Sunday March 11, 2012 Spring Photography

Spring is finally here. The signs are everywhere: the lakes and rivers are melting, the trees are sprouting leaves and we know the flowers are eventually going to bloom. These are all fantastic events to capture with a camera. But if you are new to photography, or are looking for a few tips and tricks to help improve your pictures, perhaps a trip to the library is in order!

If you're a beginner, the library has plenty of books to get you started. An excellent title for beginners is Basic Techniques of Photography: an Ansel Adams Guide by John P. Schaefer. This book is a little dated, focusing only on film photography. But it is extremely thorough, and much of what it describes can be applied to digital photography. Another good book for beginners is Basic Photography by Michael Langford. Like Schaefer’s book, Basic Photography is a good reference, giving an excellent grounding in the basics. Both books also have plenty of tips and tricks for more advanced photographers.

If you are looking to take close-ups of flowers, a nice introductory book is Macro Photography: Photo Workshop by Haje Jan Kamps. How to Photograph Close-Ups in Nature by Nancy Rottenberg and Michael Lustbader and Digital Nature Photography Closeup by Jon Cox are both excellent books on the subject as well. Close-Up Photography in Nature by Tim Fitzharris has some gorgeous close-up photos but little advice; if you are looking for inspiration (or just want to enjoy his photos) it is definitely worth checking out.

If you're not interested in close-ups, why not give landscapes a try? We have several books on photographing landscapes, such as John Shaw's Landscape Photography. Much like Basic Techniques of Photography by Schaefer, this book is a little dated; it talks about film photography, but much of what it says is still true of landscape photography today. John Shaw’s book is good for beginners, providing a lot of the photography basics. Another great book is How to Photograph Landscapes by Joseph K. Lange. Like John Shaw’s book, How to Photograph Landscapes was written about film cameras but is still very applicable to today’s digital cameras. How to Photograph Landscapes is available in our virtual collection.

For something a little different, you can always give Fine Art Photography: Water, Ice, and Fog by Tony Sweet a read. Many of his photos are rather traditional, depicting trees and lakes in the sunshine. But every few pages Sweet includes macros that are more abstract, looking more like paintings than photographs. Whatever your photography interests, Fine Art Photography is sure to inspire you.

You may also be interested in taking pictures of animals. The library has The Complete Guide to Nature Photography: Professional Techniques for Capturing Digital Images of Nature and Wildlife by Sean Arbabi, a beautiful book full of useful information for taking pictures of all things natural. We also have Nature and Wildlife Photography: a Practical Guide to How to Shoot and Sell by Susan McCartney. McCartney’s book goes into a lot of detail on how to photograph a variety of wildlife subjects. But it does not have many pictures, making it unsuitable to flip through for inspiration.

If you're not really interested in photography yourself but would like to look at gorgeous photos by others, we have many books you can browse through. Most of the books I’ve listed have beautiful images, but you can also leaf through others like The Best of Popular Photography edited by Harvey V. Fondiller, the National Geographic Image Collection, and magazines like National Geographic and Outdoor Photography.


So this spring, why not embark on a wonderful adventure in photography starting at your library?

Shauna Kosoris