In this fully revised and greatly expanded second edition of The Essence of Photography, world-renowned photographer and teacher Bruce Barnbaum draws upon 50 years of experience and observation to teach the art of photographic seeing and creativity. There is a lot more to photography than simply picking up a camera, pointing it toward something, and tripping the shutter. Achieving a great photograph requires thought and preparation, an understanding of the photographic process, and a firm grasp of how light and composition affect a photo. There must be personal involvement and personal expression. There must be experimentation, with the recognition that only a small percentage of experiments end successfully. In this revised and expanded second edition of The Essence of Photography, best-selling author and world-renowned photographer and teacher Bruce Barnbaum explores these seldom-discussed issues by drawing upon his personal experiences and observations from 50 years of photographing and teaching. In addition to photographs, Bruce also uses painting, music, and writing, as well as the sciences and even business, to provide pertinent examples of creative thinking. These examples serve as stepping stones that will lead you to your own heightened ability to see and be creative. Creativity is a topic that is almost wholly ignored in formal education because most instructors think that it cannot be taught or learned. To the contrary, Bruce has proven that photographic seeing and creativity can be taught, learned, and improved. This book expands on the ideas that are central to Bruce's method of teaching photography, which he has used in workshops for the past 50 years. Included in the book are in-depth discussions on the following topics: - Defining your own unique rhythm and approach as a photographer - How to translate the scene in front of you to the final photograph - The differences and similarities between how an amateur and a professional approach photography - The differences between realism and abstraction, and the possibilities and limitations of each - Learning to expand your own seeing and creativity through classes, workshops, and associating with other photographers - Why the rules of composition should be ignored - How to follow your passion - When to listen to the critics and when to ignore them The book is richly illustrated with well over 100 photographs taken by Bruce as well as other photographers. Seeing and creativity are difficult to teach, but not impossible. This very different, perhaps groundbreaking book is sure to inspire photographers of all skill levels--from beginners to seasoned professionals--to think deeply about the issues involved in creating successful photographs.

This is an updated and newly revised edition of the classic book The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression. Originally published in 1994 and first revised in 2010, The Art of Photography has sold well over 100,000 copies and has firmly established itself as the most readable, understandable, and complete textbook on photography. Featuring nearly 200 beautiful photographs in both black-and-white and color, as well as numerous charts, graphs, and tables, this book presents the world of photography to beginner, intermediate, and advanced photographers who seek to make a personal statement through the medium of photography. Without talking down to anyone or talking over anyone's head, renowned photographer, teacher, and author Bruce Barnbaum presents how-to techniques for both traditional and digital approaches. In this newest edition of the book, Barnbaum has included many new images and has completely revised the text, with particular focus on two crucial chapters covering digital photography: he revised a chapter covering the digital zone system, and includes a brand-new chapter on image adjustments using digital tools. There is also a new chapter discussing the concepts of "art versus technique" and "traditional versus digital" approaches to photography. Throughout the book, Barnbaum goes well beyond the technical, as he delves deeply into the philosophical, expressive, and creative aspects of photography so often avoided in other books. Barnbaum is recognized as one of the world's finest landscape and architectural photographers, and for decades has been considered one of the best instructors in the field of photography. This latest incarnation of his textbook--which has evolved, grown, and been refined over the past 45 years--will prove to be an ongoing, invaluable photographic reference for years to come. It is truly the resource of choice for the thinking photographer.Topics include: Elements of Composition Visualization Light and Color Filters Black-and-White The Digital Zone System The Zone System for Film Printing and Presentation Exploding Photographic Myths Artistic Integrity Realism, Abstraction, and Art Creativity and Intuition A Personal Philosophy And much, much more...

There is a lot more to photography than simply picking up a camera, pointing it toward something, and tripping the shutter. Achieving a great photograph requires thought and preparation, an understanding of the photographic process, and a firm grasp of how light and composition affect a photo. There must be personal involvement and personal expression. There must be experimentation, with the recognition that only a small percentage of experiments end successfully. In this book, best-selling author and world-renowned photographer and teacher Bruce Barnbaum explores these seldom-discussed issues by drawing upon his personal experiences and observations from more than 40 years of photographing and teaching. In addition to photographs, Bruce also uses painting, music, and writing, as well as the sciences and even business, to provide pertinent examples of creative thinking. These examples serve as stepping-stones that will lead you to your own heightened ability to see and be creative. Creativity is a topic that is almost wholly ignored in formal education because most instructors think that it cannot be taught or learned. To the contrary, Bruce has proven that photographic seeing and creativity can be taught, learned, and improved. This book expands on the ideas that are central to Bruce's method of teaching photography, which he has used in workshops for the past 41 years. Included in the book are in-depth discussions on the following topics: Defining your own unique rhythm and approach as a photographer How to translate the scene in front of you to the final photograph The differences and similarities between how an amateur and a professional approach photography The differences between realism and abstraction, and the possibilities and limitations of each Learning to expand your own seeing and creativity through classes, workshops, and associating with other photographers Why the rules of composition should be ignored How to follow your passion When to listen to the critics and when to ignore them The book is richly illustrated with over 90 photographs taken by Bruce as well as other photographers.Seeing and creativity are difficult to teach, but not impossible. This very different, perhaps groundbreaking book is sure to inspire photographers of all skill levels-from beginners to seasoned professionals-to think deeply about the issues involved in creating successful photographs.