As photographers we, by and large, are now hard-wired into the digital revolution. Instant feedback and the current crop of excellent cameras means making a great photograph is as hard now (if not harder) than it’s ever been. The digital age simply allows us to discover quickly just how hard.  There’s no waiting in line at BonusPrint for your film to be developed; no waiting to see your prints come off the print line having had some unknown corrections made by the lab. You see your corrected images and then think you’re an exposure god. Digital cameras allow us to instantly see our photographs and sometimes those unprocessed results are shocking.  Bad and good.

And so the digital experience has brought with it a group of people that are willing to share their photographic experiences and knowledge to help us grow –photographically-speaking – much quicker than by your own trial and error.  We can of course learn by our own mistakes but we can also learn by everyone else’s too.  It’s a new way of learning; it’s a breath of fresh air; it’s confidence boosting; you’re not alone.

The most notable of current tuition, in the use of flash techniques, comes from Dave Hobby at the Strobist blog who mostly compels photographers to get their flash gun off the camera.  However, there are times when this isn’t practical – for example you might be at a wedding where the environment and other factors change quickly.  Carting a light-stand with a flash and modifier will slow you down and stop you being fluid with the events of the day.  Under such conditions you could argue that if you’re good enough there should be no need for flash and this may be true, but wouldn’t you like to have the ability of shaping light at will and making it look natural?  I would.  Even more so if the flash gun remained on top of the camera for then you have choice.

Enter stage right a book written by successful photographer Neil van Niekerk…

On-Camera Flash is 124 pages or an afternoon read of excellent teaching.  The sort of teaching that walks you through the thought process and exact settings for each image.  Neil’s book explores exposure metering, light-shaping tools and how, with a little thought, you can leave your flash on top of the camera and record a photograph that does not look like a flash was used.  And there’s a host of further chapters filled with golden nuggets.

My copy of the book is well-thumbed. Many of the pages are now dog-eared and even though I also make a living from photography,  I work on the notion that no matter what I know, there is always something to learn.

Neil van Niekerk

These are 124 pages of knowledge that demystifies the use of on-camera flash.  Neil helps navigate photographers round the common pitfalls of creating flat light, harsh light and shadows, the cavernous black backgrounds we’re all familiar seeing and instead draws us into a world that requires a little thought.  You learn how to finesse your light, shape it and allow the beauty of your subject to shine through.

Currently priced around £16 on Amazon.co.uk, I heartily recommend adding this book to your library.  It’s a great read and will enhance your photography beyond your expectations – a tall claim but achievable.  Take his thoughts and practice, practice, practice.

Neil, like Dave Hobby, generously shares his ideas via his blog.  He’s active and posts often and takes time to reply to questions asked via his blog. What I know, his blog has an extraordinary amount of information in it which will take you more than a day to explore, but well worth it.

Paul photographs for business and pleasure; why not visit his website or Flickr stream.

The book consists of “recipes” from six professional photographers which the author claims are foolproof. The first part consists of a list of all the necessary equipment but not every item has an accompanying photograph.

Over half the book is taken up with portraiture. Part 2 is “Basic Portraiture”, for example – “Simple reflectors”,” Scrims and Sheets” “Snoots and Foils”. At first the photographs are accompanied by clear lighting diagrams and the author explains the principles of lighting and the reasons behind the choice of lighting which makes it easy to understand. However, once the lighting gets more complex, especially in Part 3 “Corporate and Industrial Shots”, where 6 or more lights may be being used the diagrams dry up almost completely and I felt the descriptions of the lighting were not clear enough on their own to replicate them.

Part 4 is “Production Shots”. This has useful sections on photographing glass, crystal and textiles. Most of these are accompanied by diagrams.

Part 5 is “Specialised Techniques”. This involves types of photography which you could do as a profession, for example architectural interiors, micro lighting, and pet photography.

As a whole, the writing style is very readable, there are hints on making your own equipment to save money and even tips for professional photographers on selling their photos and dealing with clients. If you’re after a book which explains everything about lighting this is not it. I think it is useful enough to buy because I have learned a lot from it, but there are better, more modern comprehensive studio lighting books on the market.

