on the bookshelf

the forbidden city
vancouver public library, vancouver

I love books. Each time our father went to town my sister and I would eagerly wait for him to return knowing there would be a bag from Kingston’s Bookstore just for us. When I was about eight years old, we created our own public library complete with a system of checking out books. All this mostly because as children we weren’t allowed to join the local public library. That’s just one of the things that can happen when you grow up in a segregated society. Another unintended consequence is something much more beautiful–a life long love affair with books.

Books are a large part of my learning photography. It isn’t my intent to review the books I’ve used but just to share them with you in case you might find them helpful or inspiring. You could say that the journey began when my friend Keith suggested I read The Alchemist. It’s a story about a young shepherd who sets out to find his treasure and along the way he learns about the faith and courage we all have to fulfill our dreams.  Of course you know I’ve read Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Exposure but I’ve also read Understanding Shutter Speed. It’s a great book if you like motion or implied motion shots and you want to know how to shoot them. Bryan is a master at these types of images and he goes into detail without getting too technical. I find his hallmark storytelling style of teaching is very effective.

Regular readers also know that I have several books by Freeman Patterson Photography and the Art of Seeing, Photography for the Joy of It, Photographing the World Around  You and Photography of Natural Things. I’ve read them several times as there is so much good information on visual design in each of them. Much of what you know about composition may be intuitive but when you understand why, for example, lines of varying lengths and thickness create depth, you will develop a stronger ability to include (or exclude) elements to express what you want to say with your image. 

This post would not be complete without  David duChemin’s Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision. I actually own two copies of it–one that I will keep in pristine condition with a personal inscription and another that I plan to take with me as a workbook on my trip to Kenya. In many ways it is a personal book but it will be for the masses in the years to come. The idea at the heart of it–finding your vision and learning to express it–is timeless and in many ways it reminds me of Santiago’s journey in The Alchemist to find his treasure. If you don’t already own this book, you should get it.

I do have several books on the technical side of photography such as Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS4, Camera Raw for Digital Photographers Only, and Scott Kelby’s 7-Point System for Photoshop to name a few. I tend to use these more as reference books although I have gone through Scott Kelby’s book at least once. Photoshop is one of those skills that you could probably spend a lifetime getting to know and there’d still be plenty left to learn. If you’re like me and don’t have strong Photoshop skills, these books will make more sense the second and third time around. On the other hand, if  you are a person that likes to get everything right in camera or if you shoot film, you may not use these books as much as others would.

My most recent acquisitions have been eBooks. While they don’t stack up on the bookshelf in the same way as regular books, I’ve found they are an excellent addition to my library. eBooks are short and easily digested–they feel like vitamin boosters! My favourites are four eBooks released by David duChemin which can be found on David’s new Craft & Vision site and one that I’ve just finished reading this weekend Seeing the Light  by Mitchell Kanashkevich. David duChemin’s eBooks focus almost exclusively on non-gear pearls of wisdom and each time he introduces a new one, it becomes my favourite. Chasing the Look is the latest release. It’s based on two essential questions photographers should ask themselves when creating images: what are you trying to say and how can the camera and lens help you express this. They’re answered in true duChemin fashion–a little self-deprecation, sprinkles of humour, and a whole truckload of great advice.  The real gems in his books are the creative exercises he includes and of course more of his stirring images.  Seeing the Light by Mitchell Kanashkevich was so eye-opening for me. It is well-written, well-illustrated, and easy to understand. I’ve always loved the way light appears in Mitchell’s photographs and he explains not only how he achieves this look but also why the lighting is set  up in this way. A last word about eBooks, if you plan on reading more books in this format, download Adobe Digital Editions software. It makes reading so much easier and you get to create your own library

Currently on my bedside table are Chris Orwig’s Visual Poetry, David duChemin’s Visionmongers (in eBook format), and David Nightingale’s Practical HDR to name a few. I’ll keep you posted on these and other additions to my library. If you have any suggestions for other books I should add to my library, please leave a comment below.