The book itself is fairly short – just 168 pages. But these pages are full of good information and practical examples using more than just one software package. What I like most about it is the frankness of the author when it comes to producing realistic HDR images, as opposed to some of the cartoonish extremes that have come to symbolize the genre. I much prefer a realistic image that has great depth in all ranges between the darkest and lightest sections of the image. In addition to the software examples (Photoshop CS3, Photomatix and FDRTools), the author tells you what to watch for when capturing the images, well before they see the computer.

All in all this was a very worthwhile book, with more than enough interesting bits for the novice and experienced alike. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for more information on HDRI.

To me it is no surprise that Amazon has this book listed from $1.75 (used). I am glad all I did was check it out from the library, for the cost of the trip there from my house. My next read is supposed to be John Freeman’s book on portrait photography, part of the same series this one was. Hopefully it won’t be as disappointing as this one.

The reason they will remain applicable is that they have been written specifically for the digital age. In this book, Exposure, the author goes to great lengths not to identify his equipment (at least the body), telling the reader that it doesn’t matter what your gear is, the concepts are the same. One thing I particularly liked about the book (and the whole series follows this pattern) was that, at the end of each chapter, the reader is given a “homework” assignment based on what they just learned. Following this, they are encouraged to upload the photo to a central site where all readers of the series can post and critique photos. For someone too intimidated by places like the dpreview forums, this can be an invaluable experience.

This book covers all the usual aspects you would expect, from light controls, aperture versus shutter speed, depth of field, low light, flash, etc. It even went so far as to talk briefly about off camera flash. There was a lengthy discussion about taking photos of neon at night, which I might use to start a photo book project.

All in all this book is well worth the $29.99 cover price ($19.79 at Amazon) and I look forward to reading more from this series.

Black and white photography has interested me for some time, but I haven’t really found the right subjects for it. When I thought I had a good candidate, it turned out to be much better in sepia than b&w. This book went a long way in helping me to understand what subjects woiuld do better in black and white. It also presents a wealth of knowledge about using modern tools (Photoshop CS2 was quoted) to refine images and get the most out of the exposure. The insistence to shoot in RAW was spot on. I learned this the hard way, but if you haven’t gone to that exclusively yet, you need to.

While the title of the book implies exclusivity to B& photography, there is still quite a bit of useful information that crosses over to the color world also. Since I plan to keep shooting color and selectively convert to black and white in post processing, I was happy to see this. Every aspect of photography is addressed – landscapes and portraits, motion and still life, day and night exposures, you name it. Extensive sections cover Genres and Concepts as well as Composition Rules. Perhaps most useful to me (and well worth the price of the book) is the last section covering “The Digital Darkroom”. I love getting useful Photoshop tips, and this book does not disappoint. Hopefully future editions will also include Lightroom tips.

“The Art of Black and White Photography” is one book that I could not put down once I started reading it, and I cannot wait to apply some of the concepts I learned.

That said, my test images are a sequence of 5 photos, taken at -2EV, -1EV, 0EV, +1EV and +2EV. Pretty sure I had set them in shutter priority mode and not in manual mode, as the procedure above suggests. I did use a tripod, but I did not use the Remote Shutter Release. Even though my Olympus E-510 has Image Stabilization, I may have introduced enough bounce by pushing the shutter with my finger that some alignment errors exist. As I said, the test set has inherent flaws.

OK, now on to the resulting images, and how I got them.

Example 1.

This was my first compilation, and I achieved it using Photomatix 3.1Beta as a standalone program, importing the RAW images. I chose the Exposure Blending mode. Within that mode, I tried each of the configurations and determined that using 2 images to determine the various exposure levels resulted in the best image. Definitely not a very pleasing image though, and certainly not good enough to use in marketing materials.

Example 2.

Example 2 was done using the new Lightroom Export Plugin HDRsoft recently released in conjunction with the v3.1 beta program. Instead of Exposure Blending, I opted to Generate HDR, then applied Tone Mapping. Alignment was based on correcting shifts. I tweaked the various settings until I got a close approximation of what I saw when I walked into the room. When I zoom into the details though, I can tell that the alignment is off by enough of a variance to make edges look soft. Not quite what I was hoping for either.

