New eBook Release: The Perfect Shutter

I'm delighted and a more than a little excited to announce that my new eBook "The Perfect Shutter" has just been launched! Published by the wonderful team at Craft & Vision, the Perfect Shutter is a book about the creative use of shutter speeds in landscape photography. You can buy it on the C&V website by clicking this link.

It's been a number of years now since I first started experimenting with different shutter speeds to create different effects and moods in a photograph. Most often by the sea, but also by rivers and waterfalls, and occasionally sky and vegetation, I'm fascinated by how the passage of time - the 4th dimension - can play a part in an image. It seems strange that you can depict something you can neither see nor touch in a single still photograph, but there it is.

In the book I talk about the different tools and techniques for achieving different effects via shutter speed, with an overarching theme of using such knowledge intentionally to best realise your own vision. David duChemin describes the book as follows:

“I believe that every photograph has a ‘perfect shutter’—that magical sweet spot where the depiction of motion within the photograph best conveys the intended vision and emotion.” – Duncan Fawkes

I’m excited to introduce The Perfect Shutter from landscape photographer Duncan Fawkes. Duncan has a body of work that so impressed me that I was thrilled when he said he’d share his knowledge in an eBook for us.

In 180 big, beautiful spreads, Duncan shows you how to refine your vision by putting technique into practice, adding stronger mood and intention to your photographs by sharing his knowledge of the basic fundamentals, tools, gear, visualization, techniques, and subjects, before expanding into more advanced topics such as deciphering ND filter numbers, panning, intentional camera movement, and blending exposures. In his “Making the Image” section, Duncan includes 10 photographs that walk you through the how and the why of his personal choices in creating those images.

Whether you want to photograph silky waterfalls, energetic waves, the sky, or even the wind, The Perfect Shutter leads you to find your perfect place to creatively capture the landscape as you experience it. Nature renews itself every morning: reframe how you see it.

Download your copy before 11:59 PM (PST) on June 15 for just $6.00 (a 25% savings). Learn more.

For the Love of the Photograph, - David duChemin

If you'd like to read my book it is available from the Craft & Vision website. Better yet it's discounted from $8 to $6 (25% off) until June 15th, so go grab a bargain!

And if you're into bargain hunting they also have a bundle deal with the hugely talented Michael Fyre's Exposure (which I also have and recommend) for an additional 20% off - both books for only $8.80. You can get them both here.

Timed with the book release I sat down with Jeffery Saddoris to discuss my photography on the C&V podcast. If you're interested in hearing my thoughts (and a lot of umms and ahhs!) then you can listen to it here.

On a personal note, the release of this book is quite obviously a huge highlight for me. Not only does it represent years of work - and the usual cliches of blood, sweat and tears - but also it's a real honour to be featured by Craft & Vision. Regular readers will know how David duChemin through his blog, photography and Craft & Vision were instrumental on helping me onto the right path artistically at the start of my photographic journey. In a sense things have come full circle and I'm so very grateful to contribute back to C&V and its readers, of which I've been one all of these years. I'm very grateful to David and the team for the opportunity and their belief in me. I think the final product looks amazing and I'm very happy with it.

I am grateful to and humbled by those of you who have supported and encouraged me all these years. To have people interested and engaged with your work is truly one of the greatest gifts to an artist. I thank you.

 Buy it now for only $6.

Torridon and Applecross: A Photographer's Guide

"Torridon and Applecross: A Photographer's Guide" is a distillation of as much knowledge and experience as I could squeeze into 84 pages, gained during my months living and photographing in this quite wonderful part of the Scottish highlands. Included in the guide are dozens of location suggestions, "behind the scenes", practical tips on visiting the area, as well as listings for accommodation, eating and shops.

"Just flicked through - looks ' the business'. Well prepared, great info and not too tripod holes which is great. The ideal barometer is 'does it make me want to go there?'. My answer "Yes it does" right now, actually. And you can quote me :)"

Doug Chinnery, Professional Photographer and Workshop Leader for Light & Land

Free Sample

To give you a flavour of what to expect, you can download a short sample of the eBook free of charge.

 [gumroad id="lrmd" text="Download Free Sample"]

Standard Edition - £4.99

Just the 84-page ebook. Comes with free updates for life.

[gumroad id="OMhF" text="Buy Standard Edition - £4.99"]

"With a Print" Edition - £44.99

As well as the eBook and lifetime updates, you will receive a signed print of one of four photographs from the book. The print will be "A4-ish". "Ish" means that it will be printed as close to A4 as the photograph's aspect ratio allows. This print offer includes international delivery from my home in Australia.

