Book picks similar to
Visions of Paradise by National Geographic Society
photography
art
non-fiction
nonfiction
Great Migrations: Official Companion to the National Geographic Channel Global Television Event
K.M. Kostyal - 2010
In the Falkland Islands, the albatross--king of migrations--journeys thousands of miles to nest despite the deadly cara cara, a predatory raptor. For countless animals species, migration is a dramatic, dangerous, and crucial undertaking...one that is portrayed in vivid color and unflinching candor in this magnificent book, companion to the 7-hour HD epic television event from National Geographic which airs beginning on Sunday, November 7th, 2010. The book follows the sequence of the film, with each section highlighting a factor that makes these epic journeys essential. "The Need for Speed" documents migration as a race against time, in which freezing temperatures or scorching heat usher in a crisis. Incredible photographs document activity along the Mississippi Flyway, which teems with long-distance travelers: red-winged blackbirds, white pelicans, tundra swans, and the birds of prey that patrol the skies. In "The Need to Feed," the annual search for greener pastures means life must go on the march as hungry predators lie in wait. Dramatic stills show as many as 40,000 walrus trying to evade 200 polar bears...and a jungle terrorized by nature's perfect killer: millions of voracious ants that work as one to overwhelm other species. "The Need to Lead" explains that migrations need generals, admirals and pioneers. How well the leaders keep their charges in line and on track will determine a species' fate. And in "The Need to Breed," the drive to renew the species forces every generation to risk it all. We experience the Falkland Islands, where aggressive, multi-ton elephant seals battle for the right to breed, and the lush rain forest canopy, where primates gather to feed and mate while smaller creatures glide from tree to tree.In every instance, both the migrating herds and the predators they sustain are faced with a new threat: global climate shift. Safe havens are vanishing, and migrating animals must stay one step ahead of a changing planet. Their struggle to survive despite mounting odds, set against the incomparable beauty of the natural world, fills this magnificently photographed book with drama, fascination, and beauty.
Capturing the Moment: Inspiration and Techniques for the Modern Photographer
Sarah Wilkerson - 2014
This guide captures the spirit of the community by featuring a compilation of stunning member-contributed images paired with photography tips progressing from elementary to advanced, leaving no skill level unserved. By letting the images dominate and keeping the teaching points short and direct, the book builds on the highly visual appeal that has made the online community so popular. Covering all the bases, including equipment, composition, posing, low light, natural light, black and white, still life, and lifestyle photography, the example shots feature plenty of inspiration for photographing children as well as other beautiful everyday moments. Assignments for experimenting with lighting and shooting locations round out the chapters, providing every photographer with both the inspiration and skills she needs to capture life's beautiful moments as frame-worthy photographic art.Â
The Decisive Moment: Photography of Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson - 1952
Cartier-Bresson’s concept of the “decisive moment” ― a split second that reveals the larger truth of a situation ― shaped modern street photography and set the stage for hundreds of photojournalists to bring the world into living rooms through magazines.
Elliott Erwitt: Snaps
Murray Sayle - 2001
A member of the prestigious Magnum agency since 1954, he has photographed all over the world and his images have been the subject of many books and exhibitions.Containing over 500 pictures, over half of which have never been published before, Elliott Erwitt Snaps is a unique and comprehensive survey of his work. From famous images such as Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon arguing in Moscow in 1959 and Marilyn Monroe with the cast of the movie The Misfits, to his many more personal images of places, things, people and animals, Erwitt's unmistakable, often witty, style gives us a snapshot of the famous and the ordinary, the strange and the mundane over a period of more than half a century, through the lens of one of the period's finest image-makers.The book is arranged in nine chapters, each with a one-word title: Look, Move, Play, Read, Rest, Touch, Tell, Point, Stand. For Erwitt, whose photography is a study and celebration of life, these are the basic actions of life - the things people do. The photographs are not intended to illustrate the words, but the words act as a means of grouping and organizing, making broad connections and also playing with pun and ambiguity, in keeping with the visual games Erwitt plays.
