Photography books

What kind of books inspire you?

Best regards Aiaidesign

I don't know about inspire but my BW class is using "A Short Course in Photography" by Barbara London and Jim Stone. I prefer magazines over books.

The Tao of Photography by Thomas Ang

and any book series by National Geographic

My D80 manual!

Right now I am reading XHTML Complete... heaveee! Also, ASP.NET for Dummies... It's like learning to walk all over again.

I use this book all of the time. It inspires me to get my rump in gear and try new things. I use it mostly for a reference though.

http://www.amazon.com/New-Manual-Pho...308850&sr=1-73

Thank you for your responses!
For myself it is the books of Henri Cartier Bresson that inspires me th most.

Best regards Aiaidesign

Besides Henri Cartier Bresson

A UK mag called Digital Photo which have some interesting articles from time to time.

Roger

I don't read a lot of photo books, but I do love Outdoor Photographer Magazine, as well as Birds and Blooms. I want to get this book, but have yet to pull the trigger on it.

http://www.amazon.com/Family-Man-Car...2340537&sr=1-1

I also get some National Geographic & photography documentaries from Netfix every once in a while. I just watched a documentary on Steichen 2 days ago.

I also listen to a lot of photography podcasts. Lots of great info, and some contests with great prizes to get you motivated.

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Originally Posted by mjs1973

I also listen to a lot of photography podcasts. Lots of great info, and some contests with great prizes to get you motivated.

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Hey Michael,

Would you mind telling me more about the podcasts you listen to? Where do you get them? Do you have to pay? Are they educational, entertaining, or both? That sounds like a great way to fit more photography related stuff into a busy schedule.

Oh, and to answer the original question...I have a few HCB books, Ansel Adams, and Robert Glenn Ketchum, that I like to look at, but for reading, I've found Scott Kelby's "Photoshop for the Digital Photographer" to be somewhat helpful and Freeman Patterson's "Photographing the World Around You" to be inspiring.

Thanks,
Paul

Great thread :) Here's my 2 favorites as of late:

Ancient Forests
Eloquent Light

Anything by Freeman Patterson or Bryan Peterson.

WesternGuy

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Originally Posted by photophorous

Hey Michael,

Would you mind telling me more about the podcasts you listen to? Where do you get them? Do you have to pay? Are they educational, entertaining, or both? That sounds like a great way to fit more photography related stuff into a busy schedule.

Oh, and to answer the original question...I have a few HCB books, Ansel Adams, and Robert Glenn Ketchum, that I like to look at, but for reading, I've found Scott Kelby's "Photoshop for the Digital Photographer" to be somewhat helpful and Freeman Patterson's "Photographing the World Around You" to be inspiring.

Thanks,
Paul

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I agree, the Scott Kelby books are great for learning neat tricks and improving your workflow in PS. I also like his "Digital Photography Book". Lots of great tips in there.

As for the podcasts, I listen to them through iTunes. They are all free, and if you have an MP3 player, you can download them and take them with you, and listen to them anywhere you want. I don't have an mp3 player, so I just listen and watch them at work. Some are audio only, and others are enhanced with still photos, and others are videos.

One of my favorites in Photoshop TV (NAPP TV now) This is hosted by Scott Kelby, Dave Cross and Matt Klowskowski. It's a video podcast and they go through 3 tutorials, and a quick tip or two. They also have contests, and news bits.

I also like The Digital Photography Show. This is hosted by 2 guys, who are not professionals. They are just regular guys who enjoy photography. They get very good guests on their show, like Scott Kelby, Rich Samon, reps from Canon & Nikon, as well as others. They have contests with great prizes, and discounts on software. This show is audio only.

The Martin Baily Photography Podcast is another one I listen too. This is an enhanced podcast. Martin is a British guy who lives and works in Japan, and basically talks about his own photography methods, as well as general photography tips.

Tips From The Top Floor is another good one. This one has been around for years, and has always been rated pretty high. Worth a listen.

A couple of my favorites are buy the same man, Jeff Curto. He hosts a show call Camera Position. On this show, he talks about and explores the creative side of photography. He also has a show called The History of Photography. Jeff is a professor at the College of Dupage in Illinois, and one of the classes he teaches is the history of photography. He records his lectures, and releases them as podcasts, along with still images of the slides he uses in the class. I have listened to two separate semesters of this class.

Brooks Jensen, the publisher of Lens Work magazine, also has a short podcast. He talks more about the creative side of photography, and gives his opinion on things going on in the world of photography.

I also listen to The Digital Story, The Professional Photography Show, The Candid Frame, Light Source, Photoshop Killer Tips, Photoshop For Professional Photographers, and a few more that I can't think of right now.

I also listen to non-photography podcasts that deal with the things I like to photograph. I'm mostly a nature/landscape photographer so I watch a lot of National Geographic video podcasts, as well as Nature.

One of my favorite non-photographic podcast is called "The Rest of Everest". This one is basically a documentary about climing Mt. Everest. Back in 2003, a film crew went to Everest, and filmed over 80 hours of footage about their expedition. That footage was made into an 80 minute documentary. Now they film maker is taking the rest of that footage, and releasing it as aprox. 30 minute podcasts every week, with commentary. Very cool!

Pretty much all of these podcast have their own websites, and many of them have their own forums as well. A google search would find them for you.

Here is a screen shot of the iTunes I have loaded, and listen to regularly. I hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by mjs1973

Here is a screen shot of the iTunes I have loaded, and listen to regularly. I hope this helps.

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Thanks, Michael! This is great. I have a Dell Pocket DJ, which is like an iPod Mini. Hopefully, I can get some of these podcasts onto it with out using iTunes.

Since you like nature shows, I have to mention "Planet Earth." They've been showing it on Animal Planet on Wed nights, but I think it's been on other channels too. It has some of the best photography I've ever seen on a nature show. I highly recommend it.

Paul

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Originally Posted by photophorous

Thanks, Michael! This is great. I have a Dell Pocket DJ, which is like an iPod Mini. Hopefully, I can get some of these podcasts onto it with out using iTunes.

Since you like nature shows, I have to mention "Planet Earth." They've been showing it on Animal Planet on Wed nights, but I think it's been on other channels too. It has some of the best photography I've ever seen on a nature show. I highly recommend it.

Paul

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Yes, I am a HUGE fan of the Planet Earth series. I even started a thread about it in the Nature & Wildlife forum a while back. I plan on ordering the complete set on DVD, but I haven't done it yet.

You should be able to get those podcasts without iTunes if you don't want to use it. There are other podcatchers out there that should work too. If nothing else, you can get a lot of them from their websites.

As a H.C.B. fan I do hope you have also discovered Elliot Erwitt. He is another of those Leica Gods.

Amazon link to Elliot Erwitt books.