Recommended "Newbie" Reading

Bill Pryor · Mar 4, 2003

Hello All,

I am a newbie's newbie..

While I have owned a digital camera since the very virst Epson was introduced, I've never taken a photograph with anything other than a point and shoot. My current camera is a Sony Cybershot that I bought a couple of years ago. It takes an ok picture, but that has only succeeded in exciting me in the potential of photography as a hobby. I look at some of the examples on this forum and I am blown away.

So....I have placed an order for a 10D. I know that it is too much camera for me today, but I am a firm believer that the best way to learn is to jump into the deep end and swim out. That said, I want to learn the basics before receiving my camera and don't want to bother everyone on the board with the ABC's of photography. Are there a couple of books out there that you guys would recommend to a guy just getting started?

So far, I have "Complete Digital Photography - Second Edition" by Ben Long. Its been OK. Any others that you would recommend would be great. Thank you in advance and I look forward to getting to know all of you better.

Take Care,

Bill

William C · Mar 4, 2003

--
“What actually happens in the real world is what photographers needs to know.”
Michael Reichmann – Luminous Landscape

Bill Pryor · Mar 4, 2003

I was hoping to get started before the manual (and the camera) showed up.

Karrol · Mar 4, 2003

Just search Amazon and read reviews. You will get a feel then for the book that you think will suit you at your level.

John Foote · Mar 4, 2003

If you get the photography right, the digital will take care of itself. Go to your local library, and have a look. There's probably 100 books to choose from, and they will all have something to offer. Myself, I'm a BIG fan of John Shaw.

Serge88 · Mar 4, 2003

There's a lot of good books about photography and it doesn't matter if they have been written 20 years ago. Photography has not change with the digital revolution.

good authors: Michael Freeman, John Hedgecoe...

Serge

Cryptnotic · Mar 4, 2003

Then just go out and shoot. Take pictures of people or things that you like.

http://photo.net

jgoodell · Mar 4, 2003

Juli Valley · Mar 4, 2003

Read Phil's and Steve's reviews for info on the camera. That's what I did while I was waiting for my D60. I even printed some parts.

Juli Valley · Mar 4, 2003

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.

Juli Valley · Mar 4, 2003

--
http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=19579
Canon 1OD soon to be, C-21ooUZ, C-3o4Z.
Juli

http://www.pbase.com/image/12306088.jpg

William C · Mar 4, 2003

All he did was posted the spec of the camera. Phil did a review.
A real review. Phil gives insight and an opinion of the camera.
The difference between them is night and day.

All Steve's can do is say, I was first!

Bill

-
“What actually happens in the real world is what photographers needs to know.”
Michael Reichmann – Luminous Landscape

Beginner's Mind · Mar 4, 2003

Forget books about digital photography. They will likely be too much digital and not enough photography.

Try the Kodak Guide to 35mm Photography. Read it cover to cover, even the parts about film types and film speed. The concepts will still be relevent to your digital SLR usage. This book is a comprehensive and accurate with all the technical basics while still being easy to read and understand. The pictures in it are completely uninspiring, but you're reading it to learn the basics, not to learn art...

--
Nosh
---
http://www.blackpiano.com/noshirpatelphotography

Harlod · Mar 4, 2003

The Ben Long book is a good intro. I agree with some of the posters that you can focus on some general photography books. The only exception would be that if you want to make the most of your digital photography, you want to learn basic digital editing techniques in a package like Photoshop. Some of the basics are in the Ben Long book. For more advanced ones, you can either focus in on a general photographer's book like Martin Evening's "Photoshop for Photographers", or a more specialized one like Katrin Eisman's "Photoshop Restoration and Retouching". Some of the overview books spend a lot of time on some of the artsy photoshop techniques, so it depends upon what you really want to do. At a minimum, you should probably want to know how to adjust levels, curves, color balance, hue and saturation. Also, how to use masks and how to carry out basic functions like cropping and resizing.

William C · Mar 4, 2003

Book I have and re-read each year. The links are to Amazon.

Leaning To See Creatively by Bryan Peterson ISBN 0-8174-4177-8

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0817441778/qid%3D1046823653/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-9859152-7710459

Landscape Photography By John Shaw ISBN 0-8174-3710-X

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/081743710X/qid%3D1046823771/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-9859152-7710459

Photographing Lanscapes By John Hedgecoe ISBN 1-85585-764-2

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1855857642/qid%3D1046823891/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-9859152-7710459

The first book is a must. Also it is not gear to digital but to train your
brain to think about photography.

Bill

--
“What actually happens in the real world is what photographers needs to know.”
Michael Reichmann – Luminous Landscape

Juli Valley · Mar 4, 2003

Well, it's not a final review, but it has lots of information.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/10d.html

Bill Pryor · Mar 4, 2003

Thank you all for your feedback and suggestions. I am going to expand my library this week and do some browsing on the sites that were mentioned. I appreciate the time to help a guy out.

Bill

Richard Smith41318 · Mar 4, 2003

Joy of Photography and More Joy of Photography.

Most camera stores will have one or both of these books
sitting on the shelf becuase they are such good sellers.

Catchlight · Mar 4, 2003

To the excellent suggestions you've received, I'd like to add any of Freeman Patterson's titles, especially "Photography for the Joy of It".

There are many excellent "niche" books, too, like John Shaw's "Closeups in Nature", and Jon Sievert's "Concert Photography". They focus on a special photographic applications, but teach a lot about photography iin general.

Enjoy the adventure!

--
Canon D30 / EOS3 and various lenses, all on loan from E* y.

Marcel D. · Mar 5, 2003

(nt) means No Text

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