Stephen Johnson on Digital Photography by Stephen Johnson

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(Paperback)

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  • Pub. Date: August 2006
  • 320pp
     
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    Product Details

    • Pub. Date: August 2006
    • Publisher:O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
    • Format: Paperback, 320pp

    Synopsis

    "We are in the Stone Age of digital photography. We've figured out how to make some tools, but it is just now beginning to dawn on us what we might do with them. I've often been frustrated at the concentration on the technical aspect of digital photography with so little discussion of the aesthetics and heart behind the image making. This book is essentially a distillation of what I've been teaching over the last 25 years."

    Master photographer Stephen Johnson has been taking beautiful landscape photography for decades, and teaching others the practical art of image making since 1977. While he started out with traditional film camera techniques, Johnson is widely recognized among his peers as a pioneer of digital photography. Stephen Johnson on Digital Photography chronicles his ride on the bleeding edge of this medium's evolution, and provides a practical in-depth introduction to digital photography that offers the latest techniques for beginning and experienced photographers alike.

    What sets this guide apart from other books on the topic is its approach and execution: This isn't a Photoshop book, although Photoshop has its place within the book; it's a book that a master teacher and photographer creates after a lifetime of showing others how to understand and make great photography. With 5 color photographs throughout, including black/gray duotones, and 715 illustrations reproduced with a 200 line screen, Johnson's book covers everything from:

    The basics of digital photography Film camera techniques vs. digital Practical approaches of the filmless photographer Techniques of the digital darkroom A photographer ™s digital journey Photography, art and the future

    This is a holistic work (and method for teaching) that embraces the state of photographic tools and techniques, blended with suggestions and experiences on why I make photographs, Johnson says. At its best, photography rides that crest where technology and art intersect. But the deepest engagement that photography can bring remains its ability to capture and hold a moment before the lens. In this age of digital manipulation, that fundamental fact must be remembered.

    Annotation

    Widely recognized among his peers as a pioneer of digital photography, a master photographer provides a practical, in-depth introduction to digital photography that offers the latest techniques for beginning and experienced photographers alike.

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    Biography

    Stephen Johnson is a photographer, designer and teacher. His photographs have appeared in numerous publications including American Photo, Audubon, Life Magazine, Landscape Magazine, Pacific Discovery, Sierra Magazine, U.S. News and World Report and The New York Times, to name a few. Internationally recognized as a digital photography "pioneer," Johnson's photographs are part of the permanent collections of many institutions including the Oakland Museum, the Getty, the City of New York, Apple Computer, and the National Park Service. Also known as a masterful educator, he has been running a workshop program 25 years, and has helped to build a wondrous portable digital lab, the "Magical Digital Bus". Among his many awards and recognition for his groundbreaking work was his induction into the Photoshop Hall of Fame in 2003, grants from the NEA, Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, California Arts Council, Adobe, Apple and many others.

    Customer Reviews

    Stephen Johnson on Digital Photographyby Anonymous

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    September 21, 2006: Having studied Stephen Johnson's new book on Digital Photography for a while now I can say that it perfectly fits that gap in the market for a book that homogenizes the current digital workflow into a meaningful experience for the photographic artist at both amateur and professional level. Of course it draws heavily on Steve's own practice and experience a a digital pioneer, but this is what makes it such a compelling and passionate read. I think he uses the history and technological development of photography as a framework to place the recent and current state of digital imaging in context.The book is beautifully illustrated in the main with his own large format digital work and excellent graphics. While it is not another book on photoshop, it does address key software elements that have a real relavance for photographers. As a teacher for many years I can say that it is a very welcome addition as a recommended text for students of photography and digital imaging and an informative read for professionals. I think that a previous reviewer, Samuel Kochansky misses the point about the book, it is a unique expression of experience, Stephen Johnson's unique experience. His accusitation of 'prohibitively expensive equipment' is beside the point, he was one of the first to see the potential of digital over analogue. I am sure traditional film based photography will be with some of us for some time to come but the control over the image in terms of exposure range and colour fidelity offered by a digital workflow leaves film a long way behind. If you love photography and want to learn something of the potential of going digital, buy this book.

    Stephen Johnson sounds a bit bored!by Anonymous

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    September 16, 2006: Disappointment is reading this largely self-advertising tome is what I would say to those looking for a book that is supposedly designed for inspiring the reader. I expect a book to present new and challenging ideas that we artists call a muse but instead I was presented here with the rehash of how Johnson acquired prohibitively expensive equipment from manufacturers to create those images with which we are already familiar. This book presents nothing new and should only be required reading in a history of photography or media course at the lower university level. While Stephen Johnson is most assuredly an accomplished artist in his field, he should look to writing a book that can homogenize the current digital workflows into a meaning experience for the artist at both the amateur and professional level. I expected a unique expression of experience and instead was presented with old news and boring facts. As an artist/educator practicing this craft we call the photographic arts, I can attest that digital technologies are tools as were pieces of cardboard on a wire used in the darkroom, but film is not dead just because Johnson says it is. This book is not worth the admission price--I expected more.


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