For the person who has everything — and just in time for the Holidays — here's ten gift book ideas, items they probably wouldn't think of buying for themselves…

American Farmer: The Heart of Our Country
By Paul Mobley (Photographer), Katrina Fried (Author) 

Photographer Paul Mobley, setting out to capture the soul of America's farming communities, captures the "experience of hospitality and generosity" he encountered in photographing 300 farmers in 35 states. His subjects in the celebratory American Farmer are farmers who work 50 acres of organic vegetables and those who keep 3,000 acres of cherry orchards; many are barely getting by and no one says they are getting rich, although he meets men doing very well with everything from avocados to alligators in cultures defined by tradition, integrity, and hard work.

Earth Architecture
By Ronald Rael

With convincing discussion and more than 300 images, Earth Architecture showcases the beauty and simplicity of one of mankind’s most evolved and sophisticated building technologies. At the same time it perhaps overturns some misconceptions about earth architecture, providing examples of airports, embassies, hospitals, museums, and factories that are made of it. Rael also turns on its head assumptions that earth is a fragile material, while in reality some of the oldest extant buildings on the planet are made of  everyday terrain. In addition, Ronald Rael touches upon on many of the ecological benefits and the politics of building with earth.

Ed Templeton: Deformer
By Ed Templeton

Artist Ed Templeton exhibits photographs, stories, and snippets from his suburban Orange County, California upbringing, giving readers an up-close and personal look at his coming of age. Interweaving religious notes from his mother and disciplinary letters from his grandfather, along with telling images and callous stories, Templeton produces in Deformer an unresolved narrative that offers more questions than answers.

Elliott Erwitt's Dogs
By Elliott Erwitt (Photographer), Peter Mayle (Author)

Wonderfully quirky plus wonderfully canine. Elliot Erwitt on man’s best friend. Oversized format. Need we say more?

Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric: The Lost Manuscript
By Bob Dylan (Author), Barry Feinstein (Photographer)

…send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille:
Emerging for the first time after more than 40 years, Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric is a long-lost manuscript, consisting of 23 prose poems, written by Bob Dylan in the 1960s and inspired by renowned photographer Barry Feinstein's portraits of Tinseltown. Images of such icons as McQueen, Dietrich, and Sinatra abound, while evocative photos of starlets, backlots, and SoCal sunsets evoke the timeless allure and coming attractions of all things Hollywood. And all accompanied by Dylan’s surreal quixotic text, written as if he could die happily ever after…

Source: feeds.blogcritics.org

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A French press photographer has reportedly been arrested and beaten after falling foul of Greece’s strict rules on photographing its ports.

Olivier Jobard, who works for the Sipa Press agency, has been detained by police and is facing charges that include ‘resisting an authority’, according to press freedom body Reporters Without Borders.

Jobard had been covering a story about immigrants in the port of Patras when the incident occurred on 4 July.

It is understood that trouble flared when a coastguard asked Jobard for his photo permit, which he had requested but not yet received. Greece regards its ports as high-security areas.

‘When Jobard was unable to produce a permit the guard escorted him to a public toilet, pushed him inside, handcuffed him and hit him several times in the face,’ claims Reporters Without Borders, adding: ‘He then pulled out a knife, cut the straps of Jobard’s camera, threw the camera to the ground and smashed it with his foot.’

Jobard has lodged a complaint for assault and battery and Reporters Without Borders has condemned the alleged violence used against the photographer.

The Greek authorities claim that Jobard kicked the guard several times after being spotted taking pictures from behind a tree.

Source: www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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Balancing work with a social life can be a challenge even for single photographers, but adding a husband and two kids to the mix can lead to disaster, or worse, a desk job.

Annie Griffiths Belt found the perfect solution, bringing her family along for the ride. After 20 years of marriage and 18 years of parenting, the 55-year-old National Geographic photographer’s plan is a proven success. Her daughter Lily, 18, is about to begin her freshman year of college with plans to become a physician and Charlie, 15, is attending high school.

Lily and Charlie Belt spent much of their childhood away from home, living for months at a time on every continent but Antarctica. Griffiths Belt says that spending all that time away from school, while difficult, was a positive influence in her children’s development. “I think it enhanced both their education and their social lives,” she said. “They’re very flexible kids; they’re very open to new cultures and new experiences.”

As her kids developed open minds and a level of flexibility many parents could only dream of, Griffiths Belt continued to develop as a photographer. She explored the world with her camera, while Lily and Charlie explored with their nanny, never far from their parents.

