[audiobook] The Reggae Songbook by Hal Leonard Corp. in Arts-Photography

Review

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Another Classic from the Gerlachs!By Jay H. LevinThis book is an extensive revision of the Gerlachsrsquo; first edition of ldquo;Digital Nature Photography: The Art and the Sciencerdquo; published in 2007. While I regard the first edition as an outstanding digital nature photography foundations book; this second edition surpasses the original in many respects. Not only are several chapters of the first edition thoroughly updated and expanded (Camera and Accessories; Choosing and Using Lenses; Mastering Exposure; Shoot Sharp Images; The Magic of Light; Close-Up and Macro; The Power of Flash; and Composing Pleasing Images) but in addition this second edition contains brand new and extensive chapters on High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography; Focus Stacking for More Depth of Field and Sharper Images; The Night Sky; and Our Digital Office. The latter chapter contains thorough information on how the Gerlachs edit and store images and the software they use. The one topic that I noticed missing which appeared in the first edition was the chapter on ldquo;Carrying Your Photography Gear;rdquo; and I would refer readers to that edition for very useful information on this subject.The photographs in the book are selected with extreme care to illustrate principles discussed in the text. Furthermore; the shooting details that accompany each photograph are in almost every case complete and enable the reader to further understand how the photograph was taken. In my opinion; this is a major contribution of the book.One way of viewing this book; which I purchased from on June 23; is to compare it with an outstanding book of a similar title; ldquo;John Shaws Guide to Digital Nature Photography;rdquo; which was published on March 17. I guess great minds think alike! The books overlap in many respects; and they also emphasize different topics as one would expect. However; I would like to point out two major differences between the Gerlachs and John Shaw.First; while the Gerlachs are strong proponents of HDR photography; Shaw sees no need for it for two reasons. One is that the dynamic range of the latest cameras has expanded greatly. (p. 42) In addition; one can take two images in the field; one exposed for the highlights and one for the shadows; and combine them in Photoshop using masks (p. 43). Whether the resulting image is an improvement over an HDR image is of course a crucial question. In addition; in an August 11; 2014 article in John Shawrsquo;s blog entitled; ldquo;HDR: A Different Way;rdquo; Shaw discusses an approach for creating natural looking HDR images using Photoshoprsquo;s HDR Pro. So perhaps the authors have more in common after all even though Shaw does not mention HDR photography in his book.A second major difference concerns the authorsrsquo; preference for exposure modes. The Gerlachs find aperture priority ldquo;problematic and seldom use itrdquo; (p. 41); although they mention cameras with auto ISO and photographing the Northern Lights as exceptions. A totally different view is held by Shaw; who uses aperture priority most of the time (p. 63); although he uses manual exposure in some cases for static subjects (pp. 75-77) and always for action (p. 77). In contrast; in a thorough discussion the Gerlachs indicate why they use manual exposure at least 75 percent of the time (pp. 42-48); virtually always for close-up and landscape images and about half of the time for wildlife images. However; they note; as does Shaw; that manual exposure requires camera adjustment when the ambient light changes. Finally; Shaw never uses Shutter Priority (p. 64); whereas the Gerlachs use Shutter Priority for about half of their wildlife images and have a strong preference for Shutter Priority combined with Auto ISO for wildlife when the light dims (pp. 42;45).In summary; the Gerlachsrsquo; book is state of the art; comprehensive; and another superb contribution to digital nature photography. Readers of their book will gain valuable insights into the way these outstanding photographers conduct their work.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Must ReadBy LockmanThis book is excellent. John and Barbara are are some of the best photographers around. My wife and I have attended 2 of their 1 day seminars and learned a lot each time. They are also very good at teaching too. They insert humor in the amazing amount of great information they share with the attendees and make the learning both educational and fun. This book is filled with great information and tips that will improve your photography. The book is written in a way that is easy to understand ( and has humor sprinkled here and there) and has so much information that I recommend getting a highlighter and extra bookmarks when you read this book. I would recommend this book and any of the others that they have published.John and Barbara have impressed us so much that my wife and I have signed up for an Autumn Workshop with them to continue to learn how to improve and produce better photography.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. best photography book!By dtFantastic book with very clear and precise explanations of the latest techniques in photography. If you are interested in focus stacking or HDR; want to improve your macro photography; this is the book for you. If you want to update your basic skills; this is the book for you. All the many; many beautiful pictures in the book have full metadata attached - something missing in other books on photography but which really make a difference. If I had to choose only one book on photography; this would be it. Highly recommended!