This Christmas was definitely a good one for my photography equipment. My lovely wife gave me an all-weather hood for my DSLR, a 5-in-1 reflector kit, and a flash bracket. Unfortunately I had to return the flash bracket as it could not be used with my camera. The resulting store credit netted me a backdrop cloth for studio type work. My mother sent me a Visa gift care which will soon be used to purchase a rack to hang said backdrop. Combined with the light kit I purchased a couple months ago I should have a nice little portable portrait studio. Now I just need to figure out how to parlay that into paying customers, but I digress.
I also received a Barnes and Noble NOOK reader for Christmas. The first book I purchased was “Pictorial Composition in Photography” by Arthur Hammond. I basically purchased it because it was free. The first (and from I can tell only) edition was written before 1923 and as such no longer has any copyright protection under US law. All that aside, the book seems to have some good information, even when I filter out the stuff that hardly exists these days (orthochromatic plates, anyone?) and has given me some things to ponder with my own compositions. The author seems to hold a disdain for pigment prints such as gum bichromate. He seems to feel it takes away from photography as its own art form by blurring the lines between itself and other artistic mediums. All I have to say to that is whatever. Personally I find the alternative printing processes give a flexibility to photography as artistic expression, but that’s this author’s lowly humble opinion.
At this point I need to get to work on some other non-photography related items. I have a few pictures that I will be discussing in some upcoming posts so until then, to all my faithful and not-so-faithful readers, I bid you goodnight.
Aside from the e-book, I also purchased “On Photography” by Susan Sontag (in print form as no e-book version was available). I’ll start on that one soon. From what I’ve gathered, that book is required reading in some university photography programs. I’m interested to see what Ms. Sontag has to say on the subject of photography as I’m definitely looking to expand and deepen my thinking when I’m working on my own stuff.
Sounds like a very nice Christmas for you! Can’t wait to see some new works!
It’ll be interesting to get your thoughts on the Nook. I have just started looking at e-readers.
Re: Sontag. Over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that I personally don’t care what others have to say about the utility and/or application of photography. I know what it does for me and that’s good enough. Having said that, please pass on your thoughts on the book.