Digital Outdoor Photography (Lark Photographic Book) [Paperback]

This book contains top tips from an acknowledged expert and, as is mentioned on the book's back cover, includes just about everything from photographing large icebergs to a tiny Fiddler crabs.

I have long admired the work of Heather Angel and have even attended two of her teaching seminars. For me, her two most important qualities are; not only does she know what she is doing, she is also able to impart her knowledge through sound teaching techniques.

Such is the high standard of photography selected to demonstrate her craft, most photographers would be delighted to have taken any `ONE' of the many outstanding photographs found inside this book. From the larger subjects of buildings lit at night-time and mountain tops down to the Hummingbird Hawk Moth and droplets of water, each image leaps from the page to say; "This is what you should be aiming for and this is how it is done!"

Altogether, we have 101 tips on every aspect of outdoor photography. Covering everything from planning, equipment, supports, metering, composition, lighting and much more besides, this extremely well-laid-out book is as essential to any photographer working out-of-doors as the camera itself.

Some of those tips are so basic you will wonder why you never thought of them yourself - such as spreader plates (as they are called in the building trade) to prevent your tripod from sinking into the snow. In an earlier version of this book I learned of the existence of `tubular camouflage sleeves' for covering long lenses whereas in this digital version I now learn of other similar equipment and the existence of a company specialising in such items. I am now one of their customers!

Throughout the work, not only do we find examples of the right and wrong way to take a particular shot but also the different ways in which the same image can be portrayed. Elsewhere, we also have examples of how two images from the same location can be merged by hand so that they reflect the different exposures required for each. In short, this book is full of the sort of ideas which stimulate additional ideas in the reader.

Altogether, I rate this as a most outstanding work and certainly one which will teach a great deal to anyone who wishes to improve their craft.

NM

good book lots of info to get you going in the right way from the first time you pick it

I'm not a photographer but my husband is (experienced amateur) and I bought this book for him having seen a review in a wildlife magazine. It's got a lot of commonsense advice, plus a bit more and some lovely photos as you'd expect, but the information is probably already available - and in greater detail - elsewhere.