By the time Goethes Theory of Colours appeared in 1810; the wavelength theory of light and color had been firmly established. To Goethe; the theory was the result of mistaking an incidental result for an elemental principle. Far from pretending to a knowledge of physics; he insisted that such knowledge was an actual hindrance to understanding. He based his conclusions exclusively upon exhaustive personal observation of the phenomena of color.Of his own theory; Goethe was supremely confident: "From the philosopher; we believe we merit thanks for having traced the phenomena of colours to their first sources; to the circumstances under which they appear and are; and beyond which no further explanation respecting them is possible."Goethes scientific conclusions have; of course; long since been thoroughly demolished; but the intelligent reader of today may enjoy this work on quite different grounds: for the beauty and sweep of his conjectures regarding the connection between color and philosophical ideas; for an insight into early nineteenth-century beliefs and modes of thought; and for the flavor of life in Europe just after the American and French Revolutions.The work may also be read as an accurate guide to the study of color phenomena. Goethes conclusions have been repudiated; but no one quarrels with his reporting of the facts to be observed. With simple objects -- vessels; prisms; lenses; and the like -- the reader will be led through a demonstration course not only in subjectively produced colors; but also in the observable physical phenomena of color. By closely following Goethes explanations of the color phenomena; the reader may become so divorced from the wavelength theory -- Goethe never even mentions it -- that he may begin to think about color theory relatively unhampered by prejudice; ancient or modern.
#1323589 in eBooks 2008-12-26 2009-01-05File Name: B0026OR2TA
Review
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Not for digital photographersBy dnnI had never used Photoshop before so I thought this would be the best place to start. And I did learn a lot about Photoshop from this book and it is a great book for the novice. But as a photographer. the candy came on page 354 (of 750!): "Camera Raw ... is hands down the easiest place to fix your images". This is a plug-in that comes standard with Photoshop but is a stand-alone program. Pages 354 - 362 cover the basics of Camera Raw and the section ends with referring the reader who wants to know more to other books. After reading this section I can already see I will be doing most of my work in Camera Raw and only opening Photoshop itself for some fine-tune work on some of my photos. So 8 pages dedicated to the area where I will be spending 90% of my time leaves me a little unsatisfied.If you know nothing of Photoshop and want to make your own pictures. do web design. etc. then this is a great book to teach you this fantastic program but for photographers who dont care a lot about drawing or adding text. I would not recommend this book. Instead look for something specifically written for photographers that includes a discussion of Camera Raw.It would have been nice if I had known this book only covers the program Photoshop. one of a suite of programs sold as Photoshop.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Missing Manuals rarely miss. and it would be hard to find a better PS CS4 referenceBy hal96aFirst. why you will like this book if you are working on learning Photoshop CS4. I have CS4. and cant justify the cost of upgrading. This book is really well organized and the chronology of skills is easy to follow. Explanations are complete and unambiguous. While it is not targeted for photographers. it touches Camera Raw. plug ins. and has a quick start for Adobe Bridge. I find it to be best as a reference. but it has several tutorials and the files for them are on line. Like almost all Missing Manuals. it is the book that should have been in the box for most of us.Where did the fifth star go? The appendices are online. The writing can be annoyingly wordy. How many ways can you find to talk around the word "default?" And it must be a directive from Adobe for subliminal effect. Photoshop has been awarded entity status. It does things and seems to have intentions.For photographers there are other books. but to get Photoshop up and running and referencing the range of Photoshop CS4s capabilities. this book is certainly as good as any and better than most.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Perfect replacement for when you dont have the "Manual"By Gunter J. SteffenVery useful. even for a novice like me. Touches on all the aspects of image manipulation and will become a useful reference once I learn the program. Like most worthwhile things. learning Photoshop with all its bells and whistles is not easy and requires a bit of a "learning curve". This book tries to make it a little less painful and I do appreciate the thoroughness but it is a bit of a slog. Still. better to get the fundamentals than to struggle through what should be an easy project. by tackling it piecemeal and thrashing about trying to find solutions that would have been easily addressed by getting a good understanding of the program in the first place. If you want piecemeal. then just go to YouTube and find what you need a bit at a time. (Im not knocking the YouTube approach but I prefer getting a good grounding in the fundamentals first. Chalk it up to my being an Engineer.)
