Photographing Flowers: Exploring Macro Worlds with Harold Davis

Are you one of those photographers looking for ideas or just one who needs some inspiration?  If so, then I have help for you: Photographing Flowers: Exploring Macro Worlds with Harold Davis. Written in his typical thorough and meticulous way, this latest book of Harold’s is a merger between two of his loves, photography and flowers. And the wonderful thing about flower photography for you is that it can be done almost anywhere—inside your home, in your backyard, at a botanical garden, or just along some random hillside.  There’s no shortage of opportunities, if you just look, and you’ll get all of the inspiration you need from reading this book.  If fact, when I was scrutinizing his photos—you know, eyeball to page—many times I found myself saying, “Wow! I’d love to take a shot like that!”

Book Sections

The Worlds of Flower Photography – Harold uses this first section to give you a Cliffs Notes version of flower anatomy.  I know some may want to skip this section and get right down to the nitty-gritty of shooting, but understanding and appreciating the model before clicking the shutter usually makes for better images. I know, I know, I didn’t care for biology in school either, but Harold keeps it simple and interesting.

Making Flower Photos – For those who want to talk about photography gear and concepts, this is your section.  Most all of the information presented is understandable even to a beginner.  Pros may be able to skim this section, but Harold obviously feels it is important to discuss how basic concepts work with flower photography.

The Bee’s Eye View – How many times have you truly looked at a flower?  I mean really close-up.  If you’re like me, then probably not that often.  This section provides you with a close-up tour of the flower’s more interesting visual aspects.

Flowers in the Digital Darkroom – This was the most fascinating section for me.  You see, it turns out that Harold not only loves photography and flowers, but he loves Photoshop too.  Here he shows you how to get the most out of floral images and even how to take these images into visual realms not commonly associated with flower photography  (for example, how to make your flower image look like a van Gogh painting).  He also covers topics such as focus stacking, enhancing colors with LAB, flowers in black and white, and photographing on white for transparency, to name a few.

My Opinion

I read Photographing Flowers right before visiting my daughter and her husband in Los Angeles earlier this year.  Considering how few floral opportunities there are during the winter months in Central New York, I was ready for whatever Southern California could dish out.  Harold’s book had sufficiently inspired me, and Los Angeles didn’t let me down.  A few of the images I captured are below.  Please realize that these are just snapshots I took with my trusty “point-and-shoot” Rebel T3 (what a great camera to travel with!) and are in no way representative of the beautiful images found within Harold’s book.  Mine are literally snapshots with little to no time spent on lighting, equipment, or composition.  Harold is a much better photographer of flowers than I, and his photos are consequently far more impressive.  Many of his images are macro shots where your eyeball is right in the flower. Nevertheless, I was happy with the shots I got and pleased that Harold’s book gave me some additional motivation to grab them.

If you’ve read any of my other reviews of Harold Davis’ books (here, here, here, or here), then you already know that I have a high regard for his abilities. This book is no different and would make a great addition to anyone’s how-to photography library regardless of experience level. When it comes to macro flower photography books, this one has no competition.

Book Details

Title: Photographing Flowers: Exploring Macro Worlds with Harold Davis

Publisher: Focal Press

Author: Harold Davis

ISBN-13: 978-0240820736

Length: 208 pages

Dimensions: 8.9 x 87.9 x 0.6 inches

Publication Date: October 3, 2011

Format: Paperback

Full Disclosure: I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.  This never influences my opinion or review of a book.

Yes, Sensor Size Really Does Matter

image from 50 Amazing Examples Of Reflective Photography article

Here’s the latest list of links I’ve collected over the last few weeks.  The Sensor Size Matters articles are particularly good.  Enjoy!

Seven Things I Wish I’d Have Known When I First Became a Photographer

 

Iceland: 12 Tips for Capturing Great Waterfall Images

 

Mastering Mobile HDR Photography

 

A 10 Step Guide to Understanding and Utilising Pattern

 

Still Life Photography: Depth of Field Mastered in 8 Steps

 

Using Coloured Filters in Black and White Photography

 

Your Ten Step Guide to Catching Action Shots

 

Using High Speed Sync Flash for Great Flower Photos

 

An In-Depth Look at Dusk and Twilight Photography

 

Stabilization and Bokeh

 

The Best Way to Learn About Composition

 

Lens Stabilization vs. In-Camera Stabilization

 

Photo Preservation Guide Part 1: In the Darkroom

 

Photo Preservation Guide Part 2: Handling, Exhibiting, and Storing

 

Photo Preservation Guide Part 3: Handling Disasters and Professional Help

 

15 Top Zoo Photography Tips

 

Millenniata Invents 1000 Year DVD

 

Nine Reasons When Manual Focus Is Better Than Auto Focus

 

How to Use a Grey Card

 

A Beginner’s Guide to Shooting in Low Light

 

Great Photography Tutorials & Tips

 

How China Changed the American Lighting Industry

 

What to Charge for Professional Photography, Working out Prices

 

50 Amazing Examples of Reflective Photography

 

5-Million Dot Electronic Viewfinder Makes Glass Obsolete

 

Sensor Size Matters - Part 1

 

Sensor Size Matters – Part 2

 

A Professional Guide to Perfect Exposure

Perfect Exposure: The Professional’s Guide to Capturing Perfect Digital Photographs

Are you an advanced photographer interested in an in-depth discussion about perfect exposure? If that’s you, then this is your book. Michael Freeman’s Perfect Exposure is targeted towards advanced amateurs and professionals, definitely not at beginners. It’s not that beginners couldn’t benefit from it, but the book assumes the reader already has a level of understanding beyond what most beginners possess.  Michael approaches the topic in a very analytical way, which to some may not be as easy to follow as his Photographer’s Eye, Photographer’s Mind, or Photographer’s Vision series.

