Book Reviews

Enhancing photographic color is emotionally similar to painting, in which a painter applies a brushstroke and then reflects, reacts, and responds to the brushstroke by adding complimentary brush strokes. In the process the image grows and changes and gains an identity of its own. In the case of sophisticated color blending, working with layers, masks, and blend modes enables you to experiment...

The Oxford Project; photographs by Peter Feldstein, text by Stephen G. Bloom, preface by Gerald Stern; Welcome Books; $50; (ISBN: 978-1-59962-048-0)
This fascinating project started in 1984 when photographer Peter Feldstein set out to capture candid black and white portraits of the residents of Oxford, Iowa. He returned 26 years later to reveal how the passage of...

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”
—The Buddha

Italian publisher FMR recently produced an art book called Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano which, I believe, translates into “You ‘da Man, Mike” or “The Wise Hand” for...

The Essence Of Photography; with John Upton, Calumet Imagemaker Series; $39.99; (ISBN: 978-0-9798629-2-2)
Designed for beginners and advanced amateurs, The Essence Of Photography With John Upton is part of Calumet's instructional DVD series. This highly informative video focuses on developing your technical and visual skills. Upton covers a...

Lighting And Posing Techniques For Photographing Women; by Norman Phillips; Amherst Media, 128 pages; $34.95; (ISBN-13: 978-1-58428-221-1)
This guide offers a bounty of advice from such talented photographers as Rick Ferro, Tom Lee, Tony Corbell, and Sheila Rutledge to name a few. Norman Phillips uses 240 full-color images from these top professionals...

"From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it."
--Groucho Marx

According to a recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll, one in four adults read no books in the past year. Of those who did read, women and older people were the most avid readers and their top choices were religious works...

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Warriors: A Photographic History by Gertrude Käsebier; by Michelle Delaney; Smithsonian Books, 160 pages; $34.95; (ISBN: 978-0-06-112977-3)
In 1898 New York photographer Gertrude Käsebier became fascinated by the proud Sioux performers of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Their breathtaking stunts...