Book: The Art of Photography

An Approach to Personal Expression

Santa Barbara, CA—This is an updated and newly revised edition of the classic book The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression (Rocky Nook, $44.95 USD, originally published in 1994), which has often been described as the most readable, understandable, and complete textbook on photography.

With well over 100 beautiful photographic illustrations in both black-and-white and color, as well as numerous charts, graphs, and tables, this book presents the world of photography to beginner, intermediate, and advanced photographers seeking to make a personal statement through the medium of photography. Without talking down to anyone, or talking over anyone's head, Bruce Barnbaum presents "how to" techniques for both traditional and digital approaches. Yet he goes well beyond the technical, as he delves deeply into the philosophical, expressive, and creative aspects of photography so often avoided in other books.

Book: The Art of Photography

This is an updated and newly revised edition of the classic book The Art of Photography (originally published in 1994), which has often been described as the most readable, understandable, and complete textbook on photography.

With well over 100 beautiful photographic illustrations in both black-and-white and color,

Judging of the Moran Prize

I was a bit disappointed to hear that a photographer recently blogged on his site about the outcome of the 2010 Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize.  The Moran is said to be the highest prize money for a photo competition at $80,000. Yes, very cool if you win.

Dean Sewell was the winner and Stephen Dupont the judge. Of course, both very accomplished photographers. Dean actually has won it two years in a row.

Wedding Photography Recommendations - Part 2

A behind-the-scenes look at master wedding photographer Joe Buissink’s acclaimed style

"There’s no such thing as a perfect image–only a perfect moment," says Joe Buissink, one of American Photo’s Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World. In Wedding Photography from the Heart: Creative Techniques to Capture the Moments that Matter, the premier photographer gives us an inside look at how he captures photographer gives us an inside look at how he captures the feeling of a couple’s wedding, seeing the moments from their perspectives and hearts.

Wedding Photography Recommendations -Part 1

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I'm going to talk about wedding photography over the next few weeks since I've been asked lots of  questions about this topic recently. There are a LOT of books out there. Which one to pick up is a tough question.What I want to do here first though is point people to some books that I believe are out-of-the-ordinary wedding books. One person who's been doing weddings for 30 years is Bill Hurter and he has some great books on the topic. I've talked about his books elsewhere. The first one I want to talk about today is his book The Best of Wedding Photojournalism: Techniques and Images for Professional Digital Photographers, 2nd Edition

Bill's approach in this book is to look at wedding photography as a wedding photojournalist.In contrast to a traditional wedding photographer, a wedding photojournalist works unobtrusively to capture the “real life” flavor of the special event as it unfolds, and this guidebook addresses the unique challenges and specific preparations required to excel in this field. The tips and topics talked about here can be simply applied to any event type photo including just birthday parties at home.

Einstein photos on day of death.

On April 18, 1955 Ralph Morse, an ambitious photojournalist for LIFE magazine, went to a funeral with a camera and a case of scotch. Fifty-five years later, LIFE.com is publishing the pictures he took that day, during the funeral and cremation of Albert Einstein.

Einstein had died at 76 of heart failure earlier that morning at Princeton Hospital. His body was cremated after a short service and his ashes were scattered on the grounds of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. The hospital’s pathologist removed his brain for preservation and study, in the hopes that scientists could figure out how he got so smart.

Nude Photography

I've been asked to do some nice art type photo's for some people and it's been a great experience. It is all about the lighting and setting the tone of the photo. It celebrating the form of the human body. It can be sensual, a little bit risque, emotional, of exact. 

I'm going to include a couple of points to think about when doing this type of photography. I'll also add to it as I go.

First, make sure the model or client is comfortable. The location should be the right temperature, whether that be warm or cooler. This is actually really important since it will show in the models face and pose if she is hot or cold.