The Lighting Cookbook on Amazon – £11.84 at date of posting.

Review by: DMC08

To try and promote the work of those contributing we are planning to review Photobooks and magazines produced by the membership – so the first volunteer was Alastair Thompson who volunteered his ‘Leeds 2008‘ book

Promotional copy: An exploration of street photography from a newcomers perspective. Starting with the first stumbling efforts (shop windows and the like), and leading on to more interesting juxtapositions and private moments.

Alastair Thompson’s latest book is the accumulated photos of a year described as ‘a year of change’ in his life as a photographer. It shows chronologically the journey through the year that Alastair took on a new and exciting challenge – street photography.

The book is an eclectic mix of colour and black & white shots taken on the streets of Leeds city centre. As the main theme is ‘Street’ the subject matter is as much about the surroundings as it is about the interaction of the people within the shot.

Throughout the book there are numerous examples of the natural behaviour of people that are so easily missed when you go about your day to day life. All of the people in the shots are relaxed and going about their day not necessarily seeing their surroundings enough to see the view of themselves from the photographer’s point of view. The use of shop windows and their contents have produced some great shots that give a different perspective on the normal.

Flying in the Face of Fashion - Alastair Thompson (click to visit image on Flickr.com)

For me the stand out images are the monochrome images. The nature of some of the subject matter means that there are often many colours distracting the feeling of the shot. I think that in his black and white images Alastairhas managed to capture more feeling from the people in the shots and providing a greater connection with the reader.

This is not to say that the colour images should be black & white, each image should be looked at for its own merits, and the very red image on the rear cover is a great example of this. It gives a great insight into the family life of two brothers with very different views on life, or at least that’s the story I am imagining about the situation.

On the whole the book is captivating and thought provoking, you come away from looking through it wondering what is going on in the lives of the people on the street. I’m not sure that every image should tell a story but all of the ones in this book do.

^ Review by Gavin Forster

Touching! by Alastair Thompson (click to view image on Flickr.com)

What a brilliant book! Not that anyone needs a reminder of the eclectic mix of characters our fair city of Leeds is home to, but it’s great to have a pictorial reference just the same! Anyone who enjoys street photography and its humour will find this book interesting and very amusing! My favourites include ‘statue grabbing a woman’ and ‘the football supporters’. If you enjoy people watching this is a great book – especially for anyone familiar with Leeds.

^ Review by Emma Brown

Leeds 2008 by Alastair Thompson
Published on Blurb.com (from 20.95 + p&p)
A set of images from the book can be viewed on Flickr.com

Do you have a photo book or magazine available to buy/acquire? Tell us about it and we’ll get it reviewed!

Annie Leibovitz’s most recent book, A Photographer’s Life: 1990-2005, shows her in the usual guise as a portrait photographer but really she is so much more in this particular volume. Her photographs look so tactile and often brooding in black and white, but then suddenly show humour and strength of colour and vibrance in her portraits of celebrities like Jack Nicholson and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Landscapes in all their grainy glory invite you in, familiar places become emotionally charged, and then there is death, photographs showing the end of lives and the consequences of age. Leibovitz has the ability to present her work in this book as a diary of unorganised and disparate events which capture all of life from the beginning to the end. It just so happens that many of the events involve people we all know although in this particular book Leibovitz allows us to see the real family, parents, children and Susan Sontag, whom she was in a close romantic relationship with, juxtaposed with celebrity.

In some ways the book seems like it confirms closure following the death of her father and Sontag in 2004. There are photographs of Leibovitz herself, standing on the ‘wrong’ side of the camera, revealing herself figuratively and literally. This isn’t a book of photojournalism but an album of a life.

This is large book with a large price of £75 (£43.99 on Amazon.co.uk*) although it is a book that will inspire and probably not just sit on a bookshelf but live on a sturdy table to be regularly perused.

ISBN – 9780224080637 Hardback – 480

Reviewed by John Dolan

*Price as displayed at time of publication