Book Sections

Chapter 1: Fast-Track and Foolproof – Freeman forewarns the reader that his methods make for “unavoidable wordiness,” and because of this, the first chapter contains a short summary of his exposure decision flowchart.  The chart may appear a little daunting at first, but it makes sense if you can just stick with him.  His decision flow logic contains the following steps:

1. Settings – Make sure all the relevant camera settings are as you require them.
2. Metering Mode – Set your preferred metering mode and know exactly how it will perform under the lighting conditions.
3. Know What You Want – Imagine in advance how you want the brightness distribution of the image to be.
4. Scan for Problems – Quickly assess what the issues and likely problems will be, particularly the scene’s dynamic range relative to the sensor’s capability and if the light levels are low.
5. Key Tones – Identify the areas of the scene that are the most important for brightness and in order of importance.
6. Risk of Clipping – If the scene’s dynamic range exceeds the sensor’s performance, decide whether to make changes, or to settle for a compromise exposure and/or rely on special post-processing.
7. Meter & Expose – Use the appropriate metering mode, adjusting up or down if necessary.
8. Review – Review the result on the screen. If it needs improving, re-shoot if appropriate.

Seems simple enough, doesn’t it?  And it should be, but as Michael delves deeper into each point in later chapters, you gain a real understanding why professional photography depends more on the photographer than on the equipment.  Not to say that it becomes complicated—it doesn’t—it’s just that there’s much more to consider with each point than what’s implied by the above list.

Chapter 2: Technical – This chapter covers the workings of the digital sensor, dynamic range of the sensor and scene, and how to measure light and exposure.

“From this point of view—my point of view—exposure is less about twiddling knobs and pressing buttons than about managing light and knowing what you want from an image.”

Chapter 3: The Twelve – In this section, which he refers to as his key chapter, Michael describes 12 distinct and separate types of exposure situations.  The variations are a result of classifying images by the scene’s dynamic range versus the image’s important key tones.  For example, one of the 12 scenarios occurs when we have dark key tones (e.g., a black cat) in a scene with a dynamic range that fits comfortably into the sensor’s dynamic range.  I’ve never seen this type of classification scheme before, and it makes for an interesting way to approach exposure.  Good stuff.

Chapter 4: Style – The prior two chapters deal with finding the exposure that best fits the situation.  This chapter covers taking this knowledge and tempering it with judgment and creativity.

Chapter 5: Post-Processing – Though Michael states that he’d rather not have to talk about post-processing by getting the exposure right at the start, he acknowledges that it’s impossible to separate digital photography completely from digital processing, at least when shooting RAW. The goal is to start with a well-exposed image file and use processing to step final image quality up.  The following subtopics are covered:

• choosing exposure later
• exposure, brightness, and lightness
• selective exposure
• post exposure control
• HDR imaging
• exposure blending
• blending by hand

My Opinion

As I already stated at the beginning of this article and the book’s subtitle points out, this is a guide targeted towards professionals and advanced amateurs.  So if you’re a beginner looking for a book on exposure, you’d be better served by getting either Ross Hoddinott’s Digital Exposure Handbook or Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Exposure. Both provide excellent coverage of exposure in a writing style that’s easy to read and understand.  Michael Freeman’s book, on other hand, is more advanced, analytical, and some might even say, formulaic in its presentation. I believe advanced amateurs would benefit more than seasoned pros, who no doubt already do most of what it advocates, yet pros may gain a fuller understanding of their intuitive process.

A quote from the book which I feel embodies its essence is

“I cannot recommend too strongly the simple ability to look at a scene, see blocks of roughly similar brightness, know intuitively what that brightness is, and how that translates into stops. With practice, it’s easy, and maybe you do this already. If not, time to start!”

Let Michael Freeman guide you through what it takes to make the perfect exposure every time.

Book Details

Title: Perfect Exposure: The Professional’s Guide to Capturing Perfect Digital Photographs

Publisher: Focal Press

Author: Michael Freeman

ISBN-13: 978-0240811710

Length: 192 pages

Dimensions: 10.1 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches

Publication Date: April 14, 2009

Format: Paperback

Full Disclosure: I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.  This never influences my opinion or review of a book.

Extreme Photos from Giant 35-foot Camera

35-foot camera to capture big shots across the country

Check out the specs on this massive film camera:

“It’s a 35-foot camera that produces original film negatives six feet tall. And the resolution of that negative is about a thousand times greater than anything else available on the planet at this time.”

The downside of a six-foot tall image is the price, $50,000.