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 enlarge | Author: Brenda Tharp
Publisher: Amphoto Books
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $14.61
You Save: $11.34 (44%)
New (29) Used (10) from $13.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  37 reviews
Sales Rank: 10715
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.2 x 0.5
ISBN: 081743738X
Dewey Decimal Number: 778
EAN: 9780817437381
ASIN: 081743738X
Publication Date: March 1, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20081010212127T
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| Customer Reviews:
 Good, brief, not unique August 23, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is worth buying for the inspiring photographs, although the text is a bit uneven, explanations are occasionally vague, and the content is rather similar to other books on creative photography.
I prefer John Shaw's Focus on Nature: The Creative Process Behind Making Great Photographs in the Field which is longer, more detailed and seems more articulate. However I own both books.
To take one example: Brenda Tharp recommends that plants be photographed from ground level, so that we are looking horizontally or slightly upward at the subject, which is separated from the background. John Shaw gives the same advice, but only as an option. He also demonstrates the possibilities for an image looking directly downward: a stunning masterful image of a green expanse of leaves contrasted with rich red flowers, seen from directly above like a carpet.
Brenda Tharp's book is more instructional, shorter, and perhaps a bit more dogmatic than John Shaw's. Which is best for you will depend on your own level of skill and awareness in photography. I suspect Brenda Tharp's book is based on a photography class/workshop - it has explicit lists of photographic exercises. It does help you focus on your photographic goals. The main message of the book is a good one ("What are you trying to say in this photograph?"). It's on my shelf and I refer to it occasionally.
It almost feels as if some of the detailed information has been held back from the book, so as not to devalue the content of classes/workshops. for example the author mentions that she has a checklist that she runs through when photographing a landscape, but she doesn't share the list with us.
I quibbled with some of the technical statements in this book, and some of the assertions about composition seem too fluffy (borrowed from art theory?). But it is quite stimulating all the same.
 Shooting from the soul February 28, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Brenda sums up her philosophy of photography by saying that "you make a great picture with your soul, not your eyes". I tend to agree with her. Her book covers the areas of light, design, composition, color, and technique. These subjects are well presented and best contemplated and incorporated into one's own interpretation of nature and outdoor photography. One of the best things she points out is the importance of capturing the essence of your subject, something a lot of photographers seem to overlook. A thoughtful book that was a pleasure to read.
Good summary and guide February 19, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I found this book to be a good guide in helping to see the various oppurtunities that a given scene can give you as a photographer.
The book requires you to know your equipment pretty well, as she dosen't really elaborate on the technical side of things.
Other than that, I found the book interesting and intreguing, but I will probably need a second review as I take her tips to practise. Plus for interesting excersizes tips and ways to see differently and original ways of using teles/macros and multiple exposures.
The colour theory was new for me and very helpful, complementing colours, colos that draw attention and how we preceive them is something I will use in my photography in the future.
A wonderful book that hits the mark on what it was made for, this is about the "feel" for photography, not the technical side of things.
Inspirational Photos, a Little Short on Method February 7, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Brenda Tharp is a wonderful photographer. The pictures in this book are awesome, to say the least. Best of all, most are taken in the United States, so it's easy to see yourself going to these places and seeing the sites for yourself. That said, she doesn't convey the nuts and bolts of how to come up with pictures like these very well. She's kind of a "touchy-feely" author, using phrases like "what is the picture tying to tell you?" and such. Like most creative types, she seems to not understand that some people (like me) just don't get that approach. Still, she tries to explain it. And she covers several techniques that other books don't. A neat one was doing a double exposure with one shot in focus, and the other out of focus. You certainly won't regret buying this book, and you will learn from it. Just don't expect to suddenly have all the knowledge needed to replicate her results.
 Excellent examples of outdoor photographs February 6, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book contains a wonderful selection of photographs from many interesting locations. It is quite informative from a "philosophy of photography" perspective that fits the title well. However, it would have been helpful details on the environment used to take the pictures, i.e., camera settings were provided.
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