Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques

Harold Davis, author of Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques, has the remarkable ability to write books faster than I can read them.  The ink is barely dry on this one, and he already has another book ready for release called Photographing Flowers: Exploring Macro Worlds.  But that’s for another day.

Creative Landscapes is the latest book in Harold’s Creative Photography Series.  Each book of the series focuses on specific areas within the broader field of photography; and like the others, this book exhibits his distinctively clear writing style, attention to detail, and thorough coverage of each topic.

There are four sections: “The Tao of Landscape,” “Tools & Techniques,” “One World, Many Landscapes,” and “Landscapes and Post-Processing.”  The Tao section sets the groundwork for the rest of the book by laying out Harold’s view of what landscape photography entails.  Some may see landscape photography in a limited way, dealing with panoramic views of mountain vistas or grand prairies, but Harold describes it more in line with dictionary.com’s definition as “the category of aesthetic subject matter in which natural scenery is represented.”  Landscape photography really relies more on connecting with the basic essence of objects around us rather than merely mimicking Ansel Adams’ images.  As Harold states:

“Photographs on a microscopic scale, images of the polluted environment, and the New Topographics Robert Adams-style shots of banal subdivisions and housing projects captured neutrally are just as much landscape photos as are the grand Ansel Adams set pieces of pristine monochromatic nature.”

and

“…great landscape photos result from the authentic feeling of being fully present, along with a mastery of the tools and craft of photography.”

“Tools & Techniques” discusses choices of cameras, lenses, and tripods with regard to their use in landscape photography.  Techniques covered include all of the basics such as exposure, aperture’s effect on depth-of-field, ISO settings, and composition.  These concepts should be second nature to both advanced amateurs and professionals.  Others will want to make sure these concepts are fully understood, and this section provides a good introduction.

“One World, Many Landscapes” walks the reader through shooting landscape images, whether they be earth and sky, mountains, deserts, seascapes, reflections, or city and night landscapes.  The major benefits of this section are twofold: it provides you with plenty of photographic ideas, and it removes the excuse for not shooting landscapes because “you’re not living by any.”

Harold concludes the book with a section on landscapes and post-processing.  Digital photography doesn’t end with the click of the shutter anymore than it did in film days.  As he does in each of his Creative Photography Series books, Harold presents digital darkroom tools and techniques that help you to realize your vision to final form, whether it’s through the use of techniques such as HDR, monochromatic conversions, or LAB color.

My Opinion

If you’ve read any of my other reviews of Harold Davis’ books, you know that I have a high regard for his work.  I like his writing style. Not only is it easy to read and follow, but it’s also engaging.

As I’ve stated before (here), Harold Davis’ Creative Photography Series is a great way to start a photography library, particularly if you’re a beginner. This series is geared more towards instruction than inspiration, which makes it ideally suited for those just starting out.  Check out the Excerpts section below to access some of the book online.  It’ll help you get a better idea if it’s what you’re looking for.

Ratings

Occasionally, I call attention to Amazon customer review ratings to show what others think.  As of September, 3, 2011, the book had 31 reviews; of these, 28 gave it a 5-star rating.  If you’re at all interested in this book, read a few of those reviews to see the praise this book received.

Excerpts

Table of Contents

Index

Excerpt pages from Google Books

Book Details

Title: Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Author: Harold Davis

ISBN-13: 978-1118027325

Length: 240 pages

Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches

Publication Date: 2011-05-24; 1 edition

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. If I find deficiencies with either the book’s content or its manufacturing, I will say so.