Extraordinary Everyday Photography

Through accessible discussions and exercises, readers learn to use composition, available light, color, and point of view to create stunning photographs in any environment. Photographers are born travelers. They’ll go any distance to capture the right light, beautiful landscapes, wildlife, and people. But exotic locales aren’t necessary for interesting photographs. Wonderful images are hiding almost everywhere; you just need to know how to find them. Extraordinary Everyday Photography will help you search beyond the surface to find the unexpected wherever you are, be it a downtown street, a local park, or your own front lawn. Authors Brenda Tharp and Jed Manwaring encourage amateur photographers to slow down, open their eyes, and respond to what they see to create compelling images that aren’t overworked. Inspiring photo examples from the authors, taken with DSLRs, compact digital cameras, and even iPhones, show that it is the photographer's eye and creative vision--not the gear--that make a great image.

Through accessible discussions and exercises, readers learn to use composition, available light, color, and point of view to create stunning photographs in any environment. Photographers are born travelers. They’ll go any distance to capture the right light, beautiful landscapes, wildlife, and people. But exotic locales aren’t necessary for interesting photographs. Wonderful images are hiding almost everywhere; you just need to know how to find them. Extraordinary Everyday Photography will help you search beyond the surface to find the unexpected wherever you are, be it a downtown street, a local park, or your own front lawn. Authors Brenda Tharp and Jed Manwaring encourage amateur photographers to slow down, open their eyes, and respond to what they see to create compelling images that aren’t overworked. Inspiring photo examples from the authors, taken with DSLRs, compact digital cameras, and even iPhones, show that it is the photographer's eye and creative vision--not the gear--that make a great image.

Have you ever looked at a tree? That may sound like a silly question, but there is so much more to notice about a tree than first meets the eye. Seeing Trees celebrates seldom seen but easily observable tree traits and invites you to watch trees with the same care and sensitivity that birdwatchers watch birds. Many people, for example, are surprised to learn that oaks and maples have flowers, much less flowers that are astonishingly beautiful when viewed up close. Focusing on widely grown trees, this captivating book describes the rewards of careful and regular tree viewing, outlines strategies for improving your observations, and describes some of the most visually interesting tree structures, including leaves, flowers, buds, leaf scars, twigs, and bark. In-depth profiles of ten familiar species—including such beloved trees as white oak, southern magnolia, white pine, and tulip poplar—show you how to recognize and understand many of their most compelling (but usually overlooked) physical features.

The top-rated and top-selling photography ebook since 2012 and the first ever Gold Honoree of the Benjamin Franklin Digital Award, gives you five innovations no other book offers: Free video training. 9+ HOURS of video training integrated into the book’s content (requires Internet access). Travel around the world with Tony and Chelsea as they teach you hands-on. Appendix A lists the videos so you can use the book like an inexpensive video course.Classroom-style teacher and peer help. After buying the book, you get access to the private forums on this site, as well as the private Stunning Digital Photography Readers group on Facebook where you can ask the questions and post pictures for feedback from Tony, Chelsea, and other readers. It’s like being able to raise your hand in class and ask a question! Instructions are in the introduction.Lifetime updates. This book is regularly updated with new content (including additional videos) that existing owners receive for free. Updates are added based on reader feedback and questions, as well as changing photography trends and new camera equipment. This is the last photography book you’ll ever need.Hands-on practices. Complete the practices at the end of every chapter to get the real world experience you need.500+ high resolution, original pictures. Detailed example pictures taken by the author in fifteen countries demonstrate both good and bad technique. Many pictures include links to the full-size image so you can zoom in to see every pixel. Most photography books use stock photography, which means the author didn’t even take them. If an author can’t take his own pictures, how can he teach you? In this book, Tony Northrup (award-winning author of more than 30 how-to books and a professional portrait, wildlife, and landscape photographer) teaches the art and science of creating stunning pictures. First, beginner photographers will master: CompositionExposureShutter speedApertureDepth-of-field (blurring the background)ISONatural lightFlashTroubleshooting blurry, dark, and bad picturesPet photographyWildlife photography (mammals, birds, insects, fish, and more)Sunrises and sunsetsLandscapesCityscapesFlowersForests, waterfalls, and riversNight photographyFireworksRaw filesHDRMacro/close-up photography Advanced photographers can skip forward to learn the pro’s secrets for: Posing men and women. including corrective posing (checklists provided)Portraits (candid, casual, formal, and underwater)Remotely triggering flashesUsing bounce flash and flash modifiersUsing studio lighting on any budgetBuilding a temporary or permanent studio at homeShooting your first weddingHigh speed photographyLocation scouting/finding the best spots and timesPlanning shoots around the sun and moonStar trails (via long exposure and image stacking)Light paintingEliminating noiseFocus stacking for infinite depth-of-fieldUnderwater photographyGetting close to wildlifeUsing electronic shutter triggersPhotographing moving carsPhotographing architecture and real estate

Photography is now more popular than ever thanks to the rapid development of digital cameras. Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs is ideal for this new wave of snapshooters using DSLR, compact system and bridge cameras. It contains no graphs, no techie diagrams and no camera-club jargon. Instead, it inspires readers through iconic images and playful copy, packed with hands-on tips. Split into five sections, the book covers composition, exposure, light, lenses and the art of seeing. Masterpieces by acclaimed photographers – including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Fay Godwin, Nadav Kander, Daido Moriyama and Martin Parr – serve to illustrate points and encourage readers to try out new ideas. Today’s aspiring photographers want immediacy and see photography as an affordable way of expressing themselves quickly and creatively. This handbook meets their needs, teaching them how to take photographs using professional techniques.

Build your portfolio—or just have fun—with dozens of inventive and inspiring ideas. Whether you want to get more from your DSLR or are simply looking for new creative avenues to explore, 50 Photo Projects shows you how to break out of your comfort zone and try something new. Packed with invaluable tips on how to create stunning photographs, this book provides the bright ideas that will reinvigorate your photography, from inspiration on finding subjects to inventive projects with vintage, pinhole, and toy cameras.

Completely revised and updated throughout, Bryan Peterson's classic guide to creativity helps photographers visualize their work, and the world, in a whole new light by developing their photographic vision. Fully revised with all new photography, this best-selling guide takes a radical approach to creativity by explaining that it is not an inherent ability but a skill that can be learned and applied. Using inventive photos from his own stunning portfolio, author and veteran photographer Bryan Peterson deconstructs creativity for photographers. He details the basic techniques that go into not only taking a particular photo, but also provides insights on how to improve upon it--helping readers avoid the visual pitfalls and technical dead ends that can lead to dull, uninventive photographs. This revised edition features a complete section on color as a design element and all new photographs to illustrate Peterson's points. Learning to See Creatively is the definitive reference for any photographer looking for a fresh perspective on their work.

A renowned photographer and lecturer shows readers the tricks and techniques of outdoor photographer covers the basics of visual design, composition, mood, and color. Original.