very cloudy day, and the sun had just set and it was getting dark. I failed to use backlight compensation by at least one stop, although two stops probably wouldn't have been necessary under the circumstances, but there was still enough light reflecting off the ocean in the distance to make the foreground seals too dark. This is also just another example of the principle that one should "...expose for the shadows, and develop for the highlights." Well, I learned my lesson, which I would not have made if it had been sunny and the middle of the day. This is the sort of professional knowledge that many of us amateurs lack, and that Shaw presents in this book.
All in all a well written book that imparts a huge amount of knowledge and expertise, all of which will help you to improve your photos. Not the least of its merits is that the book includes many of Shaw's own superb photos which he uses to illustrate the various concepts.
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