A year before her first child was born, in 1988, Griffiths Belt married National Geographic correspondent Don Belt. As a family the Belts travel together whenever possible, often working on the same assignments. But now that her children are growing older, missing school is no longer an option. Staying together is no less a priority now, however, so Griffiths Belt says she’s adjusted her schedule to accommodate those of her children, traveling for long periods of time only during the summer.

Source: www.popphoto.com

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Photo enthusiasts are urged to enter the 2008 Environmental Photographer of the Year competition.

Open to amateurs and professional worldwide the categories are: Changing Climates, A World of Difference, Quality of Life; and The Natural World.

Work will be judged on ‘impact, creativity, composition, originality and technical abilities’, say organisers.

A spokesman added: ‘The competition seeks to celebrate photographers who use their ability to raise awareness of environmental and social issues.’

The contest, organised by The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, also includes an under-21 category with ‘no thematic boundaries’.

The closing date is 31 July 2008.

For details visit www.ciwem.org/awards/epoty

Source: www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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"Photographers live in the moment when shooting and I believe we do the same when in front of the monitor," claims Kevin Ames, the President of Ames Photographic Illustration, Inc., a photographic studio that specializes in commercial photography, retouching, and post production services.

In his book The Digital Photographer's Notebook, the author will attempt to show you what can be done, using Photoshop CS3 (including the Camera Raw plug-in), Lightroom, and Bridge, to manage your portfolio, and create head-turning photographs. He shows you what he has learned in the last 30 years as a professional photographer, and the last 15 while making the transition to digital.

The Digital Photographer's Notebook is 342 pages long divided into 21 chapters and four parts. I will break this review down into the four logical parts. The author wants you to know that this is not a compilation of his articles of the same name that have been published in Photoshop User magazine — rather this is a restating, and updating of the topics, and thought processes, and presents them in the light of the new Adobe products.

Part 1, "Acquisition: From Capture to Computer," begins by talking about the shoot; whether on location, or in the studio, it all begins with the capture. In this case, the location is Africa in 2001. Looking back at the kind of equipment that was available at the time, and what is available now, it is really quite remarkable — both from a hardware, and software point of view. Ames also explains about the problems that can arise from location, such as dusty conditions.

You will also learn about working with Adobe Bridge, and how it can be used to import, and rename your files, why you should backup your files, how to apply Metadata, and how to set your white balance. Next you learn about shooting tethered — that is, your files go directly from your camera into the computer. This can be really good when shooting in the studio, as it gives you instant gratification. You will also learn about getting the light right, and quantity vs. quality of light. He also shows you why you should go out and shoot some clouds.

Part 2, "Management: From Computer to Archive," shows you why you can get into trouble managing your images if you don't take control early on. Here, Ames begins with the Metadata, and how it can be used to manage your files. From here, he shows you how to name your digital negatives by providing some guidance on what, and what not to do when naming your files. Once you have managed this, you need to archive; but just backing up may not be enough. This is followed up with the use of Lightroom Catalogs, and why they should be used.

Part 3, "Showing Off: From Archive to Review," takes us down the road to working with the files. Here you learn some techniques to bring out the best in your images. Ames discusses the differences between JPEG and RAW, as well as what a digital negative is. You will learn more about Lightroom, and what it can do for you. You will explore color correction, and tweaking exposure. He explains about web photo galleries, and how you can take your images to the NET. He also gets into email presentations, and how templates can make your job easier to generate contacts.

Part 4, "Photoshop: From Review to Completion," explores what can be done with using Photoshop to create images. Here composite images are explored, as are Black-And-White conversions; where he uses Channel Mixer to do his conversions. Here you will learn a bit about Photoshop Actions for automation of tasks. He then looks at enhancements, and retouching photos. At this point he shows you how to fix blemishes, clean teeth, and brighten eyes.

Part 4 continues with how to lighten without lights. Sometimes what you see is beyond the ability of the camera to record — at least in a single shot. Here Ames shows you what you can do with HDR, or High Dynamic Range imaging. Here you learn how to create a perfect shot without the perfect lighting. Ames finally finishes up by talking about how to overcome other interior nuances.

I predict that the The Digital Photographer's Notebook will become a classic in the annals of Photoshop books. It is well written, easy to read, easy to implement, and most of all, practical. It is not a "how to do everything in Photoshop" — rather it is a walk-through that makes a lot of sense. It gives you some tips and tricks along the way, much like if you went over to some old friends' to learn how they work, and process through their images. I highly recommend The Digital Photographer's Notebook.

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