Example 3.

While smaller versions of this image look almost comical, like many HDR images do, when this image comes up to a decent size, it does in fact resemble what I saw when I walked in the room. This one was also generated via the Lightroom Export Plugin, and also involved going the Generate HDR | Tone Mapping route. Alignment was via object matching, and light smoothing was set to medium (the middle radio button). This is a pretty close approximation, at least in my eyes.

Doing this exercise brought to light a few things:

1. I need to follow the directions
2. I need to use the remote shutter release
3. I need to continue using my tripod
4. I need to clean my lens and the UV filter on it
5. I need to play with Photomatix more – this is going to be tough (insert sarcasm here)

The bottom line is that Photomatix is a hugely valuable tool if you need to combine exposures or want to do interesting, artful imagery incorporating High Dynamic Range Imagery. Pricing is very reasonable by today’s software standards, and trial versions are available. See www.hdrsoft.com for more information.

Additionally, if you prefer learning from books, Amazon has an extensive selection of HDRI books that mention Photomatix and also include mentions of similar software tools.

I personally like having Lightroom be the center of my workflow now, and the latest version of Photomatix fits into that perfectly. Stay tuned for my next batch of test images. And stop in tomorrow to say happy birthday to me.

Before I get to what it was I was looking for, I want to tell you what this book does bring. Aside from what you would come to expect (discussions on lighting and exposure), the author starts off by getting you comfortable with talking to people, helping them to understand what you are trying to achieve, and making them into willing participants. For someone like me, this was a very valuable section. From there, the book moves into considerations in actually working with people, and the different types of people you might encounter. Some example of corporate report types of work are included in the book, which I found interesting given how much I follow the work of notable Colorado-based photographer David Tejada.

After the sections on dealing with people, the book then moved into a discussion about light (and I think Bryan is a master at this). From there we get an in-depth look at composition. This was particularly useful, as composition considerations are definitely different for people than they are for landscapes, etc.

The last section was perhaps one of the most useful for me, covering different techniques to digitally edit photos. As long as I have been using Photoshop (since 1995), you would think that I would know a lot more than I do. But for me it has always been a tool for editing web images. I have always known the power that Photoshop has, but never taken the time to learn more about it. The edits that Bryan presents are relatively simple and could be immensely useful if you don’t already know them.

All in all, I highly recommend this book. It didn’t have “posing” information that I have been looking for, but I got far more out of this book than that one subject is worth. Pretty sure I can find that info somewhere else.

With this photography thing, I sometimes I feel like I am cramming a lifetime of learning into as small an amount of time as possible. But I am learning, which is always a good thing to do. I hope you are continuing to learn as well.

Mr. Barr has taken the liberty (well advised in my mind) of editing his prior posts so that they are more current or relevant for this book. I had never heard of him before, but the author is very impressive in terms of how he is able to “see” a great photo in what seem like ordinary or common objects. I do believe that, in the course of my learning to take better pictures, this is the hardest thing to do.

One of the more impressive things about this book is how the editor, author, and Rocky Nook were able to take the blog postings and meld them into a cohesive book. It follows a fairly structured order, and includes excellent photographic examples along the way. I also particularly like how the author intentionally stayed away from mentioning specific settings and (most of the time) gear used to make certain images. In a few sections of the book, it is pointed out clearly that it is the person taking the photos that is more important than the gear being used, and I agree completely (he does cover the gear he uses at the back of the book).

One other very useful sections is how to deal with rejection and criticism and the whole mindset of taking pictures. I know a few people that could apply the principles of that section (did I mention Barr is a doctor) in their photography or other aspects of their life. Very good stuff, and just another example of how Barr is able to relate to the casual and serious photographer alike.

I could go on and on about this book, but you really should get a copy for yourself. It is outstanding!

If you are a student of design or photography, this book would make sense to you. It is unfortunate though that The Photograph: Composition & Color Design is the first book I cannot recommend for an amateur like myself.