Extraordinary Everyday Photography: Awaken Your Vision to Create Stunning Images Wherever You Are

This is is a superb book on creative photography written by two highly skilled and well-known professional photographers. Indeed, the reader who is familiar with Brenda Tharp's outstanding book on "Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography" will find the present book in many respects to be a natural outgrowth of its predecessor. These two books complement each other perfectly, and the reader who wants to enhance his or her artistic skills would do well to become well acquainted with both. The great advantage of these books read in this way is that they serve as a terrific foundation for learning how to become a more creative photographer.Some reviewers of this book have written that there is nothing new here. I disagree. The book is packed with numerous ideas that most photographers would be unfamiliar with. Just to name only a few, there is a fascinating presentation about panning that includes panning on still scenes, a technique that produces beautiful abstracts (pp. 56-58). Second, Jed Manwaring presents his own original concept that he calls "Lightlines" that involves drawing on photographs with a fine point technical ink pen (p. 71). Finally, there is a section discussing the highly technical details involved in photographing the moon (p. 140), clearly not a simple point and shoot exercise. Furthermore, beyond these examples and many others, reading the authors' slant on more familiar topics also produced numerous insights of which I was not previously aware. In summary, there is something new to be learned here in virtually every section of the book.Nevertheless, I have some reservations that I believe need to be mentioned. The authors state "We are willing to bet that you can make great photographs near where you live, no matter where that is." (p. 9). Hence, the title of the book. However, certainly not all photographs in the book can be characterized as "everyday" images. For example, two photographs from Tuscany appear on pp. 97 and 127 with the location not identified. I was a participant in a workshop with the authors when these photographs were taken, and while I view them as extraordinary, I do not view them as "everyday" photographs even though they certainly illustrate concepts in the book.Second, I did not find the settings information next to each photograph helpful in most cases. Most of the time the authors do not state if a particular photograph was taken hand held or on a tripod. Frequently one could figure this out by just looking at the image, but this was not always the case. Knowing the aperture and/or shutter speed did not always help or was useful. If a second edition of this book is to be published in the future, is would be extremely helpful to know if a tripod was used for each image and why or why not. The settings information then would become much more useful. Readers of this book would certainly benefit in their skills from this information.Finally, the title of the book appears to have been chosen to appeal to all levels of amateur photographers. This is an excellent strategy from a marketing standpoint. However, I believe that many if not most beginners will be in for a steep learning curve. Many concepts will be new and will require considerable practice to be learned well, although the book does an excellent job of recommending exercises in the field for this purpose. Some concepts, however, are not defined at all (e.g. chromatic aberration, p. 64), and it is simply assumed that the reader will be familiar with them.Aside from these reservations, this is a terrific book that I believe will greatly benefit all photographers from beginners on up. I found it important to read this book twice before writing this review because there is so much in here. It is superbly written by two outstanding photographers. Take this book seriously along with Brenda Tharp's predecessor book, and you will greatly advance your artistic skills.

This is a book from the class of books which aim to improve the photographer rather than one dealing with the technology of photography. Perhaps the best known author along this line is Freeman Patterson who the authors here cite both as an expert in this area and an inspiration for them. These books, such as those I've cited and one other excellent one, 'The Practice of Contemplative Photography: Seeing the World With Fresh Eyes' teach you to see and once you see the striking image, recording it photographically is just a matter of steps.Who is/are the photographer(s) you admire? Very likely these people did not need to travel to exotic locales like so many photographers desire so they can find 'the shot'. These masters saw the great images they later captured all around them. For example, Henri Cartier-Bresson just wandered the streets taking quiet images using his little Leica. Ansel Adams' images sell for seven figures yet he mostly shot places millions of others have and will travel to yet never equal his shots. Clyde Butcher makes wonderful images where others see nasty swamps. Weston's most famous photographs are of common vegetables.So why do so many art and amateur photographers dream of finally taking that voyage to Antarctica or Africa or some other place to get stunning images when the masters seem to find them in their backyards? The difference is that they are masters because they see artistically. This book, as well as those others cited (and more too) have examples, essays and exercises to help you develop your eye to you too can see like those who can seem to always find 'the shot' where others just walk by.This book isn't very long but is dense in information, sample snaps to illustrate the authors' points and exercises to assist you in this artistic development. The book concentrates on the image - the composition and its elements. It strives to break you free of any creative restrictions you may have developed. For example, the book instructs you, at one point, to (horrors of horrors) set your expensive DSLR rig on 'P' so you can concentrate on the image rather than fiddling with the aperture or shutter speed or whatnot. At other places, the authors even exceed this recommendation by suggesting you (double horrors of horrors) using your cell phone camera where you won't worry about these settings because you cannot.Do not expect here a technical discussion of how aperture affects DOF or how to use CS to post process your way to imaging happiness or other purely technical issues. The authors figure you either know that stuff or can find it elsewhere. This is a book about how to move from where you are to a more artistically inclined version of yourself. By that, I mean one who can see the great photo no matter where you are.To paraphrase the previously cited Freeman Patterson, what do you expect to photograph at that exotic location if you can't see what there is to photograph right at home? On a personal note, after reading this book for all of 15 minutes, I had a sort of awakening. I went home, got my expensive DSLR, and walked to a place I pass each morning. Putting the camera on the never before used P, I took a snap which is one of my better ever. It was nice to open my eyes and wake up to that which is always around me.Highly recommended.

As an experienced photographer I'm always on the lookout for inspiration and/or suggestions to help refine my photographic eye and see photo opportunities in ways I might of missed before so I had high hopes for this book based on it's title…….. while the book is packed with sound and practical advice I found it, for the most part, to be nothing I had not read or heard countless times before……..While not a how-to book, people new to digital photography in general will find the book peppered with excellent suggestions and explanations of how the photo process has evolved in the digital era as well as helpful hints and self assignment ideas at the end of every chapter….I especially like and agree with the fact that the authors suggest that one doesn't have to travel to exotic locals to make stunning photos, excellent opportunities are just outside your door if one chooses to find them….. this is the premise of the book and I think that they succeeded admirably on that count.While I found many parts of this book to be redundant to me, I think that overall this book is an excellent choice for those who are looking to advance their skill at spotting and taking photos that go beyond a simple snapshot.