Painting With Light Review

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Painting With Light ReviewI really had to laugh when I read the review of one film school student who was looking for books on lighting that explained how to do lighting "fast, cheap, and beautiful." In that statement lies the failure of todays film schools, and the genius of "Painting with Light".
In filmmaking we are faced with the same Paradigm that faces all industries. The pyramid = Fast, Good, and Cheap. Each of these occupies its own corner of a standard triangle. But here in lies the rub, you can only choose two: good and fast, fast and cheap, cheap and good, etc.
"Painting with Light" comes from an era were most of Hollywood understood this paradigm. Most people in Hollywood, particularly those in "Key" positions knew that good, if not great, lighting took time, and often time took money.
It's an excellent book for those that wish to know more about the general technical requirements of film. Along with "The 5 C's of Cinematography". I would also reccomend, if not require, this book for any aspiring indie filmmaker. Want to make a movie that competes with the majors? Learn what the majors know, and forget what they taught you in film school.Painting With Light OverviewFew cinematographers have had as decisive an impact on the cinematic medium as John Alton. Best known for his highly stylized film noir classics T-Men, He Walked by Night, and The Big Combo, Alton earned a reputation during the 1940s and 1950s as one of Hollywood's consummate craftsmen through his visual signature of crisp shadows and sculpted beams of light. No less renowned for his virtuoso color cinematography and deft appropriation of widescreen and Technicolor, he earned an Academy Award in 1951 for his work on the musical An American in Paris. First published in 1949, and long out of print since then, Painting With Light remains one of the few truly canonical statements on the art of motion picture photography, an unrivalled historical document on the workings of the postwar, American cinema. In simple, non-technical language, Alton explains the job of the cinematographer and explores how lighting, camera techniques, and choice of locations determine the visual mood of film. Todd McCarthy's introduction, written especially for this edition, provides an overview of Alton's biography and career and explores the influence of his work on contemporary cinematography.

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Quick Snap Guide to Digital Photography: An Instant Start-Up Manual for New Digital Camera Owners Review

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Quick Snap Guide to Digital Photography: An Instant Start-Up Manual for New Digital Camera Owners ReviewI would describe myself as a committed amature or a prosumer photographer. In the next few months, I will be upgrading to a digital SLR in the 6-10 MP range. But which one? I consider myself knowlegeable about photography, but the array of features of dSLR cameras was overwhelming. Which are going to be important to me, given my typical needs?
This reference was just what I needed! Using a generic composite illustration created (through the magic of Photoshop) from three or four different popular dSLR cameras, this book walked me through common features located on the camera body, as well as typical menu options. It explained what each feature does, in what situations you'd typically use/need that feature, and the advantages and disadvantages of "tweaking" that particular adjustment. Then, it moved on to different popular flash options, including different kinds of flashes, common settings, and how each works with the camera.
Finally, this book discussed various types of lenses, advantages and disadvantages of each, which are typically most (and least) expensive, and situations in which it does and doesn't make sense to purchase that lens. It also discusses ways in which a dSLR can work with lenses and flashes you might already own - even manual ones from film days.
This is not a book on how to compose a photograph, but rather, on the mechanics of actually setting the camera to capture your shot. It doesn't dumb things down, but it doesn't get into anything too mechanically or scientifically technical. (I don't want to BUILD a camera - just USE it!) It explains options in language that should be easily understandable to anyone who is a sophisticated enough photographer to want a dSLR in the first place.
I still don't know what model dSLR I want to buy, but, with this reference, I am now equipped to comparison shop. BUY THIS BOOK!Quick Snap Guide to Digital Photography: An Instant Start-Up Manual for New Digital Camera Owners OverviewWith the increasing availability of affordable digital cameras, serious photographers are literally snapping them up.This non-product-specific book doesn't show exactly how to make settings with a digital camera: it tells readers why they might want to make them. Quick Snap Guide to Digital Photography serves as an ideal introductory guide to get any new digital camera user up and running quickly. Covering just the essentials, it provides easy-to-follow instructions for all of the basics specific to digital photography. New skills are taught on two-page spreads and feature clear and concise directions and many full-color illustrations and images. Appropriate for any brand of digital camera, this book will have news users up and shooting in no time.

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The Photoshop Darkroom 2: Creative Digital Transformations Review

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The Photoshop Darkroom 2: Creative Digital Transformations ReviewThis slim volume covers a few areas of image-processing. Some areas are covered nicely, while others are considerably weaker.
Harold Davis excels with his backlit images of flowers which have all the delicacy of water color. His technique (he calls it 'hand hdr') of combining multiple exposures is covered in detail. He also describes his unusual compositing techniques, which have given him strange and beautiful images. He enjoins the reader to experiment with different color spaces, particularly Lab Color. Virtually all of his transformations are accomplished without the filters (pastel, gesso, brushstrokes, etc) used by first-timers. This is all valuable information.
Where I feel that Davis falls short is in his actual use of Photoshop. While his techniques work, they barely touch on more recent developments in PS. For example, Davis recommends layering varied conversions of the same RAW file. But he doesn't touch on the subject of smart layers, which both simplify this process and confer greater flexibility. Nor is there any mention of adjustment layers, which I believe would accomplish many of his effects with less fuss. Much of his compositing (I'm thinking particularly of his Escher-like staircases) would be much easier with the new puppet warp feature. He also uses a brush to paint over many problem areas; while he's good at it, it's devilishly difficult to do and shows too little faith in judicious use of the new context-sensitive features of CS5. The section on glamour retouching should have been excluded. Many of the problems could have been eliminated by more careful studio lighting. Most of the remaining touch-up looks artificial. All in all, it feels like Davis's knowledge of Photoshop has not been refreshed in quite some time.
For an overall sense of good PS workflow, I still feel that the books of Martin Evening are in a league of their own. Once the user has an up-to-date feel for the program, there are still some nice tidbits in this book.The Photoshop Darkroom 2: Creative Digital Transformations Overview

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Blunt Review

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Blunt ReviewThe portraits are moving, every last one. I bought it as a teaching resource for young portrait artists. The only other books I've found of this caliber are Martin Schoeller's "Close Up" and the teNeues "one2one" collection. Again, fantastic, powerful portraits in black and white. Outstanding quality. A great buy.Blunt Overview

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