The Visual Toolbox: 60 Lessons for Stronger Photographs
David duChemin - 2015
So, what will? Understanding your camera. Thinking differently. Studying photographs and knowing what they provoke in you, and why. Giving the craft time to grow. Looking to painters, designers, and others who work in two dimensions and learning from them. Relentlessly looking for light, lines, and moments. Making photographs-thousands and thousands of photographs. There's no magic bullet to achieving success, but in these pages you will learn the value of studying, practice, and remembering that your most important assets as an artist are imagination, passion, patience, receptivity, curiosity, and a dogged refusal to follow the rules. THE VISUAL TOOLBOX is photographer David duChemin's curriculum for learning not just how to use a camera-but how to make stronger photographs. He has developed 60 lessons, each one a stepping stone to becoming more proficient with the tools of this art, and the means to create deeper visual experiences with your images. David introduces you to the technical side of the craft but quickly moves on to composition, the creative process, and the principles that have always been responsible for making great photographs; he shows you these principles and invites you to play with them, turn them on their heads, and try a different approach to create beautiful, compelling images with your camera. Features action-oriented micro-chapters designed to improve your photography immediately Includes explanations of 60 concepts with an assignment for nearly every chapter Covers such topics as balance, using negative space, exploring color contrast, waiting for the moment, learning to incorporate mood and motion, and much more
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
Austin Kleon - 2012
That’s the message from Austin Kleon, a young writer and artist who knows that creativity is everywhere, creativity is for everyone. A manifesto for the digital age, Steal Like an Artist is a guide whose positive message, graphic look and illustrations, exercises, and examples will put readers directly in touch with their artistic side.
Annie Leibovitz: Portraits 2005-2016
Annie Leibovitz - 2017
Afterword by Annie Leibovitz.Annie Leibovitz: Portraits 2005-2016 is the photographer's follow-up to her two landmark books, Annie Leibovitz: Photographs, 1970-1990 and A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005. In this new collection, Leibovitz has captured the most influential and compelling figures of the last decade in the style that has made her one of the most beloved talents of our time. Each of the photographs documents contemporary culture with an artist's eye, wit, and an uncanny ability to personalize even the most recognizable and distinguished figures.
The Art of Movement
Deborah Ory - 2016
Featured are more than 70 dancers from companies including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Martha Graham Dance Company, Boston Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, The Royal Ballet, Abraham in Motion, and many more. Accompanying the photographs are intimate and inspiring words from the dancers, as well as from choreographers and artistic directors on what dance means to them.
On This Earth: Photographs from East Africa
Nick Brandt - 2005
He creates these majestic sepia and blue-tone photoscontrasting moments of quintessential stillness with bursts of dramatic actionby engaging with these creatures on an exceptionally intimate level, without the customary use of a telephoto lens. Evocative of classical art, from dignified portraits to sweeping natural tableaux, Brandt's images artfully and simply capture animals in their natural states of being. With a foreword by Alice Sebold and an introduction by Jane Goodall, On This Earth is a gorgeous portfolio of some of the last wild animalsand a heartfelt elegy to a vanishing world.
The Art Book
Phaidon Press - 1997
Each artist is represented by a full-page colour plate of a definitive work, accompanied by explanatory and illuminating information on the image and its creator. Glossaries of artistic movements and technical terms are included, making this a valuable work of reference as well as a feast for the eyes. By breaking with traditional classifications, The Art Book presents a fresh and original approach to art: an unparalleled visual sourcebook and a celebration of our rich and multi-faceted culture.
