Bibliography

There are so many thousands of books of photography it seems impossible to decide which one is appropriate. Over the years I have come across a few books that made a big change to my picture taking. These are listed below

Photoshop Restoration and Retouching (3rd Edition) by Katrin Eismann
ISBN 0-321-31627-4
Published by New Riders

Despite its title I recommend this book to everyone who uses Photoshop. Its not a beginners guide as it assumes the reader is familiar with the basic tools and functions of Photoshop. It is very well written, packed with useful examples. It is full of screen shots which means that its very easy to follow the steps that the author makes with each shot. There is an associated website from which you can download almost all the shots used in the book so you can follow the steps with the appropriate image. It’s not the cheapest Photoshop book out there but I learnt more about Photoshop in one six week cover-to-cover trawl through this book than in all my other researches put together.


The Photoshop CS2 Bible by Deke McClelland
ISBN 0-7645-8972-0
Published by Hungry Minds

This is an excellent guide to Photoshop as a whole. It is for beginners and goes right through to advanced topics. It begins with digital imaging fundamentals, then introduces the way Photoshop thinks and deals with this data and goes on to all the functions that the software has to offer. There are many guides to Photoshop but I liked this one for two reasons. The first is that the style is light and chatty and the author has a good way of breaking the subjects down into simple ideas. The second is that he not only explains what each setting does but gives advice on which settings to use, what not to do and even which bits of Photoshop he doesn’t like.


Creative Elements by Eddie Ephraums
ISBN 0-9510147-9-X
Published by 21C

I can’t explain how this book excited me. Prior to this epiphany I had never been that attracted by monochrome work. Then I opened this in the bookshop and the scales fell from my eyes. Every shot is an absolute corker and he goes into full detail of how he exposed the neg, how he visualised the picture and how he exposed and processed the print. It is full of useful and practical information, there isn’t a single piece in the book that is not useful – no verbiage or waffle.


First Light by Joe Cornish
ISBN 1-902538-24-2
Published by Argentum

Joe Cornish is a UK based large format photographer and this, his first book, is excellent. The response to it is somewhere between total inspiration and the desire to give up photography. With each photo he also shows a second shot that he classes as a near miss, a shot that is not quite good enough. Even these near misses are excellent. The text with each image is informative and at the back there is the technical data for each shot.


Mountain Light by Galen Rowell
ISBN 0-7126-1582-2
Published by Century

For many years this was my reference book and my inspiration. I wanted to take photos like this. In fact I wanted to be him, a blend of adventurer, hard-man climber and photographer. Galen Rowell set the target at which I aimed in vain. It is divided into alternating chapters of photographs with captions and essays. It is continually interesting and the photographs are superb. The production is also excellent so the images are clear and bright. His website moutainlight.com is also well worth a look. Sadly he was killed in a small plane crash in 2002 and the world lost a great talent.


In Galen Rowell’s Vision by Galen Rowell
ISBN 0-87156-458-0
Published by The Sierra Club

Galen Rowell used to write a monthly piece for an American photo magazine and this is them all collected into one volume and illustrated with the usual jaw dropping images. The subjects are on a variety of subjects from the technical to aesthetic, from lens choices to environmental pleas. There is a huge amount of information crammed into it, and as he was writing for a magazine they are all short and concise.


Highland Wilderness by Colin Prior
ISBN 0-09-471560-2
Published by Constable

Colin Prior is a panoramic photographer who takes mainly shots in Scotland. The panoramic format is not easy to use well but he has mastered it. The shots are all fantastic. The production is good too, with sharp and clear colours. These are the best shots of Scotland I have ever seen and the book is a inspirational guide to shooting in the highlands.


Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs by Ansel Adams
ISBN 0-8212-1750-X
Published by Little and Brown

All of his books are excellent and essential reading for everyone interested in landscape photographs. I found this book particularly good as it takes his 40 most well known images and he describes the visualisation, taking and printing of each one.