Reviews (10)

Beyond art book, beyond photography
It is not really a book, but an art object: accordion folded and neatly ensconced in a box, its heavy cardboard structure makes it a durable thing, one that transcends the notion of a mere "book." It is an object of intrinsic beauty and the mere holding of it in one's hands conveys the good taste, fine quality, and the superb craftmanship that were blended to create PORTRAITS.
Many great portraits ...
... but it's not a book. I personally did not care for the strange format, which has a sleeve, a back and a front cover, and a sort of concertina arrangement of the intervening text and pictures.

'Portraits' was a beautiful composition of Avedon's work
Not only was I excited about the low price offered by amazon.com for this book, I couldn't believe the wealth of information it withheld. The book itself is innovating, working as an accordian-style setup with text on one side and full-size, beautiful portraits on the other. The written portions spoke of Avedon in his early years, what his inspirations were, and how the affected his work later on. As a young photographer, this was valuable information for me.
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Subjects:  1. Avedon, Richard    2. Celebrities    3. Individual Photographer    4. Photo Essays    5. Photoessays & Documentaries    6. Photography    7. Portrait photography    8. Portraits    9. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    10. Individual photographers    11. Photographs: portraits    12. Photography / Individual Photographer    13. Postwar period, 1945 to c 2000   

Reviews (1)

Kitchen art
My Ansel Adams Wall Calendar (2006) is absolutely beautiful.I start each day looking at serene beauty as I check for my scheduled activities.My 2007 calander is just as beautiful.Why consider any other? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Calendar    2. Calendars & Diaries    3. Calendars - Photography    4. General    5. Individual Photographer    6. Non-Classifiable    7. Subjects & Themes - Landscapes    8. Photography / General    9. Stationery items   

Editorial Review

First published in France in 1994, Read more

Reviews (1)

An excellent work on Chardin
As an admirer of Chardin I was realy glad to buy this book. Actually this is not a book, this is a treasure. It is an exhaustive work on Master Chardin not only on his still lifes but his work as a whole. The quality ofthe presentation in one of the best I have ever seen in art books!Read more

Subjects:  1. 1699-1779    2. 18th Century Art    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Biography    6. Chardin, Jean Baptiste Simeon    7. Chardin, Jean Baptiste Simâeon,    8. France    9. General    10. Individual Artist    11. Painters    12. Art / Individual Artist    13. Chardin, Jean Baptiste Siméon   

Features

• Box set

Reviews (1)

Wondorous Pictures
Turgid German scholarship locked into tracing classical sources cannot conceive the creativebrilliance which is such a feature of Florentine Renaissance art, surpassing all others.Moreover, thoroughness is a means, not a virtue. The illustrations, by contrast, are brilliant. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. European    4. History - Renaissance    5. History Of Fine Arts    6. Individual Artist    7. Individual Painters - Renaissance    8. Techniques - Painting    9. Europe    10. Individual artists    11. Painting & paintings    12. Renaissance art   

Reviews (3)

Spectacular
This book is spectacular.The images are breathtaking, and the quality of their presentation is nothing short of superb.Wow!!!

Why reorganize a symphony?
Let me qualify my remarks by first saying that I have not even seen this version. I have no doubt that the printing is of the highest quality, but I have a serious reservation about the organization of this book.Audubon deliberately mixed his birds in a non-taxonomic order to maintain a freshness and an element of suprise.I recently acquired a large format copy published by Welcome Rain, which follows Audubon's original order.The effect is a delightful romp through nature, full of suprises, drama and movement.He never intended it to be a catalog with all his ducks in a row, it was to be an experience.I have seen an abridged, small format edition of his paintings arranged in the standard, dull taxonomic order of a typical field guide and the effect is nothing like seeing them in the order Audubon intended.Rearranging the plates for convenience of listers diminishes this work, and to a certain extent, is a disservice to the artist.While I am happy to see that his work remains in print and is being reproduced at very high standards, I would hope that it would be viewed as a symphony, not as a random collection of notes needing to be organized alphabetically.

