Louvre: All the Paintings


Erich Lessing - 2011
    Comes with an enclosed, supportive DVD-ROM The Louvre is the world's most visited art museum, with 8.5 million visitors annually, and houses the most celebrated and important paintings of all time. For the first time ever, The Louvre: All the Paintings collects all 2,981 paintings currently on display in the permanent collection in one beautifully curated volume. Organized and divided into the four main painting collections of the museum— the Italian School, the Northern School, the Spanish School, and the French School— the paintings are then presented chronologically by the artist's date of birth.Four hundred of the most iconic and significant paintings are illuminated with 300-word discussions by art historians Anja Grebe and Vincent Pomarède on the key attributes of the work, what to look for when viewing the painting, the artist's inspirations and techniques, biographical information on the artist, the artist's impact on the history of art, and more. All 2,981 paintings are fully annotated with the name of the painting and artist, the date of the work, the birth and death dates of the artist, the medium that was used, the size of the painting, the Louvre catalog number, and the room in the Louvre in which the painting is found. The DVD-ROM is easily browsable by artist, date, school, art historical genre, or location in the Louvre. This last feature allows readers to tour the Louvre and its contents room by room, as if they were actually walking through the building.

I Love Your Style: How to Define and Refine Your Personal Style


Amanda Brooks - 2009
    Smart, glamorous, media-savvy and remarkably practical, Amanda has spent her entire life constructing a unique, eclectic and intimately personal sense of style. With classic roots, bohemian flair, a taste for designer luxuries, and a love for bargains everywhere, Amanda has looked to every imaginable source of fashion inspiration-from high-fashion runways and magazines, to thrift stores and classic movies, to her neighbors in downtown New York and old family photo albums. In I Love Your Style, Amanda helps women of all ages begin to cull through the frighteningly vast world of fashion, from its staid basics to its trendiest moments. I Love Your Style is a sumptuous full-color look-book and style bible, complete with more than 400 classic and modern photographs, that will both empower and inspire women to dive into the challenge of defining, or refining, their personal style. With fully illustrated chapters, sidebars, shopping lists, and personal stories devoted to a range diverse styles and shopping techniques-Classic, Bohemian, Minimalist, Street, High-Fashion, Cheap Chic, Vintage-Brooks walks readers through every angle of the fashion world, from the basic pieces and accessories that define a style, to the small details, combinations, and adaptations that can make it your own. With its focus on embracing creativity, personal history, originality, and the freedom to pick and choose aspects from any distinct "style"-and with no "rules," "commandments," or lengthy lists of "don′ts" in sight-I Love Your Style is a must-read for budding fashionistas, or anyone who finds herself frustrated in front of the mirror each morning.

The Atlas of Middle-Earth


Karen Wynn Fonstad - 1981
    Here is the definitive guide to the geography of Middle-earth, from its founding in the Elder Days through the Third Age, including the journeys of Bilbo, Frodo, and the Fellowship of the Ring. Authentic and updated -- nearly one third of the maps are new, and the text is fully revised -- the atlas illuminates the enchanted world created in THE SILMARILLION, THE HOBBIT, and THE LORD OF THE RINGS.Hundreds of two-color maps and diagrams survey the journeys of the principal characters day by day -- including all the battles and key locations of the First, Second, and Third Ages. Plans and descriptions of castles, buildings, and distinctive landforms are given, along with thematic maps describing the climate, vegetation, languages, and population distribution of Middle-earth throughout its history. An extensive appendix and an index help readers correlate the maps with Tolkien's novels.

