Macro Photogrpahy Books - Which one?

[payyakkil]

Apologies for the cross posting. I also posted this in the Photogrpahy

Books section. I thought I would get better responses from here. Hence

the posting.

 

I am a beginner in macro photogrpahy and would like to buy John Shaw's

"Closeups in Nature". Amazon is offering two combos.

 

1. Closeups in Nature (John Shaw) + Nature Photography Field Guide

(John Shaw).

 

2. Closeups in Nature (John Shaw) + The Complete Guide to Close Up &

Macro Photography (Paul Harcourt Davies)

 

I am a bit confused on which combo to buy.

 

Does "Nature Photography Field Guide" deal with macro techniques? Or

is it a generic field guide? I read some reviews on Amazon and what I

got from that is that it is a general field guide to photography.

 

Do you think once I have the "Closeups in nature", "The Complete Guide

to Close Up & Macro Photography" wont be that useful?

[mskovacs]

Shaw's "Closeups" is a detailed look into his macro technique as of 1987. Fantastic resource, especially if you shoot manual focus Nikon gear. "Field Guide" is indeed general with a little bit of an update on his current (2000) macro techniques.

[albert_smith]

I have 4 John Shaw books, and really find his style in both writing and photography to be pretty good. I think his "Close-ups in Nature" is a very fine source of information as related to getting increased magnification on film. It covers every aspect of this from extension tubes, close-up filters, stacking and reversing lenses as well as traditional macro lenses. There are also good bits of information on flash and general exposure, which is important when you start to get close since f/8 (dialed) isn't f/8 (actual) in these ranges. All of this is explained with very good photography.

 

My feeling would be that since the science is a constant, having two close-up books would be redundant. You could shoot for years, and never be able to try everything covered in Shaw's close-up book. I would get the first package, the close-up and field guide books both from Shaw.

 

I have one book from Shaw called, "The Nature Photographer's Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques", but am not aware of a simple, "Nature Photography Field Guide", so I can't say what might be in that volume. Knowing Shaw from his other writings, I would not think it would disappoint.

[paul beiser]

Ditto for Shaw. I have all of his books, they are priceless.

 

-paul

[plattro]

I don't have the other books from Shaw, so I can't comment on them.

<BR>

I do have his <U>Closeups in Nature</U> and must agree with the general opinion that it is well worth having, and recommend it.

<BR>

I also have <U>Complete Guide to Closeup &amp Macro...</U> by Davies, and I must say that it is also quite good. It does cover a lot of the same topics as Shaw, but covers them a little differently. I also recommend it as well. Being published in the UK, it is less known in the US, but nevertheless an excellent resource. The two complement each other nicely.

[john_n._wall]

Davies' book is excellent. It is a guide to macro photography with the current Nikon system, although he is sufficiently outside the Nikon mystique to recommend gear made by others when his experience indicates it is quality gear. If your focus is on macro, the Shaw Closeup book (I will ditto all the good things said about this classic book) and the Davies book make a dynamite combination. you get two perspectives on gear and on technique and two examples of a very strong macro vision in composition, subject, etc. If you want a book more generally on nature photography, Shaw's other book is also wonderful.

[mark_jordan3]

Anup,<br>I am not familiar with Paul Davies, but both John Shaw titles offered in combo #1 are classics...and, in my opinion, compliment eachother well as a set. The "Nature Photography Field Guide" does have a section dedicated to macro. I guess I would only recommend combo #2 if your only current interests are macro (and not landscape).

[alex_lofquist]

In addition to Shaw's "Closeups in Nature", you may wish to consider as to what your subjects will be: botanicals, minerals, or zoologicals. There are many subject-specific books and monographs discussing the application of macrophotography. What do you have in mind to photograph?

[dan_fromm1]

To deviate a little from the line that's emerging, I find John Shaw's books better for inspiration than for teaching. He's a fine photographer but not such a good teacher.

 

I have two favorites, both somewhat old, both out of print. A. A. Blaker's Field Photography is, for me, the best book yet written for learning how to solve photographic problems. Blaker gives much weight to close-up work. Lester Lefkowitz' The Manual of Close-Up Photography is a gem. More specialized than Field Photography, better on working at magnifications above 1:1.

 

Both are available in used book shops as can be found on the web. Both can also be sometimes be bought at lower prices on eBay.

 

I am so taken with both of these books that I've given them to friends who needed them. My friends' reactions have, so far, all been an initial "These are no good! They aren't full of pretty pictures." followed by "You were right, I needed the book. The guy is a great teacher."

 

Cheers,

 

Dan

[payyakkil]

Thanks to all the inputs. But I am still confused. :-(

[dan_fromm2]

Anup P courteously replied "Thanks to all the inputs." and then wailed "But I am still confused. :-("

 

Anup, this is what you get for posting a question on a bulletin board. You're lucky you didn't get more recommendations than replies and that you got no replies in which the responder didn't contradict itself several times.

 

Make your choices, spend your money, and don't look back.

 

Cheers,

 

Dan

[alex_lofquist]

Speaking "ex cathedra", forget about the books, but get a long macro lens with extension tubes or bellows, a reversing ring, a couple teleconverters, and some close-up diopters. If you can master all these, you won't need the books! On the other hand, if you are like me, reading, and rereading, the aforementioned books will get you started on a pleasant and rewarding avocation.