Beautiful volume of audubon
If you are a birder and you collect all the great bird books, your collection is not complete until you get this. A beautiful book, contained in a hard case, with excellent printing. A steal at $250 at its original price, now knocked down between $125 to $185. Get this book! A great tribute to Peterson and Audubon. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Artists    3. Biography    4. Birds    5. Individual Artist    6. Nature/Ecology    7. North America    8. Ornithologists    9. Ornithology    10. Techniques - Painting - Specific Subjects    11. United States    12. Birds (ornithology)   

Reviews (9)

An Essential Insight
Heralded as perhaps one of the most influential conservation photographers of all time, Ansel Adams for many has existed only as a name attached to brilliant, vibrant and expressive landscape photography.Perhaps if you have read his three-party series, "The Camera," "The Negative," and "The Print," you are familiar with Adams's technical thought processes.With "The Making of 40 Photographs," we gain insight into Adams' creative process.And for many of us who aspire to create brilliant nature photography, it is this insight that is most valuable.
Great informative and entertaining book!
As far as I'm concerned, this is a must have 4th book to the Ansel Adams series of The Camera, The Negative and The Print. It is very informative to read about not only the circumstances in which Adams made these black and white photographs, but also some of the technical and even emotional factors. Superb Case Studies
If you want to learn photography and you would prefer to learn (or supplement your learning) by intensive case study, this is the book for you. Ansel Adams is a master at controlling composition, light and perspective, and he conveys his unique methodology admirably in this book. This book covers much more than his epic landscapes -- there are a lot of still life, portrait and architectural case studies. And he's not just discussing the zone system, but also everything else involved, including packing the right equipment, leaving at the right time, and hunting down the right subject. And above all, patience and persistence. The photos themselves are reproduced with admirable tone, sharpness, and contrast, as they are in all the books in this series. And although there are only forty of them, each case study runs two or three pages in addition to a full page photo. And if you like this, check out Ansel Adams' classic three part intensive introduction to photography, in the same series as this book: The Camera, The Print, and The Negative. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1902-    2. 1902-1984    3. Adams, Ansel,    4. Individual Photographer    5. Photo Techniques    6. Photography    7. Photography, Artistic    8. Techniques - General    9. Photographic equipment & techniques    10. Photography / Techniques   

Reviews (11)

Not Worth Looking At
Poor reproduction quality.Actually no quality.Not approved by the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.

Adams wouldn't have approved
While some photos are reasonable, most are seriously flawed. Some are flat, some are excessively contrasty, others seem murky and indistinct. Some of the photos need cleaning to remove dust spots, etc. Even the title is wrong , as the book includes photos of dams and sheep.There are many other excellent books, which have been prepared from Adams prints and produced with much more care. Buy one of those.

Are we looking at the same book?
Many of Ansel Adams' exquisite photographs call out for large reproductions, and this book displays them in a decent size format. But what a waste. The reproductions are nearly all flat and murky, with little detail in the shadow. If I had read far enough down into the customer reviews, I would have been warned; but the reviews at the top of the stack were quite favorable. Which leads me to wonder: Are we looking at the same book? I advise readers to purchase Adams books published by Little, Brown, and Company (aka "Bulfinch"). Even at smaller sizes their books display much more detail and clarity than does this disappointing edition. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adams, Ansel,    2. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    3. Landscape photography    4. Photo Essays    5. Photoessays & Documentaries    6. Photography    7. Pictorical works    8. Subjects & Themes - Plants & Animals    9. Subjects & Themes - Travel - U.S./General    10. United States    11. Wilderness areas    12. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS    13. Photographs: collections    14. USA    15. Sale Books   

Reviews (6)

Gave it as a gift
I gave it as a gift to a friend of mine who loves nature photography.He loved it.

