Wildlife and
Landscape.co.uk
Books and DVDs
Technical guidance which I have found useful, inspiring, or both
Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson
The best introductory explanation of aperture, shutter speed and exposure
This is a short, practical book which explains how to take control of the camera's shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings. It begins by explaining the use of the aperture settings to control depth of field (ie how much of the image is in focus, and whether the background is deliberately blurred). It goes on to cover topics such as scenes where the camera's meter will incorrectly expose the image unless you override it, and then covers more creative and imaginative topics like panning and motion blur. It also explains the use of neutral density filters and polarisers. The emphasis throughout is on getting as much right "in camera" as possible.
The Art of Photography by Bruce Barnbaum
Contemporary fine art photography.
Mastering Landscape Photography by Alain Briot
Colour landscape photography
Alain Briot specialises in colour photography in the Western United States. This book consists of thirteen essays on topics rranging from technical matters such as choice of equipment, composition and exposure to creative exercises on vision and individuality, and ending with an account of how the author managed to make a good living from landscape photography.
The best thing about this book are the exercises and suggestions at the end of each chapter. They force you to re-examine your way of working, so that practice can lead to improvement rather than the repetition of bad habits.
Bruce Barnbaum's latest book is a deeply serious black and white photographer. For me, this is the best book on photography in general to be published in many years. The first half of the book deals with vision, composition, individuality and the creative use of light. The second half of the book becomes more technical, explaining the Zone System in detail and going on to address exposure, development and printing monochrome film pictures.
Digital photographers should not let this discourage them. Many of the techniques covered have their analogies in digital image processing, and the practical guidance on things such as dodging and burning, toning and controlling highlights and shadows is just as useful to someone using Photoshop.
Go Wild with Your Camera
Practical wildlife photography advice
This is a DVD featuring top British wildlife photographers such as Chris Gomerall and Andy Rouse.
Topics covered range from garden bird photography, photographing wild stags in Scotland, and macro photography of insects and amphibians. There is a short section on digital landscape photography as well.
The DVD gives guidance on selecting equipment, field skills, animal welfare and ethics, and different techniques like using your car as a hide (animals tend to be less afraid of humans in cars than out of them) and attracting animals with food. I certainly didn't know before I saw this that deer are particularly fond of potatoes.
The best guide to field skills
The bad news is that this book is unaccountably out of print.
The good news is that second hand copies are not too hard to find.
Simon King is the well-known cameraman and TV presenter. This book seems to have been a spin-off from a TV series in 1994. It's still the best guide to camouflage techniques, clothing and movement. The second half of the book contains sections on the most interesting mammals and birds, explaining where and when to see them.
