Recommended Reading?

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<span style="font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; font-size: 9pt;"]I'm a voracious reader and I read a lot of novels;everything from [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien]J.R.R. Tolkien[/url] and [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Herbert]Frank Herbert[/url] to [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Clancy]Tom Clancy[/url] and [url="http://www.jeffshaara.com/]Jeff Shaara[/url]. I also read a lot of war history. So, I'm not looking as much to be entertained as I am to learn more about photography and improve my skills.



<span style="font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; font-size: 9pt;"]<o:p>Learning about photography I've read several books by David Buschstarting with <span id="btAsinTitle"][url="http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photography-Reference-Dummies-Computers/dp/0470401958/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_8][i]Digital Photography All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies[/i][/url][i], [/i][url="http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Cameras-Photography-Dummies-Computer/dp/0470466065/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1248359915& amp;sr=8-1][i]DSLRs for Dummies[/i][/url][i],[/i]<span id="btAsinTitle"][url="http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Digital-Photography-David-Busch/dp/1598634011/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_5][i]Mastering Digital SLR Photography[/i][/url][i],[/i]<span>[url="http://www.amazon.com/Digital-SLR-Secrets-David-Busch/dp/1598630199/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2][i]Digital SLR Pro Secrets[/i][/url][i][/i]and[i][/i][url="http://www.amazon.com/David-Buschs-Canon-Digital-Photography/dp/1598635786/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_10][i]David Busch's Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D Guide to Digital SLR Photography[/i][/url].I also read [url="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Photography-Bible/Lezano/e/9780715325995/?itm=1][i]The Photography Bible[/i][/url] by [url="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?ATH=Daniel+Lezano]Daniel Lezano[/url]. I'd recommend themfor beginners but, I'm looking for something deeper.</o:p>


<span style="font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; font-size: 9pt;"]<o:p>I've recently read [url="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Master-Lighting-Guide-for-Portrait-Photographers/Christopher-Grey/e/9781584281252/?itm=5][i]Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers[/i][/url]by [url="/booksearch/results.asp?ATH=Christopher+Grey]Christopher Grey[/url]and [url="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Master-Posing-Guide-for-Childrens-Portrait-Photographers/Norman-Phillips/e/9781584281917/?itm=9][i]Master Posing Guide for Children's Portrait Photographers[/i][/url]by [url="/booksearch/results.asp?ATH=Norman+Phillips]Norman Phillips[/url].</o:p>


<span style="font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; font-size: 9pt;"]I'm currently reading Joe McNally's <span id="btAsinTitle"]<span style="font-family: Verdana; color: #3366cc;"][url="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&amp;keywords=the+moment+it+clicks&amp;tag =googhydr-20&amp;index=aps&amp;hvadid=1155721361&amp;ref=pd_ sl_8qrsc0phum_e][i]The Moment It Clicks[/i][/url][i][/i]<span style="color: #000000;"](BTW - I highly recommend it). Next will be <span style="color: #3366cc;"]<span style="font-family: Verdana; color: #3366cc;"]The Hot Shoe Diaries<o:p></o:p>. Does anyone have any other recommended reading? I just need something to get my photography fix when I'm away from the computer (In the head, at work, waiting on the Wife at the mall...etc). I read too fast for magazines to be much more than a light snack. They can get quite expensive when yougo throughthem as fast as I do. Besides most of the more interesting articles I've already read online before I pick upthe magazine.





P.S. When I say I read a book it not only means I read it buthave it on my bookshelf for future reference.

This was a great book for any Photographer IMO.
<p class="parseasinTitle"]<span id="btAsinTitle"]Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)

I'll second the nod for Understanding Exposure.


Read everything on Strobist. Practice it.


There's good stuff on robgalbraith.com, though a mix of Canon and Nikon. Likewise, I found Hot Shoe Diaries to be educational but not an easy crossover to Canon (i.e. apparently exposure compensation on Nikon, when shooting with flash, drops the ambient AND flash exposure together, so all too often he's selecting -1.7EC and +1.7FEC to bring the flash(es) back to neutral).


Start using RSS in your favorite email/news-type client (I use Thunderbird) to track your favorite blog-style sites. You'll get updates whenever a new blog post is made, so you know when to go view fresh content on your favorite blogs. Once I (finally) learned RSS, I realized that I didn't have to keep bookmarking lots of blogs and remembering to check them, and that enabled me to ACTUALLY track more blogs in less time.

If you use iGoogle, GoogleReader is also great for RSS feeds!

Light: Science &amp; Magic


It's a great technical book that teaches the reader the hows and whys of lighting. It's a great first read for someone starting out with off-camera flash photography. I imagine, though, that the principles demonstrated in the book could be applied to hot lights, or even natural light with reflectors. It's not a "fun" read, really, but quite informative.

If you like to be entertained, read articles from www.KenRockwell.com. I don't agree with everything he says, but I like him for being straight forward, pracitical and humorous.

Your post reminded me of another thread from a while back where I recommended some technical optics references. I'm pretty sure that's not what you're looking for, though.


Here are some references I can pass on for post processing, color, and printing (if you're into those things):


Professional Photoshop: The Classic Guide to Color Correction by Dan Margulis

Photoshop LAB Color: The Canyon Conundrum and Other Adventures in the Most Powerful Colorspace by Dan Margulis

Makeready: A Prepress Resource by Dan Margulis

Real World Color Management: Industrial-Strength Production Techniques
by Bruce Fraser, Fred Bunting, Chris Murphy

Real World Adobe Photoshop CS3: Industrial-strength Production Techniques
by David Blatner, Conrad Chavez, Bruce Fraser

Color Management For Photographers: Hands On Techniques For Photoshop Users, Andrew Rodney

I agree, Bryan Peterson is a great photographer and author. He also wrote: Understanding Digital Photography, Understanding Shutter Speed, Understanding Close-up Photography and Learning to See Creatively.


If you want to brush up on your composition, I recommend: Photographic Composition by Grill and Scanlon, Master Composition Guide for Digital Photographers by Wildi, Designing a Photograph by Smith


If you like shooting wildlifelook into Concepts of Nature byWardandMoose Peterson's Guide to Wildlife Photography.


For landscapes, Waiting for The Light by Noton is a must-read, IMHO. Landscape Beyond byWard is not bad at all.


I also enjoyed The Photographer's Eye by Freeman. Recently, hecame up with Perfect Exposure (the title is a little longer),which I haven't read, but is next on my list.