Nice Reproductions
Ansel Adams: Classic Images A fantastic Collection
This collection can be seen at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona, through July 7, 2002. This book is the catalogue of the exibition! If you like the book you should see the originals! They will blow you away. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1902-    2. 1902-1984    3. Adams, Ansel    4. Adams, Ansel,    5. Exhibitions    6. Individual Photographer    7. Individual Photographers And Their Work    8. Photo Techniques    9. Photography    10. Photography, Artistic    11. Subjects & Themes - Plants & Animals    12. Photographic equipment & techniques    13. Photography / Nature & Wildlife   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (6)

Great recipes, easy steps, wonderful results.
This book puts you on the fast track to grafting the styles of famous artists into your own work through more than five dozen easy-to-follow recipes. Not surprisingly, you'll find yourself learning more than you originally expected to about Photoshop.

not-so-fast ...
Earlier this year I reviewed what many will see as the companion volume to this book ("Photoshop Blending Modes Cookbook for Digital Photographers"), written by the same author. Unfortunately, the newer publication is less useful. It seems to have been written on a pretext that it's clever to be able to duplicate what traditional artists can do. This seems - from my own personal viewpoint - to be greatly undervaluing the power of Photoshop (and similar software). Practitioners of digital fine art should (really, constructively) be looking to explore what the principles of prior and traditional art can mean within a new domain.
Excellent!
Wonderful effects for the artistically inclined.The recipes in this book truly are easy to reproduce.You can apply these techniques to any of your digital photos. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Design    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computers    5. Computers - Other Applications    6. Operating Systems - Macintosh    7. Operating Systems - Windows    8. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    9. Computers / Other Applications    10. Computers/Operating Systems - Macintosh    11. Computers/Operating Systems - Windows    12. Digital techniques    13. Image processing    14. Photography    15. photoshop, adobe, digital photography, digital effects, photoshop effects, artistic forgery, artistic effects, daguerreotypes, calotypes, tintypes, pre-raphaelites, muybrudge, stieglitz, man ray, lissitzky, paul strand, edward weston, walker evens, dorothea lange, answel adams, bill brandt, henri cartier-bresson, brassai, cecil beaton, yousuf karsh, irving penn, arnold newman, angus mcbean, ernst haas, les krims, don mccullin, jerry uelsmann, david bailey, robert mapplethorpe, annie liebowitz, david hockney, sebastiao salgado, martin parr, mick kent, mantegna, da vinci, durer, caravaggio, el greco, rembrandt, vermeer, turner, caspar david friedrich, impressionism, seurat, van gogh, gauguin, cezanne, whistler, munch, hokusai, chagall, modigliani, picasso, futurists, salvador dali, hopper, o'keefe, grant wood, diego rivera, warhol, lichtenstein   

Editorial Review

"Photography is nothing, it's life that interests me." With his ever-present Leica camera, Henri Cartier-Bresson captured the raw and the sweet, the comic and the profound moments of lives that were lost in the grind or relegated to someone else's memory--the coincidental moment at which a reflection in a puddle of water mimics a poster on a nearby wall or when lovers kiss, oblivious to the not-so-pristine world around them. It is the familiar beauty and cruelty of the day-to-day that is so engaging in his photographs: two cosmopolitan woman chat nonchalantly while surrounded by empty lettuce crates; mourners at a funeral stare directly into the camera; postwar Paris awakens in the fog. Cartier-Bresson was the master of the "decisive moment," that fleeting instant for which a picture really is worth a thousand words, which is the essence of photojournalism. In no place is this more exemplified than in his images of Paris.Read more

Reviews (10)

Highly recommended
This book is one of two Henri's books I have and the best one. The book to go through again and again. Then go shoot some pictures and go through it again. You'll be surprized how many fresh impressions you'll get every time. Very inspiring book. Highly recommended for practicing fotographers.

Amazing!
As my favourite photographer, Cartier-Bresson has some kind of impayable discernment. His gallery of Paris is his magnum opus. His Leica, his 50mm lens, his mysterious face... all made him a monumental legend. I bought this gallery (hardcover) in 1995 for the price of $US 50 in Hong Kong. What are you waiting for? Just click it and buy it immediately, you will never regret buying this book.

