I really appreciate the book reviews by Paul W. Faust. That has led me to ask which book(s) has had a great influence on you as a nature photographer? One book for me was "Trail Guide to the Canadian Rockies" by Brian Patton & Bart Robinson. It opened the way to the Rocky Mountains for me. And to the images found there.
Two books that consistently provide me with new insight are Galen Rowell's "Mountain Light" and Ansel Adams' "The Making of 40 Photographs".
I can rattle off a long list of other books that I love to open every now and then (I have several dozen in my collection) but these two really stand out.
Another great book I'd like to mention is Tim Ernst's "Wilderness Reflections". I found an old copy of it in a second hand bookstore a long time ago. It truly is one of the greatest collections of high quality images packed into a single volume. I was ultimately fortunate enough to exchange some emails and prints with Tim (who is a member of NPN by the way) and he was kind enough to send me a new copy with a great dedicateion which is one of the most prized in my collection.
Guy
Posted by Mary Dennis on March 10, 2006 at 5:53 PM
"The Art of Seeing Things, Essays by John Burroughs" edited by Charlotte Zoe Walker.
I am constantly re-reading these essays-- particularly the book's namesake and the first essay in the collection, "The Art of Seeing Things." It constantly reminds me to be a better observer and look for things that may not be apparent.
Posted by Richard Wong on March 10, 2006 at 6:11 PM
William Neill's Yosemite book is the photo book that impresses me the most because his work was so original. Even more so considering how famous the place is. My eyes linger on his textured abstract images for minutes, whereas I spend probably about a second or two looking at landscape images.
Most people say Galen Rowell's best book was Mountain Light but that one doesn't do much for me personally. The one that changed my life was his Galen Rowell's Vision book. I've probably read that book over 50 times. It opened my eyes to the mental aspects of shooting and the life of a professional photographer. It also introduced me Graduated ND filters.
___ William - - I'm surprised you didn't ask me what my favorite is since I end up with them all.
Posted by Roger Rouch on March 10, 2006 at 7:03 PM
Well, Paul. I'd be interested in your favorites.
I have a somewhat modest collection of photo books. Like Richard, "Mountain Light" was very nice to look at, but not among my favorites for influence and inspiration. My most looked at book is "Gone to Sanctuary for the Sins of Confusion", by John Kiewit. It was a limited edition low volume publication, so probably not well known. I think it's just wonderful and worth a look to see if it is availible on the used market. Seconds would be Muench's "Colorado II" and John Shaw's "Close Ups in Nature".
Paul, you must have a very impressive library. . I most definitely want to know which one is your favorite. I was already hoping you'd respond to this thread.
Already there is a list of books which I need to discover. And I hope the list will grow. Thank you all for sharing.
+++ Well, since you asked. +++ I have no favorites.
Like everything else in my life, what I like depends on what the thing is, and the only real favorite of anything I have is "Cherry Vanilla" ice cream. Everything else comes second best! Well, almost everything....
As for books, that would be impossible to say. I have been doing book reviews every month for the past 10+ years, and except for computer books that become outdated, I still have most of them, which means probably at least a ton or more. In fact I have to buy another new bookcase every few years to hold them as I get more. The 3x6 foot one I bought just last summer is almost full already.
+++As for the ones I VALUE most, they would have to be put in a list starting with many I have by David Muench. Tom Till sent me one of his I love called Plateau Province, and one from Steve Mulligan called Earth Works. I love any book of the B&W work of John Sexton, and those by Jerry Uelsmann, and Pete Turner. I have a lot of the books of the works of Edward S. Curtis who's old Native American Indian images I love. For picture images there are none better than Archipeligo from National Geographic, and one called 100 Sea Shells, and also Within The Stone, that is by Bill Atkinson. +++ I even have a book by a guy named Jerry Greer+++
+++I don't even remember most of the ones downstairs in that large bookcase, except for Gene Smith, Gordon Parks, Freeeman Patterson, Elliot Porter, and Ernst Haas. I have one whole shelf that is nothing but books from ad and stock agencies that are about the best kind you can ever find for getting new ideas because they all contain the work of most of the major commercial photographers around.