Nikon D5100 for Dummies
Julie Adair King - 2011
Coverage explores the on-board effects, low-light settings, and automatic HDR shooting. Clear explanations detail the ways in which you can use the new features of the Nikon D5100 to add unique shots to your portfolio while an explanation of photography terms gets you confident and savvy with this fun DSLR camera.Covers basic camera controls and functions, shooting in auto mode, setting photo quality, and navigating menus and the view screen Introduces the basics of photography, including the settings that control lighting, exposure, focus, and color Addresses the new low-light and HDR settings Encourages you to use the new onboard effects features and shares tips for improving images with editing software Get a grasp on the fun Nikon D5100 with this fun and friendly guide!
Obama: An Intimate Portrait: The Historic Presidency in Photographs
Pete Souza - 2017
senator, in January 2005, and served as the chief official White House photographer for the President's full two terms. Souza was with President Obama more often, and at more crucial moments, than any friend or staff member, or even the First Lady--and he photographed it all. Souza captured nearly 2 million photographs of Obama, in moments ranging from classified to disarmingly candid.This large-format (12"x10"), exquisitely produced book presents more than 300 of Souza's favorite and most iconic images from these historic years; many have never been seen before. This seminal work on the Obama presidency documents moments of national importance--including the historic image of the President and his advisors watching tensely in the Situation Room as the Bin Laden mission unfolded--alongside unguarded moments with the President's family, his many encounters with children, and his time spent interacting with world leaders, members of Congress, White House staff, artists, musicians and more.The photographs are paired with captions and stories providing behind-the-scenes context for each, and offer insight into the special relationship Souza and the President forged during their time together. The result is a stunning record of a landmark era in American history.Souza's work enabled us to feel that we knew the President. This book puts us in the White House with him.
Discoveries: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Clément Chéroux - 2008
Early on he adopted the versatile 35mm format and helped develop the popular “street photography” style, influencing generations of photographers that followed. In his own words, he expressed that “the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which, in visual terms, questions and decides simultaneously. . . . It is by economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression.” In 1947 Cartier-Bresson founded Magnum Photos with four other photographers. August 22 will be the 100th anniversary of his birth.
Cabin Porn: Inspiration for Your Quiet Place Somewhere
Zach Klein - 2015
As the collection grew, the site attracted a following, which is now a huge and obsessive audience.The site features photos of the most remarkable handmade homes in the backcountry of America and all over the world. It has had over 10 million unique visitors, with 350,000 followers on Tumblr. Now Zach Klein, the creator of the site (and a co-founder of Vimeo) goes further into the most alluring images from the site and new getaways, including more interior photography and how-to advice for setting up a quiet place somewhere. With their idyllic settings, unique architecture and cozy interiors, the Cabin Porn photographs, are an invitation to slow down, take a deep breath, and feel the beauty and serenity that nature and simple construction can create.
Boring Postcards
Martin Parr - 1999
Stale, often dully composed images of corporate headquarters, roadways, bus-station parking lots, convalescent-home dayrooms, hospital cafeterias, and undistinguished motels. But look carefully, and the cards - culled from the collection of artist Martin Parr --are filled with fascinating little details. As a group, they offer readers the interesting opportunity to puzzle over the collective psyche of the people of the 1950s and '60s (the approximate vintage of the images) who were inclined to create, buy, and send these cards. What, one can't help but wonder, could be so scintillating about a room at the Fortes Excelsior Motor Lodge near Pontefract, Yorkshire? The singular force of the orange bedspreads, carpet, drapes, and walls punctuated by the inexplicably white leather upholstered panel attached to the wall unit behind each of the room's beds.The exterior of the Mirfield Modern School, shot at a distance and unimaginatively placed dead in the centre of the grey sky and green playing field? The building's Bauhaus-like lines. The tarmac of Luton Airport in London? The pink jumbo jet being towed into the frame from the left. The uniformly shaped trailers parked at the Freshwater Caravan Camp? The handwritten X that presumably marks the sender's location. The Chalets at Llandanwg? Arguably, not much. The few hundred images here, unfettered by any explanatory text, offer a far from dull diversion for any readers interested in mid-century design or the mundane details of daily life.