Amazing!
As my favourite photographer, Cartier-Bresson has some kind of impayable discernment. His gallery of Paris is his magnum opus. His Leica, his 50mm lens, his mysterious face... all made him a monumental legend. I bought this gallery (hardcover) in 1995 for the price of $US 50 in Hong Kong. What are you waiting for? Just click it and buy it immediately, you will never regret buying this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1908-    2. Cartier-Bresson, Henri,    3. Europe - France    4. Exhibitions    5. In art    6. Individual Photographer    7. Individual Photographers And Their Work    8. Paris (France)    9. Photo Essays    10. Photography    11. Photography, Artistic    12. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/Europe    13. Photography / Individual Photographer   

Reviews (3)

Fantastic
This book is worth the money if only for the reproductions.Lots of large plates with a lot of close ups as well. If you only want one book on Botticelli this would be a good one.

A beautiful book!
This is fascinating book about the life of Botticelli and techniques he used.The reproductions are wonderful, including some close-ups of characters from selected paintings. I recently returned from Italy, and having viewed many of these paintings at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence makes the reading and the beautiful color plates throughout the book all the more enjoyable.I would highly recommend this book to fans of Renaissance art.

Another life for Botticelli
In the life of Sandro Botticelli, Lightbown does not remark the big season of secret science that linked several artists in and around Florence.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1444 or 5-1510    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Biography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Botticelli, Sandro,    6. General    7. History - Renaissance    8. Individual Artist    9. Individual Painters And Their Work    10. Italy    11. Painters    12. Painters, Italian    13. Biography: general    14. Botticelli, Sandro    15. Individual artists    16. Painting & paintings    17. Renaissance art   

Reviews (2)

Exceeded my Expextations
This is a beautiful book. I suspect the pints are as high in quality as Ansel would have wished them.
Excellent, uncompromised beauty
Really great photos of mounatin scapes in and about Yosimite.Waterfalls, forests, mountains and sky.Typical Ansel, most flawless. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. California    2. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    3. Individual Photographer    4. Individual Photographers And Their Work    5. Landscape photography    6. Nature photography    7. Photo Techniques    8. Photography    9. Subjects & Themes - Plants & Animals    10. Subjects & Themes - Travel - U.S./West    11. Yosemite National Park    12. Yosemite National Park (Calif    13. Adams, Ansel    14. Photographs: collections    15. Photography / Nature & Wildlife    16. USA   

Reviews (18)

Digital Photography - Ansel Adams
This book provides invaluable insights into the world of photography as seen by Ansel Adams.It has also been updated to address the digital world as well. Definitely a must for beginners and those interested in educating themselves in the area of photography.

Formal Photography Lessons Start Here
Recently bought a DSLR, and really needed something to help me improve my knowledge on photography. Since lots of pros online recommend it, I got this book.
For serious photographers
This is a book well suited for people who are looking to become very serious in the photography field. There's chapters on subjects from visualization to camera adjustments. It discusses the good and the bad that come along with many different types of cameras like small, medium, and large format cameras. It shares advice and techniques on how to create the best images with the camera you are using.
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Subjects:  1. Cameras    2. Photo Techniques    3. Photographic lenses    4. Photography    5. Techniques - Equipment    6. Techniques - General    7. Photographic equipment & techniques    8. Photography / Techniques   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Criticism    4. General    5. History - General    6. Individual Artist    7. 20th century    8. Art / Individual Artist    9. Decorative arts & crafts    10. Germany    11. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    12. USA   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Drawing By Individual Artists    4. Individual Artist    5. Art / General    6. Individual artists   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. European    4. History - General    5. Individual Artist    6. Individual Painters - 19th Century    7. Landscape    8. Art / General    9. History of art & design styles: c 1800 to c 1900    10. Individual artists    11. Nature in art, still life, landscapes & seascapes    12. Painting & paintings   

