Posted by Mike Duncan on August 20, 2007 at 5:44 PM
My wife bought me a D40x for a wedding present two months ago. It's my first digital camera and I have no experience with photoshop. Does anyone have some good suggestions for books for me to read that will help get me started with both the camera and photoshop? I'm heading to Montana for a two week trip in October and want to make sure I know what I'm doing by then.
Thanks
Mike
Posted by David Bostedo on August 20, 2007 at 6:48 PM
If you don't mind poking around the internet, rather than reading books, there are lots of good sites. (This one is a good start.) Someone else asked a similar question a little while back, so if you search you might find those responses. I believe I recommended a couple of my favorite sites for general information :
Luminous Landscape - Look through the Columns, Essays, Techniques, Understanding Series, and Tutorials links on the left side.
Posted by Grace Blair on August 21, 2007 at 9:09 AM
Great Photoshop book: Photoshop for Nature Photographers, by Ellen Anon and Tim Grey. There is a supplement now on Ellen's website for PSCS3
Nature Photography how to book: Digital Nature Photography, the Art and the Science, by John and Barbara Gerlach
Both books are available on Amazon and lots of other places as well.
Good luck! It takes years to get up to speed in nature photography so read and practice fast!
Mike, for technique you can't go wrong with John Shaw's books. Some of them were written for film cameras but the basic techniques are still applicable and he does a great job of explaining the various concepts.
Keep in mind that even though technique and mechanics seem to dominate most discussions on photography, once you understand the basics it's really not very difficult. Try to always keep in the back of your mind not only the "how" but also the "why" and "what" - think in terms of composition and interest and emotional appeal as you study a scene through the viewfinder. In the beginning the technical stuff will likely make you miss opportunities but in time it will become second nature. Developing good composition habits is harder and the more you work on making it a conscious part of your workflow, the better your work will be in the long run.
My advice is that you don't plan to become a Photoshop master by October. Instead, try to record the best input data you can, and have great "fun" learning how to get the most out of what you put in the computer.
Read those John Shaw books. He shot 35mm film back then. He made amazing images. I believe the pre-processing factors we could control in 35mm photography apply directly, without translation, to today's DSLRs. We have a view to organize and we have to record it on a limited (and small, and rectangularl) medium. Good luck!
The coolest breakthough I had was realizing that I controlled where things fell on film in relationship to each other by where I put my camera. If I wanted yon foreground boulder to fit in a composition, I had to move - left, down, up or right. It sounds trivial, but I was so fixated on finding and framing subjects, that I never got around to composing them. When I have the rare luxury of amusing myself with landscape photography, I compose before I plant the tripod. Then, I recompose before I replant the tripod.
Pete D. still waiting for the next tripod planting occasion
Discussion
4 repliesThanks
Mike
Luminous Landscape - Look through the Columns, Essays, Techniques, Understanding Series, and Tutorials links on the left side.
Cambridge in Color Tutorials - These are clear, concise, and well layed out.
Good luck!
Nature Photography how to book: Digital Nature Photography, the Art and the Science, by John and Barbara Gerlach
Both books are available on Amazon and lots of other places as well.
Good luck! It takes years to get up to speed in nature photography so read and practice fast!
Keep in mind that even though technique and mechanics seem to dominate most discussions on photography, once you understand the basics it's really not very difficult. Try to always keep in the back of your mind not only the "how" but also the "why" and "what" - think in terms of composition and interest and emotional appeal as you study a scene through the viewfinder. In the beginning the technical stuff will likely make you miss opportunities but in time it will become second nature. Developing good composition habits is harder and the more you work on making it a conscious part of your workflow, the better your work will be in the long run.
Guy
Read those John Shaw books. He shot 35mm film back then. He made amazing images. I believe the pre-processing factors we could control in 35mm photography apply directly, without translation, to today's DSLRs. We have a view to organize and we have to record it on a limited (and small, and rectangularl) medium. Good luck!
The coolest breakthough I had was realizing that I controlled where things fell on film in relationship to each other by where I put my camera. If I wanted yon foreground boulder to fit in a composition, I had to move - left, down, up or right. It sounds trivial, but I was so fixated on finding and framing subjects, that I never got around to composing them. When I have the rare luxury of amusing myself with landscape photography, I compose before I plant the tripod. Then, I recompose before I replant the tripod.
Pete D. still waiting for the next tripod planting occasion