Recommended Reading List

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SciAggie

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I think we need a thread that is simply a compilation or list of books that forum members recommend regarding photography or art as it relates to photography.

My idea is to make an entry with the title of the book, followed by a short summary of the book. This would not be a place for a discussion about any particular text, but rather a listing of books that others recommend. Discussion or debate on a particular text would require it's own separate thread.

For new or younger members, this would be a way to tap into the wealth of knowledge of other members. If you agree, then post a recommendation.
 
I think you have too wide a scope here. Should it be technical information - a kind of "know how' or the art/artless version of photography?
The technical stuff is easy - even here on RFf you can get answers to most questions and information is freely shared too.
As for the esthetics/art of photography - it depends on what your aim is. In the classic bl/w photography - anything by Robert Frank, Bruce Davidson, HCB etc will teach you more in a couple of 100 pages than you think.
I find that you have to look at pictures to be able to take pictures. Not to copy but to learn to "see" and judge your own images.
I read somewhere that Flickr now has something like 30 billion images available - and yes I am fully aware that 29 billion are crap, 999 million might be OK and possibly 1 million are good.
I have taken pictures all my life (in excess of 50+ years) and always looked at pictures in books, at exhibitions, museums and at gatherings of photographers - but the sheer scope of what available on the RFf, Flickr etc is amazing - best training ground I have ever seen. The fact that you have to wade through a lot of "dreck" to find the jewels also teaches how to discern good pictures from bad.
Yes. I still like photography books and do buy them fairly regularly - but I am much more selective now as i can often see in advance on the 'net what appeals to me - or not.
Probably my favorite photographic compilation of the last 12 months is Bruce Davidson's "Inside, Outside" - expensive and massive!
Of the classics. of course "The decisive moment" - rare and expensive - but there are plenty of HCB books available for much less.
The french series "Photo Poche" is very good - I think it is now up to 160 different books (pocket book size - but well printed) and covers virtually most photographers that ever pressed that release button!
 
I suggest Zen in the Art of Archery, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. They are not specifically photography books, but both explore perception, subject, object, and quality.
 
Thanks Tom. I guess my vision was just that if someone read something they really liked, they could list it with a short description. This may sound like heresy to folks here, but I didn't know who HCB was until I started hanging out here. I am just interested to here what others found useful or inspiring. Thanks for your suggestions.
 
"The Art of Photography" by Bruce Barnbaum. It's by far my favorite fine art photo book. Lot's of time talking about learning how to see before you release the shutter.
 
Another, required reading from my Professor and mentor, suitable for those considering an indirect approach, is Flatland, by Edwin A. Abbot. Our host is an inhabitant of two-dimensional space, and thus he shows us that what we see, and think we know, is a matter of perspective.
 
"Flatland" is a good choice - we do take pictures of a 3 dimensional world and render it into two dimensions. I like the description in the book on how to make staircases and also how to deal with sidewalks and meeting people on them.
 
One book that I can recommend is Jim Hughes "Shadows and Substance". This is his biography of Eugene Smith. Spectacular reading - also gives a good insight into the business end of photography in the 40's and 50's when Life, Look etc were the Big users of photography.
Ok, a word of warning - it might get you started on a life of heavy drinking, "uppers" and "downers" - as well as heavy smoking. Always had a suspicion that Smith's prints were so good 'cause he smoked and drank in the darkroom. You will aslo need an industrial sized supply of ferrocyanide!
 
For me even though it's not technical I'd say go read Don Mcullin's: Unreasonable Behaviour, a really great autobiography and very deep, espicially if you're into war photography or photojournalism.
 
ROUGHLY SPEAKING:
I think this thread is asking to give a bit more information about what the reader might expect to find in a book we recommend. The thread you mention seems to be mostly people listing books that are in their library.
 
In photographers' own words...

I love to read anything where a photographer talks about why they make the pictures they do, or why they chose one image over another. My favorite book in this genre is "Dialogue with Photography" by Paul Hill and Thomas Cooper. It contains interviews with 21 of the photographers that achieved fame in the first half of the 20th century. The points made by them seem just a relavent today as ever. I highly recommend the book.
 
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