26 Books Every photographer should own...

[brad]

Originally Posted by venchka

Adams covers exposure.

If you believe the "digital instant feedback teaches faster and better" folks, learning exposure shouldn't be difficult at all.

Adams covers exposure, but covers it in terms of the zone system, which some people have a difficult time translating into color.

I love Ansel Adams. His contribution to photography is unassailable. But his methods are difficult for new photographers in this digital age to grasp.

If you are trying to learn exposure, it is faster to learn it shooting digital. Better? Possibly.. but only because digital is less forgiving than film for exposure mistakes.

Exposure isn't hard as long as you don't get caught up in the math. As someone who teaches basic photography, I can tell you -- its the math that causes new photographers to stumble the most. Convincing them to forget the math and "feel" the exposure is sometimes hard for them to grasp.

[venchka]

Math? Nobody told me there would be a test. LOL!

Exposure is all about where you point your meter, and the occasional 1 or 2 stops up or down. Backed up by when in doubt, bracket!

I own the first and most recent versions of The Negative and a borrowed copy of Roger Hicks book on exposure. I couldn't tell you what Roger Hicks had to say.

That doesn't mean that I know anything about exposure. I do get by.

[ChristopherCoy]

Originally Posted by JohnT

+3 on Understanding Exposure

+4 for UE...

-1 for AA...

[venchka]

You all have peaked my curiosity. I'll try to get a copy of U.E. from the library.

[Big Dog]

Originally Posted by venchka

... and a borrowed copy of Roger Hicks book on exposure. I couldn't tell you what Roger Hicks had to say.

That's because even though Mr Hicks talks a lot, he doesn't have much to say ...

[venchka]

Originally Posted by Big Dog

That's because even though Mr Hicks talks a lot, he doesn't have much to say ...

LOL! You figured it out too?

Here's one for your reading list:

The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

[janikphoto]

I have one of those books and have looked through a few of the others. I think it's missing a few essentials, but I'm glad that anne geddes didn't make the list! I'm not ready to put any fruit babies in my house just yet...

[venchka]

Not familiar with the name so I GOOGLED.

All I can say is, "Good grief!"

[ChuckW]

No real quibbles with the list but I am surprised to see Edward Weston's name missing. Also, for the current digital age, how about a book about a color managed work flow.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by ChuckW

No real quibbles with the list but I am surprised to see Edward Weston's name missing. Also, for the current digital age, how about a book about a color managed work flow.

I like Color Management for Photographers by Andrew Rodney (have to overlook the occasional typos and poor grammar though).

There's, also, Fine Art Printing for Photographers by Uwe Steinmueller and Juergen Gulbins, which is very good.

[venchka]

Weston may be too old for the author. And/or no longer in print. Weston is an acquired taste probably lost on most contemporary photographers.

[studiocygnet]

All I can say is, before I even saw Wayne's first reply, after I looked at the list I was thinking, where is Cowboy Kate?

[venchka]

Thanks Tom! I'm not alone.

"Mirror of Venus", probably out of print.