I love looking at photographs and reading about photography almost as much as I enjoy taking pictures. And I have 3 solid recommendations for books to give or books to ask for this holiday season. Two of the books are from renowned photographers who have been a source of inspiration for years. The remaining book is an indispensable guide (or series of guides) for Nikon users.
Annie Liebovitz At Work by Annie Leibovitz. Annie is the well-known photographer who started her career with Rolling Stone (and later Vanity Fair) taking extraordinary portraits of rock stars, politicians, and other celebrities. This book is a behind-the-scenes approach that gives insight to how she works and how she approaches a shoot. What is remarkable is that despite her celebrity and achievements she presents without pretense. One of the more interesting admissions is that she often will approach a shoot with no idea how it will turn out or what will happen. All of us who have been into photography can identify with that slight anxiety. The book is less a photo book and more a narrative of what it is like to photograph famous people. The section on photographing the Queen of England is captivating.
Sports Illustrated: Athlete by Walter Iooss. Mr. Iooss has been a photographer for Sports Illustrated and has had his photographs on the cover of the magazine over 300 times. What makes his approach memorable is his emphasis on composition. He is able to portray the grace and the grittiness of his subjects while paying almost as much attention to the background and context of his photographs, which in turn serves to amplify and define his subjects in ways that no other sports photographer can match. The pièce de résistance for this set is the final photograph of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, reunited after 30 years for a portrait. To see the old, grizzled warriors together again is a pure treat.
Thom Hogan's Complete Guide to the Nikon D700 by Thom Hogan. I recently ordered a Nikon D700 from B&H, and once the order was processed the very next thing I did was order this eBook from Thom Hogan. Nikon product manuals are notoriously lacking, and Hogan steps into the breach by giving an astounding amount of detail about every single facet of the D700. He highlights features that really help the user get to know this fairly complex instrument that the DSLR has become. In addition to the book, which comes in pdf format, Thom provides a reference companion in paper that is easy to throw into the suitcase on a trip. To say the man is prolific would be a huge understatement. Thom has written manuals covering virtually ever Nikon SLR since F80 and F100 days, as well as Nikon flash equipment and Fuji DSLRs. While I disagree with some of his strongly expressed opinions at times, particularly with regards to Nikon software which I find lacking, these books are simply indispensable for Nikon users.
Happy shopping!
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