Digital Landscape Photography

I recently purchased this book and Digital Nature Photography The Art And The Science, by the same Authors. I have read both books cover to cover and then some. I studied photography part time for a year in school, but there is so much to learn and often things you miss or don't get at the time, this book fills in the gaps! It is easy to read and understand and also gives good practical advice on purchasing equipment, including the advantages and disadvantages of each piece. It answers questions on where to meter, what mode to meter in, how and when to compensate, for the best exposure, focussing, how to get the sharpest images, including different techniques and how to do them. The histogram, how to understand it, how to use it well and why you use it. Working the subject, composition. It even has a section on cleaning your lenses and how to use that plastic bag correctly, in extreme temperatures to save condensation problems. I could go on and on about this book and how happy I am that I purchased it and their Digital Nature Photography book. Every chapter is informative and of assistance to anyone pursuing their love of landscape photography, who feel that they still need to hone their skills. It covers light, colour casts, where they occur, and why and what to do about them. Polarizers, ND Filters, warming filters, how to use them, when and where and why we use them. The chapter on HDR Images, how to shoot for them and how to process them is great. Those of us who understand f/stops, aperture, speed, ISO, depth of field, histograms etc. can skip those pages, although I chose to read them, because sometimes these authors come up with something that you should know and that no-one else thought to tell you and you never know on which page, that tid bit of info will turn up. All of that and then the beautiful photographs that inspire. If your looking for post capture techniques this book is not for you, if your looking to hone your in-camera techniques, that will definitely save you time in post capture, then buy this book. These Authors to my mind are great teachers, there are those who are excellent at imparting their knowledge and John and Barbara certainly fall into this category! they obviously love their craft and they love to teach it! I highly recommend this book!!

I have read two very similar photography books both published in 2010 by Focal Press.Strangely enough, both have the same title: Digital Landscape Photography.The one, also reviewed here, by Michael Frye has a subtitle "In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters" to help differentiate them.I have read the two books one after the other and I can not help comparing them.Both are meant to be read by beginners and provide info on aperture values, shutter speeds, ISO values etc..Gerlachs' book is longer and bigger with more text (and info!).If you are accustomed to digital SLR cameras and call yourself an advanced amateur, you are unlikely to find much new information in any of them.If you have just bought your first DSLR with the kit lens, you may find these books worthy of attention.They both offer beautiful landscape images and some sound advice accompanying them.Frye's book offer more software tips; if you are not familiar with the basic operations (levels, curves etc.) it may serve you better.If, on the other hand, you think you want to know more down to earth (literally) advice on finding & selecting a location and need more advice on the use of a DSLR camera in the field, Gerlachs' book offers a lot more. Here, a great variety of landscape shooting scenarios are handled in detail.This probably reflects the authors' experience with workshops.The authors admit they have their own preferences and freely quote their equipments throughout the book.I have just disregarded some of those comments as my equipment is different and at least as capable ;)There is nothing wrong if you buy both of these books. However, their content overlaps significantly and they both use repetitions freely to stress the basics.If you think you can buy just one of them, Gerlachs' book offers more scope and info. It is also organized better.HDR and exposure blending techniques as well as panoramas are handled in a more detailed fashion here.The image and paper quality is very good. However, as was pointed out by another viewer, the text is printed gray for some aesthetic reason that escapes me.Certainly, this is a good book on "digital landscape photography" for a beginner.

As an advanced amateur with years of photography experience, I find the Gerlachs' Digital Landscape Photography a useful and attractive book to read, display, and refer to for tips and review. The authors appeal to photography enthusiasts at all levels of competency. The husband and wife authors openly share their expertise for "seeing and eyeing" creative landscapes. Information about basic camera features such as megapixel capacity, sensor size, and memory cards is presented in a balanced manner for users of any digital cameras. Discussion about shooting images with tripods, cable releases and using built in features to DSLRs such as the self-timer and mirror lock-up features emphasize the importance of avoiding any camera movement in order to capture quality images. The authors effectively discuss the role of lenses and filters and exposure options to capture effective well composed landscapes that communicate the drama of nature. The superb images in the book - which almost make it a "coffee table" art volume - help to take the mystique out of capturing effective landscapes. More advanced advice about areas such as back button focusing, capturing effective light, and composition and more help to enhance and improve both technique and how one sees potential images. The Gerlach author team convey an excitement and energy for getting up early to capture images at first light and being will to wait at sunset or even return for the right light for an image.

This is a very informative book written in plain language.It is a very comprehensive course on landscape photographyWould recommend to anyone interested in landscape work

An excellent, informative book with first class photos. Many useful tips. A bit heavy on waterfalls and some chapters better suited to American readers.