Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography
by Brenda Tharp, posted April 7, 2004
(ISBN 0-8174-3738-X)

One of the best books I have ever read!

The gist of this book is to help photographers develop an artistic way of “seeing” their subject. Her belief that creating a great photograph has roots in our individual “creative well of experiences” comes across loud and clear. This unique perspective is communicated through her descriptive writing style and through the many beautiful photographs she includes to illustrate her objectives.

Her approach of mixing the technical and creative is absolutely inspiring! She provides chapters on the elements of light and color and how they influence what we see with our eyes and what our film will record. She discusses in depth how the elements of line, shape, form, pattern, and texture can provide a more visual impact. Brenda provides simple explanations and examples of how the technical aspects of flash, exposure, filters, focus, and types of lenses can be used to accomplish specific goals. She also teaches how to develop a vision and then communicate that vision through composition and individual creative technique.

She has a wonderful ability to encourage and persuade through her writing, challenging us to experiment with these methods and even provides exercises to help expand our imagination and to open our eyes to the new possibilities of interpreting that which is before us.  Then, she asks us to dig deeper, to see from the depths of our emotions, to find the “personality” and the “essence” of the object or scene we want to capture in a photograph.

This book is a must for both the beginning and advanced photographer, who wish to not only create powerful and visually appealing images, but to also capture the magic that is in everything before us and within us.

Karen Ganschow, Field Contributor

I Just Bought a Digital Camera, Now What?!
by Dave Johnson, posted April 7, 2004
(ISBN 0-7607-2656-6)

As a person that will enter the digital photography world in the very near future, and for anyone else out there that is a novice, advanced amateur or does not know if he or she should change to digital photography, this is the book to have in their library. It is without a doubt the simplest and up to date reference “How To” book for anyone to learn in detail, how to take digital photo’s, enter them into their computer, enhance their images if necessary and send them over the web. This is just a small contents of what is in this very informative book that everyone should have to learn digital photography from the start in the simplest and most detailed form that is on the market today. I highly recommend this book to one and all that is interested in getting into the digital world of photography.

Edwin A. Johnson Sr., Field Contributor

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