Photography Message Board

I just joined, and think it's remarkable that none of the 'most commonly shared books' in the list above concerns photography. I would have guessed that one of these would be in the list: on photography, a concise history of photography, the family of man, the daybooks of edward weston, or {insert your favourite title}...

Following up my previous message, I just took a look at the Group Zeitgeist page. In the longer list of (60) shared books are just two about photography.

Well, if I could ever find time to actually enter my photo books then I may contribute more to that total. Coding for LibraryThing keeps me quite busy these days. I am also rebuilding my home office which means that most of my books are in boxes awaiting their new homes. I'll be glad when that's over.

It is curious to see the "other" interests of photography people though. Seems that Tolkien is very popular with photography buffs. But seeing has how those are some of the more popular books, in general, that may not mean much at all.

I don't have any books about photography, but I have many that are collections of photography. :) I am also interested to see what other photography peeps like to read! :D

I used to have books on photography, when I was studying it. But now, I'm just a person who carrys a camera around and takes pictures of random (well, they aren't really random to me!) things. Just before I left for graduate school, I got this great shot of an old time water pump that was this brilliant orange color. I got another of a playground set. The sunlight was so intense that the shadows the playset was making on the sand were great!

My collection hides 5 photography books i believe. 1 collection, 1 black and white instructional book, 1 marketing book that I've never used, and 2 digital photograph / photoshop oriented reference books.

But mostly, I'm all about the fiction. :-)

One thing about photography books: there really aren't any "Harry Potters" in the crowd that everyone has. So I'm not expecting a lot of the same book to show up over and over again. If you look at all the books on the system tagged "photography", there aren't more than 26 copies of any one photography book on the system!

What does everyone like to photograph?

I love nature photography, macro, weddings, children and gymnastics. Of course I also photograph other things that catch my eye that aren't so easily categoried like reflections, boots, etc.

Does anyone have online galleries? I am working on a new one, but currently have a free on on BetterPhoto.com (which I love.) You can see it here: here

Sorry...no html I guess? Wonder if plain text URLs work:
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/free/gallery.asp?memberID=46700

My favorite subject of late (for what I'd call "art shots" as oppossed to "snap shots") are macros of everday object. I few favorites include pencils, guitar pics, and thumbtacks. I have some shots housed at my personal website (which is a broken work in process right now) but I have most things organized via Flickr, my other online addiction.

http://www.knickmeyer.net
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rknickme/

I also shoot both film and digital, but what are other folks' preferences on that debate?

Digital, as I love not having to wait until the film is full to see the results ;-)

that's a huge plus of digital. one of many reasons i do a lot of my shooting in that medium.

but, i love film too. it has a different feel, and working in a darkroom is really rewarding if you have the access.

I like the intense shadows you can achieve with black and white film, but I usually use digital, because it's quick and handy. I also love seeing the finished product right away...and being able to load it on my computer/ipod quickly. :)

Thank you for the BetterPhoto link, Eilonwy :-)

(my pictures)

You're very welcome! I have been a member of betterphoto for years. I have also taken a couple of their online courses, which are great.

I too find it interesting that there are so few photography books that this group shares. I don't have a lot of mine listed because right now there seems to be a problem with my account so I am still limited. Once that is solved, I would expect that a few more will hit the larger list of common books. I would suspect that there are so many titles relating to digital cameras and digital photography in general that it is unlikely that the group would have a large number in common. Most all of my photography books relate to photographers themselves, history of photography, or are technical titles dealing with film, many of which are long out of print. Again, interesting observation.

As to what I photograph these days, I would have to say that my style is in transtition and I find that I am moving away from landscapes and toward more abstract forms. I like flora and have recently been working in a public garden isolating lines and shapes in the flowers and their foliage rather than working with them from a distance. I also find that I make a fair few documentary photographs, most commonly of buidlings or objects that show individuality. They really stand out against the growing monotony of todays buildings (can't really call it architecture - that would require a degree of art in the design...). You can see some of my recent work on my gallery (check my profile) if you are interested.

- Randy