po_y Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 <p>Hello all,<br> <br />I am not very familiar with any well-known/famous books showcasing flower/plant photography because it is not my primary area of interest. I am looking to get a book as a Christmas gift for someone (who is not likely to be reading this forum, hopefully!). I thought I could call upon on your considerable experiences.<br> <br />Can anyone recommend some books for me to consider please? If the book is one that teaches photographing plants and flowers, then that is also okay as along as the photos are good, although the advise is likely to be ignored!<br> <br />Ta in advance,<br> Po</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbuck19 Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 <p>not exactly all flowers and plants, John Shaw's close-ups in nature does cover a lot of flower and plant subjects</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machts gut Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 <p>It's not my primary area of interest either, but I think of 2 classics I like a lot. The first one is Blossfeld https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Blossfeldt and the second are the Flowers of Robert Mapplethorpe http://www.mapplethorpe.org/portfolios/flowers/<br> Hope that helps.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo7hs2 Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 For dual-use showcase and learning, the Shaw book referenced above is pretty the only one I was aware of until today. A quick search also turned up "Macro Photography for Gardeners and Nature Lovers: The Essential Guide to Digital Techniques" by Alan Detrick, but that looks like a guide more than a nice bo to look at. Personally, I like the way Shaw writes and enjoy his books, so his Closeups in Nature would probably be my first choice. Depending on how much you are looking to spend, "Botanica Magnifica: Portraits of the World's Most Extraordinary Flowers and Plants" looks awesome from my perspective from a purely "looking at pictures of flowers" perspective. I own a big orchid encyclopedia (maybe an earlier version of "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids" or "The New Encyclopedia of Orchids: 1500 Species in Cultivation") and it is pretty nice, but the pictures are small. If I can find it I'll pop in with the title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
po_y Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 <p>Thanks guys! Some really good suggestions, and much for me to ponder over the weekend.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harold_gough Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 <p>Florescence: The World's Most Beautiful Flowers by Clive Nichols.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_macpherson Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 <p>Bit broader in scope (not a bad thing imho) but still covering the stuff you need, and more:</p> <p><a href="http://imagesfromtheedge.com/blog/?p=9859">'Wide Angle Macro, The Essential Guide'.</a></p> <h1 > </h1> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_macpherson Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 <p>Double post sorry</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo7hs2 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 <p>I found it. The book is called "Botanica's Orchids: Over 1200 Species" from Laurel Glen Publishing (September 1, 2002), ISBN: 1571457216.</p> <p>The book appears to be out of print. However, it is available used at fairly reasonble prices. The photographs are fairly small, as this is a guide-sized (although entirely too thick to be a guide, and without sufficient ID features for field use) paperback. However, there are thousands of them, and they mostly of decent technical quality, if maybe not art.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
po_y Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 <p>Oh, thanks Joshua, well dug out! <br> In my research I see they are planning to release a smaller version of "Botanica Magnifica: Portraits of the World's Most Extraordinary Flowers and Plants", but it's not out until next year. Maybe next year's Christmas present, or perhaps even the full size version if this year's gift turns out to be well received ;) <br> <br />Thanks also to Harold and John for your suggestions. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stemked Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 <p>I second Robert's suggestion on Shaw's books, in fact I used to teach a college course using them and learned much of my technical photography using his books. Shaw was a former English prof who writes very well. The only disadvantage at all to the early books is, of course, they also talk a lot of film talk, so digital discussion is missing.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tudor_apmadoc Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Check out Amazon http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_11?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field- keywords=flower+photography&sprefix=Flower+phot%2Caps%2C494 You can see use ratings, user comments there as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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