|
 |
|
 |
 |
Digital Night and Low-Light Photography
|
by Tim Gartside
Sales Rank: 409459
|
List Price: $29.99
$23.39
At Amazon
|
|
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition November 28, 2005
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1592006493
ISBN-13: 978-1592006496
Product Dimensions:
9.5 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
Product Description
Taking successful night and low-light photographs has always presented a technical challenge. How do you capture enough light to secure a great picture? How do you judge and control lengthy timed exposures? How and when do you use additional lighting? Here is an area of photography that demands the utmost from the camera, and draws on all the skills of the photographer--yet its very complexity is one reason why it is so popular. A further reason is simply that it results in stunning images: sunrises and sunsets, the night sky, dramitcally lit cityscapes, fireworks displays, and more. "Digital Night and Low-Light Photography" is an in-depth guide to the techniques a photographer needs to guarantee great pictures under challenging lighting conditions. In addition, the book examines the differences in the way film and digital cameras perform in low light, and reveals how the new features built in to many digital cameras--in-camera image previewing, white-balance correction, and ISO adjustments--can make a difference. And it shows how digital-imaging techniques can be used to rescue a disaster, or perhaps create a masterpiece.
About The Author
Tim Gartside runs his own photographic and design company in
London, and is a renowned landscape photographer. He has traveled and worked extensively in southern Spain, photographing landscapes and cityscapes, and in Florida, capturing sunsets, sunrises, and the Art Deco architecture of Miami. His pictures have been published in numerous books and magazines, and he is the author of Digital Landscape Photography(1592001076).
Customer Reviews & Comments
I blame myself. It's probably because I learned photography in the film era that I assume that any photography instruction book whose title begins with the word "Digital" will tell how to squeeze out the additional benefits that digital photography offers, or at least how to overcome problems created by the nature of digital photography. At first glance, this book seemed just right for photographers who want to extend the opportunities to take photographs beyond sunny, fair weather. Chapters include equipment, technique, outdoor and indoor low-light photography, night photography and post-production. The chapter on outdoor photography was light-oriented, with sections devoted to dawn, sunrise, sunset, dusk, storms and bad weather, fog and mist, snow and frost, using flash and painting with light. Other chapters were more subject-oriented, such as the chapter on night photography that dealt with the moon, buildings and neon lights, among other things. Photographers have a wide variety of skill levels and no book can be expected to appeal to both the novice and the expert photographer. This book is aimed at the novice digital photographer, who, the author believes, should, like all serious photographers, use digital single lens reflex cameras. The chapter on equipment is quite basic. The technique chapter is slightly more advanced and does cover the use of histograms, white balance and noise reduction, the latter a feature that is particularly important to the adjustment of the long time exposures low-light photography often requires. Throughout the book suggestions are given on white balance settings. I wish there had been the same attention to the use of histograms and noise reduction. The chapters on the different photography conditions were sufficient for the new shooter. For example, Gartside explains how to set exposure and white balance for sunrise. On the other hand, I felt the sections on flash needed more information on the techniques for integrating ambient light sources with flash, other than suggesting bracketing one's shots. It seems pretty clear that serious digital photographers are going to use some sort of image processing software to get the most from their pictures. Yet I found the chapter on post-processing the weakest because it covered Photoshop (the de facto leader in post-processing) features in a way that would be beyond those who were not experienced with Photoshop and yet not enough detail for experienced users. For example, no beginner could ever understand the use of levels from the brief description provided, while more experienced photographers would probably like to know how to extend the contrast frequently required for pictures taken on overcast days. Moreover there was no discussion of the use of Adobe Camera Raw, one of the most useful tools in Photoshop. I would suggest that any serious beginner, low-light or otherwise, explore the use of Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements, the slimmed-down, less expensive version of the software) by reading books like Tim Grey's "Photoshop CS2 Workflow" and Rob Sheppard's "Adobe Camera Raw for Digital Photographers Only". The beginner who wants an introduction to taking pictures when the light is low and some inspiration from Gartside's photographs will probably find this book useful. More experienced photographers are less likely to learn anything new.
Comment | Permalink |
(Report this)
|
Digital Night and Low-Light Photography
List Price: $29.99
Available from Amazon
Price: $23.39
| |
|
|
|
|