The Story of Art


E.H. Gombrich - 1950
    Attracted by the simplicity and clarity of his writing, readers of all ages and backgrounds have found in Professor Gombrich a true master, and one who combines knowledge and wisdom with a unique gift for communicating his deep love of the subject. The Story of Art, one of the most famous and popular books on art ever written, has been a world bestseller for over four decades. Attracted by the simplicity and clarity of his writing, readers of all ages and backgrounds have found in Professor Gombrich a true master, and one who combines knowledge and wisdom with a unique gift for communicating his deep love of the subject.For the first time in many years the book has been completely redesigned. The illustrations, now in colour throughout, have all been improved and reoriginated, and include six fold-outs. The text has been revised and updated where appropriate, and a number of significant new artists have been incorporated. The bibliographies have been expanded and updated, and the maps and charts redrawn. The Story of Art has always been admired for two key qualities: it is a pleasure to read and a pleasure to handle. In these respects the new edition is true to its much-loved predecessors: the text runs as smoothly as ever and the improved illustrations are always on the page where the reader needs them. In its new edition, this classic work continues its triumphant progress tirelessly for yet another generation, to remain the title of first choice for any newcomer to art or the connoisseur. The Story of Art has always been admired for two key qualities: it is a pleasure to read and a pleasure to handle. In these respects the new edition is true to its much-loved predecessors: the text runs as smoothly as ever and the improved illustrations are always on the page where the reader needs them. In its new edition, this classic work continues its triumphant progress tirelessly for yet another generation, to remain the title of first choice for any newcomer to art or the connoisseur.

Robert Doisneau


Jean-Claude Gautrand - 1992
    Fresh, unstaged, and full of poetry and humor, his photographs portray everyday people (in everyday places, doing everyday things) frozen in time, unwittingly revealing fleeting personal emotions in a public context. Doisneau's gift was the ability to seek out and capture, with humanity and grace, those little epiphanies of everyday Parisian life. This book traces Doisneau's life and career, providing a wonderful introduction to the work of this seminal photographer.

How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck: Advice to Make Any Amateur Look Like a Pro


Steve Stockman - 2011
    It’s about the language of video and how to think like a director, regardless of equipment (amateurs think about the camera, pros think about communication). It’s about the rules developed over a century of movie-making—which work just as well when shooting a two-year-old’s birthday party on your phone. Written by Steve Stockman, the director of the award-winning feature Two Weeks, plus TV shows, music videos, and hundreds of commercials, How to Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck explains in 74 short, pithy, insightful chapters how to tell a story and entertain your audience. In other words, how to shoot video people will want to watch. Here’s how to think in shots—how to move-point-shoot-stop-repeat, instead of planting yourself in one spot and pressing “Record” for five minutes. Why never to shoot until you see the whites of your subject’s eyes. Why to “zoom” with your feet and not the lens. How to create intrigue on camera. The book covers the basics of video production: framing, lighting, sound (use an external mic), editing, special effects (turn them off!), and gives advice on shooting a variety of specific situations: sporting events, parties and family gatherings, graduations and performances. Plus, how to make instructional and promotional videos, how to make a music video, how to capture stunts, and much more. At the end of every chapter is a suggestion of how to immediately put what you’ve learned into practice, so the next time you’re shooting you’ll have begun to master the skill. Steve’s website (stevestockman.com) provides video examples to illustrate different production ideas, techniques, and situations, and his latest thoughts on all things video.

