Image Books

The Art and Science of Digital Compositing, Second Edition: Techniques for Visual Effects, Animation and Motion Graphics (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics)

I've been doing video and 3D work for the last couple of years without really knowing how or why I do many things. This book gives me the source knowledge of the nuts and bolts of composisting that don't come in the directions for compositing software. I would consider this required reading for anyone in the video or 3D world. Serves as a great reference book as well.

The book is full of excellent photos and examples, too. The writer does a great job of building the reader's knowledge from review of basic photography to hard core compositing techniques. This book will live close at hand for a long time.

I started my career in visual effects around the same time the first edition was published and have referenced it constantly through out the 9+ years. I bought the 2nd edition for two reasons, my copy of the first edition was falling apart and nostalgia. I was not expecting much new information and was mostly just looking for an intact copy of the first edition with a few new tidbits here and there. I could not have been more wrong.

The second edition has so much NEW information in it was like reading a time capsule of the technological advances of the last ten years. There is not a topic or subject used in compositing that is not covered here. Only two books have sat on my desk my entire career, the first edition and the cinematographers manual. I have read many books available on visual effects, but none compare, honestly. The main reason for that is complete software independence, not partial, complete.

There is no other book that teaches you the raw knowledge you need to be an artist. Anyone can teach you how to push certain buttons of a specific app, this is the only book that clearly teaches you when to push them and why. Artists in today's marketplace need a deep core knowledge of what the software packages are doing so that they can easily switch to other packages. This is especially true in feature film compositing where the industry is at a point of impasse and there is no clear winner of the package wars, fingers crossed for NUKE ;). There is no standard tool anymore so the best way to stay employable is to know what this book teaches, the math, the science, the art.

This book is chock full of examples, color photos and production examples. Whether you've been at this for a while or are new to the art, own this book. Own it for years and years and years. Yes, it's more expensive then any other book on the subject but it is worth so much more then the others that it will pay for itself very quickly. If you already have the other books, sell them, get this.

This is a welcome volume for B&W photogs and a useful read for color photographers from another fine German photographer/author. This is Hoffmann's first instructional book to be published in English, although he has had numerous articles on image design/composition published in the magazine "Leica Fotographie International", or LFI, which, by the way, is not published by Leica-Camera GMBH.

Hoffmann emphasizes the possibilities in tonal manipulation in digital and analogue photographing. The point of his presentation is always to show how manipulating the tones and, therefore, contrast, contributes to the design of the image with respect to the photographer's intentions. He spends a significant amount of space on showing how to elicit mood in various kinds of photographs (content).

His chapters start with, what I find to be, rather interesting summaries of the chapter topic's history, significant practitioners, and current directions. Then he examines several of his own images in detail. His commentary on an image concentrates on the visual structure and on the darkroom and/or digital manipulations necessary to realize his intentions. The only other book that comes to mind for nearly such excellence in pictorial descriptions or captions is the first edition of Bill Smith's "Designing a Photograph," which sets the standard for applying the Gestalt visual psychological approach to analyzing image structure.

Rather differently from the other two top volumes on image structure currently in print, Michael Freeman's "The Photographer's Eye," and Harald Mante's "The Photograph," Hoffmann spends significant time looking at the various genres of photographic subject matter and then covers composing/design from the point of view of visual tensions and abstract structure. There is overlap with both of the other volumes, but also depth and emphasis that is his own. Color is not part of the subject in this book, but color photographers will benefit from Hoffmann's insights into tonality, contrast, and structure in images.

This book, IMHO, sort of completes the circle of really good books on photographic composition/design at the intermediate level. With this book, the years 2007 and 2008 have been the best in a few decades for the publication of outstanding books on design/composition, and it is interesting to this reviewer that the three best are by an English and two German photographer/authors . It just does not seem that US practioners are taught the nuts and bolts of visual design to any degree of depth and ability to articulate their thoughts about image structure. The ability of even world class US photographers to discuss the reasons that their images work in structural terms is relatively rare.

I like this book enough to make a triumvirate of this one, Freeman's book, and Mante's book for readers interested in sophisticated, analytical approaches to visual design and image structure. The only thing I would wish for is that more of his photos be accompanied by those delightful little thumbnails with his structural line diagrams. The more of these there are in a book, the more an interested reader packs away in one's mental image databank for later resurrection and use.

Some asides before I finish. Hoffmann gets more visual mileage from aircraft vapor trails than anyone else I know of. Most of us regard these as intrusions into the tranquility of our landscape images. But, in the venerable tradition of divorcing content from an image's abstract structure, and the role of structure being to support the content, Hoffmann integrates these features into his images so forcefully that to remove them would ruin the image. Bravo; Mante would be proud.

Too, the basic structural architecure of many of his images rests upon the grid formed from the golden ratio approximations of breaking the height and width into 5/8th and 3/8th divisions. One advantage of this choice versus the preference of US photographers for the Thirds Rule is that the Thirds method breaks the space into nine identical rectangles - a recipe well on the way to boring space management. Yet, as shows Charles Bouleau in his seminal book, "The Painter's Secret Geometry," even relatively simple visual architectures in the hands of someone with excellent training and inspired talent yield captivating, dynamic images, while the plodders among us achieve less subtle and interesting results.

