Fellow photosapiensians.
I thought it might be of interest to discuss a bit the many books we all own, know, have read, adore, enjoy and can or cannot recommend. And I'm going to make a start here talking shortly about a book (out of a great series) that I love very much.
Freeman Patterson's "Photography and the Art of Seeing"This great little book is full of very easy to understand, easy to follow concepts, which all are really pointing your nose towards a different, creative way of looking at things around you. Freeman manages to take you on a journey into a whole new world of playing with concepts of perception and imagination. Nothing that you couldn't think off yourself, but you most probably haven't done so until you read it in the book.
The part "Learning to observe" and "Learning to imagine" is very helpful to experiment with thinking and seeing outside the common every day way, and this leads to a drastically different approach to photography.
The second part of the book goes over the basics of visual design and is nicely building upon the previously achieved subject matter selection. Now that you know how to find good, captivating subject matters, these guidelines, concepts and thoughts give a good framework to make a good photograph out of your subject matter.
From the website:
"The second book in Freeman Patterson's classic photography series familiarizes readers with the traditional principles of composition and visual design. But more importantly, Freeeman provides techniques and exercises for breaking with traditional concepts of design, thus enabling photographers and people working in other visual media to develop a keen awareness of subject matter and a personal direction".
I can fully subscribe to this description and recommend this book (as well as many others from Freeman, but they will be covered in their own posting).
http://www.freemanpatterson.com/book2.htmVery well invested money. 4 out of five stars.
cheers
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