Believing is Seeing: Observations on the Mysteries of Photography


Errol Morris - 2011
     In Believing Is Seeing Academy Award-winning director Errol Morris turns his eye to the nature of truth in photography. In his inimitable style, Morris untangles the mysteries behind an eclectic range of documentary photographs, from the ambrotype of three children found clasped in the hands of an unknown soldier at Gettysburg to the indelible portraits of the WPA photography project. Each essay in the book presents the reader with a conundrum and investigates the relationship between photographs and the real world they supposedly record. During the Crimean War, Roger Fenton took two nearly identical photographs of the Valley of the Shadow of Death-one of a road covered with cannonballs, the other of the same road without cannonballs. Susan Sontag later claimed that Fenton posed the first photograph, prompting Morris to return to Crimea to investigate. Can we recover the truth behind Fenton's intentions in a photograph taken 150 years ago? In the midst of the Great Depression and one of the worst droughts on record, FDR's Farm Service Administration sent several photographers, including Arthur Rothstein, Dorothea Lange, and Walker Evans, to document rural poverty. When Rothstein was discovered to have moved the cow skull in his now-iconic photograph, fiscal conservatives-furious over taxpayer money funding an artistic project-claimed the photographs were liberal propaganda. What is the difference between journalistic evidence, fine art, and staged propaganda? During the Israeli-Lebanese war in 2006, no fewer than four different photojournalists took photographs in Beirut of toys lying in the rubble of bombings, provoking accusations of posing and anti-Israeli bias at the news organizations. Why were there so many similar photographs? And were the accusers objecting to the photos themselves or to the conclusions readers drew from them? With his keen sense of irony, skepticism, and humor, Morris reveals in these and many other investigations how photographs can obscure as much as they reveal and how what we see is often determined by our beliefs. Part detective story, part philosophical meditation, Believing Is Seeing is a highly original exploration of photography and perception from one of America's most provocative observers.

Criticizing Photographs: An Introduction to Understanding Images


Terry Barrett - 1990
    The chapters focus on description, interpretation, evaluation, and theory and provide a sound b

The Genius of Photography


Gerry Badger - 2007
    Exploring the key events and the key images that have marked the development of photography, this title examines the evolution of photography in its wider context: social, political, economic, technological and artistic.

Urban Watercolor Sketching: A Guide to Drawing, Painting, and Storytelling in Color


Felix Scheinberger - 2014
    Whether you’re an amateur artist, drawer, doodler, or sketcher, watercolor is a versatile sketching medium that’s perfect for people on the go—much like pen or pencil. Accomplished designer and illustrator Felix Scheinberger offers a solid foundation in color theory and countless lessons on all aspects of watercolor sketching, including: Fundamentals like wet-on-wet, glazes, and washes Materials and supplies to bring on your travels Little-known tips and tricks, like painting when water isn’t handy and seeking out inspiration Vibrant watercolor paintings grace each page, and light-hearted anecdotes (why do fish make great subjects to paint, you may be wondering...) make this a lively guide to the medium. With an open mind and sketchbook, you will be ready to capture the moments around you in luminous color with confidence, creativity, and ease—no matter what your skill level may be.

Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures from the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art


John Szarkowski - 1973
    In concise analyses, John Szarkowski investigates the aesthetic, formal, social and historical issues of 100 photographs selected from the Modern's collections. This archive of pictures contains a vast range of works from familiar and not-so-familiar photographers. Included are some the of most recognizable pictures of the past 150 years by acknowledged masters of their field such as Adamson, Cameron, Stieglitz, Weston, Cartier-Bresson, Cunningham, Arbus and Frank.

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)


Peachpit Press - 2013
    Scott doesn’t just show you which sliders do what (every Lightroom book will do that). Instead, by using the following three simple, yet brilliant, techniques that make it just an incredible learning tool, this book shows you how to create your own photography workflow using Lightroom: Throughout the book, Scott shares his own personal settings and studiotested techniques. Each year he trains thousands of Lightroom users at his live seminars and through that he’s learned what really works, what doesn’t, and he tells you flat out which techniques work best, which to avoid, and why. The entire book is laid out in a real workflow order with everything step by step, so you can begin using Lightroom like a pro from the start. What really sets this book apart is the last chapter. This is where Scott dramatically answers his #1 most-asked Lightroom question, which is: “Exactly what order am I supposed to do things in, and where does Photoshop fit in?” You’ll see Scott’s entire start-to-finish Lightroom 5 workflow and learn how to incorporate it into your own workflow. Plus, this book includes a downloadable collection of some of the hottest Lightroom Develop module presets to give you a bunch of amazing effects with just one click! Scott knows first-hand the challenges today’s digital photographers are facing, and what they want to learn next to make their workflow faster, easier, and more fun. He has incorporated all of that into this major update for Lightroom 5. It’s the first and only book to bring the whole process together in such a clear, concise, and visual way. Plus, the book includes a special chapter on integrating Adobe Photoshop seamlessly right into your workflow, and you’ll also learn some of Scott’s latest Photoshop portrait retouching techniques and special effects, which take this book to a whole new level. There is no faster, more straight-to-the-point, or more fun way to learn Lightroom than with this groundbreaking book.

