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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Books (1 Viewer)

proudpapa56

Where'd you go, stay put!
United States
I started taking pictures of birds, buying cameras and lenses, etc., and am not unpleased with the results but kind of skipped learning the bare bone basics of photography. Imagine what I could do with a little knowledge.
There are a bazillion books on basic, starter photography and theory but was wondering if this crowd had any favorites?
Thanks ahead for your response.
 
Langfords Basic Photography and Advanced Photography books are great for learning about all aspects of photography. There is a lot more info than you will need. These books help you understand why things are as they are in photography, do not assume that you are using any particular make or type of equipment and allow you to decide for yourself how to set about producing photos.

They are available from Amazon who have a look inside feature - don't be put off by pics of obsolete equipment - the same theory apply to both modern and old a lot of the time.

If you are looking for something to give you a check list to photograph a bird these are probably not the books for you.

A bit like the difference between being taught how to cook and following the instructions on a cake mix packet.

No disrespect to anyone intended - I regularly use crib sheets for both cooking and taking photos if I am entering new territory, both have a place.

My first long 'bird' lens was a long focal lens of good pedigree from a plate camera which I remounted on a home made lens tube on the front of some macro bellows of my first slr. It took a lot of learning before I got anything that was worth looking at, but it was a good learning experience (I think).
 
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There is a new Langfords Basic Photography 10th Edition due out in Dec., which is apparently all digitally up to date.
I've put in my pre-release order.
 
In many ways you may find it worth getting the 'advanced' as well, the last published version 2011 gives a lot more detail than the 'Basic' which provides a good introduction, but will probably leave you wanting more. Depends on how serious you want to get.

I have owned and read many books on photography over the years, I know a lot of theory, but whether I take better pictures as a result - who can tell.
 
It would just be nice to be able to hold my own in a conversation. Or if someone sees me at the park with an STX95 and Nikon D7200 and asks a question, my answer isn't "duh".
 
Not strictly what you asked for but once you want to go beyond 'generic' photography books:

The bible of bird photography has to be The Handbook of Bird Photography by Markus Varesvuo, Jari Peltomaki and Bence Mate. It's stuffed with information on how the fundamentals of photography relate to bird photography, adds in practical fieldcraft plus lots of inspiration stuff that will hopefully make you want to aim higher.

A more introductory book is 'Photographing Birds' by Mark Sisson. It's a left hefty book than the previous one, but fairly concisely covers much of the basics of photography
Google Books preview.

Finally, one that has just come to my attention but which I haven't had a chance to read is Wildife Photography Field Skills and Techniques by Paul Hobson.
http://www.paulhobson.co.uk/pages/wildlife-photography-book.php
 
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