Best book on nature and exposure?

[jiyang_chen]

Hi,

I just started getting very interested in Nature photography. I

already have John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide, but I feel

it's not enough for me, especially on exposure. Are there any good

books that really explains exposure, how to get a right exposure, how

to meter for the right exposure, how to compensate to get the right

exposure, etc. for nature shots or for photography in general? Right

now I'm totally leaving my camera on Aperture Priority and Matrix

Metering and don't know much about whether the picture will come out

like I want it to.

 

Thanks a bunch!

[jim_neely]

Arthur Morris, in his book "Birds as Art" has a good theory on one way to use the meter and compensate. Available on his web site.

 

John and Barbara Gerlach have another theory that was presented in a seminar and is available from their web site for a very low price. It is only about the equivalent of a chapter in a book.

[efusco]

This may be what you need without spending a dime.

 

http://www.fredparkerphotography.com/ultexp1.htm

[eagleman38aol.co]

Jiyang one of the best books Ive read about nature photography and it explained exposure pretty good was Joe McDonalds "the COMPLETE GUIDE TO WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY". Joe Mcdonald has updated this book with the New Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography. I dont know how good the new book is, but the first explains every aspect of nature photography very good. It explains exposure, flash, lenses, etc., your complete guide. Also John Shaw has some good books on nature with his specialty being macro photography. I hope this info is of some help.

[scott_fairbairn]

Probably the best thing to do after reading a good book on exposure is to make field notes on your settings and religiously checking them on the light box afterwards. If you do this long enough you will recognize situations where your meter or system fails and will know by how much to compensate. I find that even when I know where the meter will fail, I still bracket as a 1/3 stop difference will make or break some photos. Even with the best book, each situation will be different enough that it will still be helpfull to bracket. But knowing how to get into the "ballpark" will allow you to fine tune the exposure by 1/3 's versus the ole plus and minus one stop routine.

[joe_austin1]

I'll second the motion for Joe McDonalds book "The Complete Guide to Wildlife Photography". It is an excellent resource for exposure, particularly regarding the use of flash in wildlife photography.

[dan_smith]

If you did not get it from John Shaws book, you most likely won't get it from the others either.

Buy some film & go out & shoot, taking notes and following Shaws recommendations and learn what happens by doing rather than trying to understand it simply by reading a book.

[david_evans]

For What It's Worth-

I would comment that you need to test exposure levels with slide film, unless you are one of the chosen few who can interpret exposure levels on print negatives.

[steve_thompson]

I second Jim Neely's recommendation of Gerlach's exposure document. I am sure any of the other suggestions will work just fine too. I think the key is to fine a system that you can use and get consistent accurate exposure. BTW Jim I tried doing a search for John and Barb's web site without success. Do you happen to have a link?

[sam_mahmoud]

The Gerlach document is the most complete and most definitive

explanation I have ever seen of how to get the right exposure

in all situations. It even explains why even INCIDENT metering

requires making compensations for the brightness/darkness of the

subject, and how to make them. Because it is so detailed, it can

be a confusing read, so it actually might not be the best starting

point for a beginner. The Gerlachs' web site is at:

<br><br>

<a href="http://www.gerlachnaturephoto.com/">http://www.gerlachnaturephoto.com/</a>

<br><br>

For the most readable and understandable explanation, I

recommend Bahman Farzad's book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0966081706/o/qid=993600442/sr=2-2/ref=aps_sr_b_1_2/104-7758462-0339937">The Confused Photographer's Guide to On-Camera Spotmetering.</a>

This book is a little tedious to read, because it brings the subject down to Kindergarten level and then repeats

itself over and over. But a book like this isn't about being

fun to read, it's about making sure you walk away from it

knowing what you need to know. And you will. If you have

read other books and still don't get it, this is the place

to go to finally get it. To explore further, Farzad's web

site is at <a href="http://www.spotmetering.com/">http://www.spotmetering.com/</a>.<br>

[lance_krueger]

As a full time pro photographer that has taught one too many photography classes, I'll tell you the book that is the required "textbook" for all my beginner SLR classes. The book is called "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Petersen. I have read all the books above, but this book (though not nature oriented) breaks it down and explains it at the most understandable level. It was written back in the '90's, so the film data is outdated, but the principles are so very easy to understand. The majority of the book breaks down the four basic requirements to make a good exposure: metering, aperture, shutter speed and film. I highly recommend this book, and there is even a CD Rom version of this book that you can actually see a scene's exposure change as you click on different shutter speeds, apertures, etc. AWESOME!

[andrew_ito]

I'd like to suggest Charles Campbell's The Backpackers

Photography Handbook. It has some good information on a

technique called Chroma-Zone. You can get a glimpse of it on

his website.

 

http://www.photonaturalist.com.

 

He has lots of good info in the book. Well worth the $7. or so I

spent on amazon .com. I hope this helps.

[ShunCheung]

I tend to agree with Dan Smith. While I certainly haven't read every book suggested here, I do find John Shaw's among the best for nature photography, especially since he has refined his books from earlier editions.

 

Rather than buying more books on exposure, I suggest reading Shaw's book again and then experiment around in actual situations. Modern matrix metering can handle most situations. Hopefully your camera has a spot meter. You can use that in more difficult situations, such as a white bird with a dark background, snow scenes, etc.

[jay_horton1]

Plan A: Combine John Shaw's, ' The Nature Photographer's Complete Guide To Professional Field Techniques," with Bryan Peterson's, ' Understanding Exposure.'

 

Practice, practice, practice. Take notes on every exposure.

 

Plan B: Take up golf.

[aitor_ortuondo1]

"John Shaw's Landscape Photography" is for me one of the best book to learn both, landscape photography and exposure.

 

If you use Canon EOS equipment, Arthur Morris books are also great.

 

Aitor Ortuondo

http://photostart.net

[stan_murawski__jr.]

Jiyang,

All of John�s Shaw�s books are good. I would suggest the latest ones because they use the most current films and equipment. He, also has a group of videos that give good explanations. Watch or read and then shoot film.

[rod_barbee]

In addition to some of the books mentioned here, I would also recommend John Shaw's video on exposure. It's part of a whole video workshop series. You can find it at www.blackrabbit.com I believe.

 

Rod

[leping]

I attended John and Barbara Gerlach's fall color workshop in early

October, 2000, and it was my best experience with all the workshops

and tours I have been so far. John and Barb are the finest and

most wonderful teachers, and their extensive knowledge and experiences on the topics of nature and landscape photography, as well as their intimate know how of the area made the week my most productive one - I run out of film while usually I bring twice as much as I thought I was able to shoot! Also need to mention their fees are moderate in comparison with most others. Individual attentions standed out in the small groups, unlike with some bigger names you pay twice as much or more, and end with a group of 40. Highly and unconditionally recommended. All of the images in my Autumn Symphony (use the link below) portfolio except one were shoot during the workshop. Simply amazing!

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=139901

[wildpicture]

Have a look at the reviews on my website on most of the books mentioned here.

 

www.wildpicture.com

[the lone ranger]

how about going way back and old school and read ansel adams books on the zone system. just a thought.