Books About Photography

[Mike Farley]

From time to time, I read books about the approach to photography. I do not necessarily choose the obvious ones as I like to take in alternative views. There is not much point in reading something which merely reinforces what you already think, or think that you know. It is a good idea to challenge our conceptions from time to time to ensure that they are valid. For example, I am currently reading the "Tao of Photography" by Philippe L Gross and S I Shapiro. It has the added advantage that it informs not just about photography but life in general.

For anyone who is looking for books to read, especially those which are less well known, you could do worse than look at the recommendations in this blog post and its comments. It might take a bit of time to go through everything and check the reviews on Amazon, but even that is an education in itself.

http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.co ... -time.html

Incidentally, next up in my reading pile is "The Essence of Photography" by Bruce Barnbaum, having previously enjoyed "The Art of Photography" by the same author. While I believe there is some overlap between the two books, it has been a while since I read the latter so it will be a useful refresh.

If anyone has read books they would recommend, you could help your fellow members by adding the details to this thread.

[Steve B]

That's quite a list. I also greatly enjoyed reading Barnbaum's The Art of Photography.

Good ones on my bookshelf:

Michael Freeman - Perfect Exposure
Michael Freeman - The Photographer's Eye
Gerry Badger - The Genius of Photography (a history of photography rather than a how to)
Martin Parr and Gerry Badger - The Photobook: A History, volume 1 (ditto)
Harold Davis - Creative Black & White: Digital photography tips and techniques
David Gibson - The Street Photographer's Handbook

Happy to loan these out if anyone is interested.

Steve

[Iggy]

Hi Steve,
I would be grateful to have a look through David Gibson's The Street Photographer's Handbook, if you don't mind.
Kind regards,
Iggy

[Steve B]

I would be grateful to have a look through David Gibson's The Street Photographer's Handbook, if you don't mind.

Sure, I'll bring it along on Wednesday.