Another addiction

The entire Blip experience has created new addictions. The first and most obvious is camera gear. I love gadgets and with the expansion of my photography hobby, my gadget radar has been focused on camera gear. It is amazing how many bags, lenses, CF cards and other random paraphenalia you can acquire. My apetite is insatiable although I have managed to pace myself effectively.

The other related area is photography books. I strive to improve my photography skills and Blip is a great place for this. However, I also believe that a good photography book is extremely valuable. My two favorite authors are Michael Freeman and Bryan Peterson. Freeman's books are very detailed and full of content. You need to read them multiple times to fully grasp the information. His writing style is very technical and detailed as he tries to break down complex subjects. They are not for everyone, but suite my style well. In this blip, we see three Freeman books that I plan on bringing with me in an upcoming trip. Here are amazon.com links to the books.

The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos

Michael Freeman's Perfect Exposure: The Professional's Guide to Capturing Perfect Digital Photographs

The Photographer's Eye Field Guide: The essential handbook for traveling with your digital SLR camera

The other author is Bryan Peterson and he is almost the polar opposite of Freeman. Peterson's books are full of gorgeous pictures with limited written content. He does not provide the depth and detail of Freeman, and instead focuses a small number of key points. My preference is for Freeman's detail, but Peterson's books are good too. The downside is that Peterson's books are as expensive as Freeman's and they have less content. That said, I also have the following two Peterson books.

Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition) - A classic

Understanding Close-up Photography: Creative Close Encounters with or without a Macro Lens

Peterson and Freeman are both good authors and you cannot go wrong with either. If you are interested in adding a book to your collection, I recommend that you visit the bookstore and review books from each to see which writing style is a better fit for you.

A year ago: A fun water glass shot.


Post processing:
Tweaked contrast in DPP

Constructive criticism always welcome