Photography (e)book recommendations

[FearTheXNoob]

Hi all,

 

I'm soon going on vacation and am looking for photography related ebooks. I'm especially interested in background stories of photographers or historical texts, as well as in books improving my photographic vision. Do you have any suggestions or recommendations?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[citral]

If you want to have a look at how to make beautiful pictures with "nothing" (well, with what you have, even if it doesn't look exciting / exotic) I suggest one of the cheap Eggleston's book : Guide or Paris

 

He doesn't explain anything tho, as for him pictures have nothing to do with words so it's up to you to analyse light, composition etc.

 

If you want to have a look at how to make something that looks like a soap opera or a postcard with a funny twist, I suggest one of the cheap Martin Parr's book like "Life's a Beach". The beach bag version is lovely and can give you a LOT of new ideas to try.

 

For books with words about photography I'll leave that to others.

[Iko]

One of the first books on photography I read was "The art of photography" from Bruce Barnbaum. It's centerd mostly over the analogue

side, but it's still a really good book and offer many usefull hints.

[CRAusmus]

Ansel Adams: "The Negative" and "The Print"

 

I believe both are available in ebook format or PDF for free on the internet.

[Trenton Talbot]

As a light vacation reading I suggest Galen Rowell's books (for example, this one or that one)… but these are not ebooks.

However, you can have a free taste of Galen's articles here. Just save them to Instapaper or "print" as PDF and save to your device.

[Sharkey]

Simple:

Dan Winters - Road to Seeing

[Tom H.]

Simple:

Dan Winters - Road to Seeing

This one yes. Must have. And add to that one from Gregory Heisler, like for instance "50 Portraits".

[papedo]

thanks for those tips, i´m always searching for something to read:)

 

a recommandation:  zack arias   -   Photography Q&A: Real Questions. Real Answers (Voices That Matter)

[zaack77]

A quick list of (free) photo ebooks :

 

General

- Ultimate Field Guide to Photography

 

Landscape

- Good Photos in Bad Lights

- Insights From Beyond the Lens

 

Street Photography

- Going Candid

- Urban Exploration

 

I did enjoy Going Candid a lot! Leuthard's book is excellent.

And Wigget's "Good Photo in Bad Lights" opens new horizons. Short but going to the essential!

[antonio]

eric kim and ken rockwell have a book list on their blogs, I found Bruce Barbaum (art of photography) very useful,and looking for the masters (I love dorothea lange) always good

[CRAusmus]

eric kim and ken rockwell have a book list on their blogs, I found Bruce Barbaum (art of photography) very useful,and looking for the masters (I love dorothea lange) always good

I've tried embedding it, but I can't get it to work.

 

Dorothea Lange, Grab a Hunk of Lightning.  Amazing Documentary...

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/dorothea-lange/watch-full-film-dorothea-lange-grab-a-hunk-of-lightning/3260/

[pizzaman]

Probably obvious but Robert Adams (also an amazing photographer) and Susan Sontag are some of the best writers on photography from the past 50 years. Anything either of them have written is probably worth your time. 

They talk about photography from a more philosophical point of view - its' place and function in society - motivations for making different kinds of work.

 

For me, it is one of the best ways to advance how you think as a photographer.

 

There are a ton of good photo books out there, but I think you'd be doing them an injustice by looking at them in ebook form, if they are even available in that way.