Subjects:  1. 1819-1877    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Courbet, Gustave,    5. European    6. Exhibitions    7. History - General    8. History - Realism    9. Landscape in art    10. Subjects & Themes - Landscapes    11. Art & Architecture | History    12. Art / Subjects & Themes / Landscapes    13. France    14. Individual artists    15. Nature in art, still life, landscapes & seascapes    16. Painting & paintings    17. Realism    18. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (2)

Restoration of a Worthy Magnum Opus
Fortunate is the arts library to have the restored and embellished 1977 monograph on the life and work of American artist Joseph Cornell, an artist whose importance not only to the craft of assemblage but to the history of American art continues to grow as the years pass.Author Diane Waldman initially based her monograph on extensive interviews with Cornell and his confreres in preparing the 1967 retrospective of Cornell's art for the Guggenheim Museum.And fine though that now extinct monograph was, it was important to update it with the added information gleaned from the 1978 gift of the bulk of Cornell's archives donated by the heirs of Cornell to the Smithsonian Museum, forming the Joseph Cornell Study Center in Washington, DC.
An Excellent Primer On Cornell and His Work
Finally, a beautiful, comprehensive book about Joseph Cornell and his work. Diane Waldman knew Cornell intimately ever since she was an art student (and through doing gallery shows for him), and this affinity shows; this is ultimately a book of love and tribute to a friend. Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Cornell, Joseph    5. Criticism and interpretation    6. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)    7. Individual Artist    8. Sculpture    9. 20th century    10. Art / General    11. Collage    12. Individual artists    13. Sculpture & other three-dimensional art forms    14. USA   

Subjects:  1. 1848-1894    2. Architecture    3. Art    4. Caillebotte, Gustave,    5. Exhibition Catalogs    6. France    7. Gardens    8. General    9. History - General    10. Homes and haunts    11. Individual Artist    12. Painting - Other Specific Subjects    13. Yerres    14. Caillebotte, Gustave    15. Gardens (descriptions, history etc)    16. Impressionism    17. Individual artists    18. Post-Impressionism    19. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (5)

Still one of the most fascinating books on the nature of creativity ever published.
This is the most recent and expanded edition of the book, which by now has become a classic work that really transcends the "interview with a famous artist" label. I own an earlier edition of the book that I have virtually memorized, so the new additions and expansions David Sylvester has included stand out for me, and amplify the original edition considerably. Whether or not you are a fan of Francis Bacon's painting, the book offers Bacon's insights (as well as Sylvester's) on the very nature of creativity, obsession, and what drives artists of any kind (painter, poet, composer, etc.) to devote their lives to their chosen pursuits. Plus, Bacon's rather sulphurous personality and opinions are captured vividly on the page, through Sylvester's obvious freindship and fascination with the man. An absolutely essential, and rather unique book...over the years, I have been amazed at how many people I have met, from all areas of the arts, who have found this work a source of inspiration and endless fascination.

Invaluable Chronicle of a Tortured Artist
"Interviews with Francis Bacon" (1987) captures remarkably on paper the tortured mind of the famous British painter (1909-1992). It belongs on the shelf of every Bacon fan and artist, regardless of medium. Nine interviews range from 1962 to 1986, Bacon's fifties through his seventies, in the form of interactive conversations with art historian David Sylvester (British, 1924-2001), ranging from Bacon's frustrated youth to his unique artistic techniques, the meaning of art to the meaning of life. Sylvester cleverly steers toward topics Bacon finds interesting, allowing him to discuss them at length. (Some of the original audio may be sampled at BBC4's website, though this book's text was heavily edited and re-manipulated from those recordings.) Only the Best
The best book by any artist I have read....utterly inspirational for anyone involved in creative endeavors. What's more, you don't have to agree with all of Bacon's forthright opinions. It probably helps to have seen some of his best work in color, as all the reproductions are monochrome. No matter...I have given away more cpoies of this book than I care to remember. Essential. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1909-    2. 1909-1992    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Bacon, Francis,    6. Great Britain    7. History - General    8. Individual Artist    9. Individual Painters - 20th Century    10. Interviews    11. Painters    12. Bacon, Francis    13. England    14. Individual artists    15. Painting & paintings