[gumroad id="OMhF" text="Buy 'With a Print' Edition - £44.99"]

Review: Mastering Photography by Andrew S Gibson

When I was a lad, photographically speaking, Understanding Exposure by Brian Peterson was pretty much always recommended to those new to using the camera creatively. I’m not sure if there’s something wrong with me but I didn’t really get on with it. Perhaps my mind has been fogged by time or I wasn't ready for it at the time. Obviously others think it’s great, but it’s not a book I could recommend based on my personal experience.

So I’ve been on the lookout for an introductory book covering the fundamentals that I could recommend to workshop participants and others starting their journey. Several weeks ago Andrew S Gibson released an eBook called Mastering Photography which claims to do just that, so I thought I’d give it a look. Note this post includes affiliate links which means I receive a small payment for any purchases made via my site. It's by no means megabucks so it doesn't affect the objectivity of my reviews!

Andrew released a near identical book last year called Understanding EOS which is the Canon-specific version of this book. The same comments as below apply with more specific instruction on operating a Canon camera. If you're a Canon-user and want to buy the book, then buy Understanding EOS instead.

As a slight aside I think the name of the book could be a little more modest. To my mind mastery isn’t something that you can learn from this or any number of books (my bulging bookcase is testament to that!). It’s a result of years of practice and experience (and lots and lots of failures). It’s only a minor quibble and in fairness a less bold title would be unlikely to attract attention on a noisy internet, but I thought I'd mention it in the interests of expectations management.

Creative Triangle

The book opens with a discussion of what Andrew calls the 'Creative Triangle' - Composition, Lighting and Technique - and I like that from the outset he sets the tone that there's more to making a great image than just camera skills. The book mostly covers the Technique corner of the triangle, likely because without technique and understanding of our equipment we will struggle to explore the other components creatively. I'm hoping that Andrew will release future volumes to accompany this one to complete the creative triangle.

We're then shown a number of inspirational images with the back story and the photographer's thinking. I always enjoy reading these and find them helpful. Personally the thought of the wire wool burning shot terrifies me (yes I'm a scaredy cat!) so perhaps a more accessible image would've been better. Nonetheless it's a lovely image and certainly serves the purpose of inspiring! There are further illustrated examples throughout the book explaining the thinking that went into each.

Exposure Triangle

We're then into the guts of the book - how to get off of Auto mode and start using the camera more creatively. We start fairly logically with the 'exposure triangle' - aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Here I think Andrew does a great job of explaining these and the relationship between them in a way that I was looking for when I first picked up the camera.

He uses good examples to illustrate the effects and he doesn't just talk about what they are, but more importantly how to use them creatively and some of the decisions involved in doing so. Related to this is how you use the less-auto modes of your camera - programmed auto, aperture priority and shutter priority - and that's well covered too. If you've been struggling to understand the effects of aperture, shutter speed and ISO and the relationship between them required for a good exposure, then I think this will be of help to you.

There's then a discussion of in-camera Picture Styles which is useful if you don't intend to post-process your image on a computer. Personally I encourage people to do their own processing as I think it's a key part of image making. But for anyone that feels a little overwhelmed starting out, understanding Picture Styles can certainly help to reduce the number of things you have to worry about and it's well covered here.

White Balance and Histograms - My Favourites!

The book then covers White Balance, and I was particularly happy to see Andrew discuss the merits of using WB creatively. For me white balance isn't about making whites white, but a key control in conveying mood in images. Andrew explains WB well and includes some good examples that show the effect of different WB settings.

There's an explanation of Histograms and I've discussed my love for them on this blog before. They can be a little intimidating at first so this is a good read if you need to get your head around them.

Finally there's talk of Colour Management. Many find this a daunting subject (including me! :)) but he's right to highlight its importance. I'm not sure it's a key concern for the beginner photographer, but it's certainly an important - and in truth relatively straightforward - step to perform as you improve.

Summary

"You won't become a master just by reading a book but it's certainly a step in the right direction."

And there we have it. Pretty much all of the key things you need to start using your camera more creatively are covered here, with good examples and good explanation of the exposure choices made by the photographer. While much of this information can be found on the internet it's not presented as clearly and beautifully as here. It's certainly the sort of resource I wish I had when I was starting out.

You won't become a master just by reading a book but it's certainly a step in the right direction. Given it's also only £7 it's certainly one that I'll be recommending to people in the future. Even better if you use the code july2 by 31st July it's only £5 - bargain! You can get the book here. Remember if you're a Canon user you want to get Understanding EOS instead.

Be the First to Know!

I will announce all of my workshop dates via my newsletter and places will be filled on a strict first come first served basis. If you're interested in joining me on an image making adventure then please sign up to my mailing list. Don't miss out!

You can find a list of my current workshop dates here. I am also available for 1-2-1s and online tuition, details of which you can find here.

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