+++Then there are the 7 shelves that are full of just computer books, but that's a whole other subject and some are better than others, but not to the extent of being favorites. Like the photo books, there are many I would recommend having, and would probably even buy if I wasn't gettting them all for free.
It's a dam tough job, but somebody has to do it.
If you are interested in finding out about more books check out the archive at TPN where I did book reviews for about a year.
Discussion
7 repliesWill
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
I can rattle off a long list of other books that I love to open every now and then (I have several dozen in my collection) but these two really stand out.
Another great book I'd like to mention is Tim Ernst's "Wilderness Reflections". I found an old copy of it in a second hand bookstore a long time ago. It truly is one of the greatest collections of high quality images packed into a single volume. I was ultimately fortunate enough to exchange some emails and prints with Tim (who is a member of NPN by the way) and he was kind enough to send me a new copy with a great dedicateion which is one of the most prized in my collection.
Guy
I am constantly re-reading these essays-- particularly the book's namesake and the first essay in the collection, "The Art of Seeing Things." It constantly reminds me to be a better observer and look for things that may not be apparent.
Most people say Galen Rowell's best book was Mountain Light but that one doesn't do much for me personally. The one that changed my life was his Galen Rowell's Vision book. I've probably read that book over 50 times. It opened my eyes to the mental aspects of shooting and the life of a professional photographer. It also introduced me Graduated ND filters.
I have a somewhat modest collection of photo books. Like Richard, "Mountain Light" was very nice to look at, but not among my favorites for influence and inspiration. My most looked at book is "Gone to Sanctuary for the Sins of Confusion", by John Kiewit. It was a limited edition low volume publication, so probably not well known. I think it's just wonderful and worth a look to see if it is availible on the used market. Seconds would be Muench's "Colorado II" and John Shaw's "Close Ups in Nature".
Already there is a list of books which I need to discover. And I hope the list will grow. Thank you all for sharing.
Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
Like everything else in my life, what I like depends on what the thing is, and the only real favorite of anything I have is "Cherry Vanilla" ice cream. Everything else comes second best! Well, almost everything....
As for books, that would be impossible to say. I have been doing book reviews every month for the past 10+ years, and except for computer books that become outdated, I still have most of them, which means probably at least a ton or more. In fact I have to buy another new bookcase every few years to hold them as I get more. The 3x6 foot one I bought just last summer is almost full already.
+++As for the ones I VALUE most, they would have to be put in a list starting with many I have by David Muench. Tom Till sent me one of his I love called Plateau Province, and one from Steve Mulligan called Earth Works. I love any book of the B&W work of John Sexton, and those by Jerry Uelsmann, and Pete Turner. I have a lot of the books of the works of Edward S. Curtis who's old Native American Indian images I love. For picture images there are none better than Archipeligo from National Geographic, and one called 100 Sea Shells, and also Within The Stone, that is by Bill Atkinson. +++ I even have a book by a guy named Jerry Greer+++
+++I don't even remember most of the ones downstairs in that large bookcase, except for Gene Smith, Gordon Parks, Freeeman Patterson, Elliot Porter, and Ernst Haas. I have one whole shelf that is nothing but books from ad and stock agencies that are about the best kind you can ever find for getting new ideas because they all contain the work of most of the major commercial photographers around.
+++Then there are the 7 shelves that are full of just computer books, but that's a whole other subject and some are better than others, but not to the extent of being favorites. Like the photo books, there are many I would recommend having, and would probably even buy if I wasn't gettting them all for free.
It's a dam tough job, but somebody has to do it.
If you are interested in finding out about more books check out the archive at TPN where I did book reviews for about a year.