Photography Changes Everything


Marvin Heiferman - 2012
    Compiling hundreds of images and responses from leading authorities on photography, it offers a brilliant, reader-friendly exploration of the many ways in which photographs package information and values, demand and hold attention, and shape our knowledge of and experience in the world. The volume draws on the extraordinary visual assets of the Smithsonian Institution's museums, science centers and archives to launch an unprecedented interdisciplinary dialogue on photography's capacity to shape and change our experience of the world. Photography Changes Everything features over 300 images and nearly 100 engaging short texts commissioned from experts, writers, inventors, public figures and others--from Hugh Hefner to John Baldessari, John Waters, Robert Adams, Sandra Phillips and many others. Each story responds to images selected by project contributors. Together they engage readers in a timely exploration of the extent to which our lives have been transformed through our interactions with photographic imagery. Edited by leading photography curator and author Marvin Heiferman, Photography Changes Everything provides a unique opportunity to better understand the history, practice and power of photography at this transitional moment in visual culture.

Assassin's Creed: The Complete Visual History


Matthew Miller - 2015
    A sweeping and visually rich narrative covering the Crusades in medieval Jerusalem, the pirate-infested oceans of the Caribbean, the height of the French Revolution, and more, Assassin’s Creed immerses fans in the most dramatic periods in human history and brings to life some of its most intriguing and influential characters. This comprehensive book explores the history and legacy of Assassin’s Creed, its rich mythology, and the vivid artwork of the entire franchise, including works created for the graphic novels and downloadable content. With never-before-seen concept and character art, Assassin’s Creed: The Complete Visual History reveals the creative process behind the immersive historical settings as well as the development of such iconic characters as Altair, Ezio, Connor, and Arno, to name a few, chronicling how the franchise has evolved over the years while retaining its bold, signature look. Written by gaming journalist Matthew Miller and featuring commentary from key Ubisoft developers and artists, this comprehensive visual history offers unparalleled insight into one of the industry’s most acclaimed franchises. The ultimate word on the blockbuster gaming phenomenon, Assassin’s Creed: The Complete Visual History is a must read for fans of the franchise and those interested in discovering the astounding artistry behind the creation of a major contemporary video game series.

100 Days in Photographs: Pivotal Events That Changed the World


Nick Yapp - 2007
    These moments are crystallised in images that leap from the page revealing joy, anger, despairsand triumph. An insightful text by photography historian Nick Yapp supports these images, which are accompanied by journals, excerpts and 'on-site' notes that offer the backstory of the image and how it was captured.Major events that have shaped our erascaptured in the book include, from the Getty historic archive, the 1848-9 revolution and riots in Europe; President Lincoln's assassination in 1865; the construction of the Eiffel Tower in 1889; the Potemkin Mutiny (1905) that launched the Russians Revolution; the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916; the Wall Street crash of 1929; Kristallnacht in Germany in 1938; the Bristish leaving India in 1947; through to the dawn of the new millennium in 2000.The National Geographic archives are used to illustratescultural geography, the changes in landscape, contemporary conflicts, Native America, and the civil rights movement among others, including the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Scott and Amundsen reaching the South Pole in 1911; the Lascaux cave paintings discovered in 1940; the first heart transplant in 1967; the Chernobyl disaster of 1986; the cloning of sheep in 1997; the Twin Towers attack of 2001; and the global warming debate of 2007. The wonder of this book is in illustrating how an entire event or age can be captured in a single image - whether it be of a peasant's tears, two heads of state sharing a secret, or the triumph of an Olympic champion. Politics, war, crime, exploration, fashion and fads all make up these one hundred days: From the California Gold Rush of 1849 to the finished structure of the Three Gorges Dam in 2006.