I hope it will not be so long before Hoffmann gives us a volume on design in color photography.

Black and White is not dead - it has its advantages over the world of color. "The Art of Black and White Photography: Techniques for Creating Superb Images in a Digital Workflow" is a complete and comprehensive guide to the craft of taking photos in the style of black and white. Chapters discuss when black and white should be used rather than color, how to avoid the cliches so often associated with black and white, applying new technology to improve an old art, and much more. For anyone enthusiastic about photography, "The Art of Black and White Photography: Techniques for Creating Superb Images in a Digital Workflow" is a must-have.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is a really terrific collection. In this book are many of the little-known sketches and paintings of the late, great physicist/folk hero Richard P. Feynman. I sought this book out after reading Ralph Leighton's Feynman biography "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" I'm glad I went to the trouble to do so.

The book commences with a foreword by Albert Hibbs, whom many Feynman fans will recognize as Feynman's friend and co-author of "Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals." Don't skip over this foreword. Hibbs has a lot of interesting things to say about how visual Feynman was in all his projects, including his style of doing physics.

After the foreword is a helpful preface by Feynman's daughter Michelle. (Michelle works as a photographer, and was the primary person in charge of selecting these artworks). She describes some interesting features of Feynman family life, such as the fact that many of the models for these paintings became lifelong Feynman family friends. She gives us a fun little window into the experience of "growing up Feynman."

This book also contains Feyman's wry, interesting essay "But is it Art?" from "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!," as well as a selection of biographical sketches from four of Fenman's friends, including three artists and his biographer.

The actual sketches are really pretty good, in my humble opinion. There are about a hundred pages of black and white sketches, including charcoal, pencil, and ink wash drawings. Many are quite simple and direct. Others clearly took quite a bit of time.

Let me give you a friendly warning here, incidentally. Leafing through this section, you will go through page after page of sketches of young, beautiful women, in a variety of attractive poses. This will lead you to a pleasant, happy, blissed out frame of mind. Suddenly, with absolutely no warning whatsoever, you will turn the page and be confronted by the dilapidated, craggy, wrinkled face of an anonymous, elderly male physics professor, frowning under a ponderously furrowed unibrow, glaring out of the book at you. Be warned, O reader, and try not to have a seizure. Also included among these sketches are occasional other topics, such as Feyman's dog Rufus, and a few "one minute line drawings" (a common exercise in art classes)... Personally, I think Figure 87 is pretty neat. It includes small sketches of various subjects -- a woman, faces, a plant, a sleeping dog, and more. But there's more -- the background is full of Feynman's equations! They wind all over the place, throughout the drawing. It makes for kind of a neat juxtaposition. I could definitely see that sketch making a great poster.

After the black and white sketches are a small collection of color paintings, including a sketch of a little town, and Feynman's trusty dog Rufus.

Basically, if you are a Feynman fan, this book will go a long way toward rounding out your appreciation of him. Besides, there are some really terrific pictures in here. Two thumbs up!

The amazing thing about great minds is just how many subjects they encompass. Feynman is known as a physicist and occasional drummer, but he was a fair amateur artist, too.

These drawings and paintings show how quickly he progressed, once he decided to learn drawing. I suppose it gave him yet another way to enjoy the female form, and yet another reason to habituate "gentlemen's clubs." He had other motivations, too, as shown by some very sensitive drawings of his friends and children.

This isn't great art. It is, however, very competent amateur work. Most of all, it's another view, from an unexpected angle, of one of the great minds of our time.

//wiredweird

This book chronicles all models produced from about 1986 to 2006, with the greatest focus on the hand crafted V-series cars of 1990-2000 (Virage and all its decedents). In many ways the book shows how the company has made the transition from a ultra-low volume maker of coach built cars into a maker of expensive semi-mass produced sports cars (like an English Ferrari). Personally I have mixed feelings about this transformation, but the book does a magnificent job paying homage to both eras.

Each chapter details one model, or one special run of cars. In some cases the "run" describes production quantities in single digits...in a few cases it even represents a single unique car. The book itself contains amazing photographers, and was obviously produced with great attention to detail and love of the cars/company.

One funny aspect of the book... Many places in the text "well known far east customer" is mentioned, but his name is never actually given. This is obviously the Sultan of Brunei. It is well known he was a major Aston Martin customer during this period, and commissioned many of the highly custom cars in the book. Since these cars are locked far away, this book is the only way to experience these works of art.

I only have one minor complaint. I really wish they included more photos inside of the Newport-Pagnell factory itself. Since this book chronicles the last chapter of hand-made cars, it would have been nice to see more details of this lost art.

Worth every penny.

Very comprehensive of the modern cars. Including many, many one off and unique Astons AND Lagondas also.
An incredible resource.
Hence my "Must Buy" title as above.

"I have been accused of thinking about women too much ... But what could be more beautiful than thinking about women?" - Auguste Rodin

Rodin is a striking example of an artist who achieved recognition in his own lifetime. That included financial independence, which gave him the freedom to explore directions for which patronage would have been hard to find. In fact, the display of some images in this series is said to have cost the director of the Grand-Ducal Museum his job.

It's easy to think of Rodin's masterworks in statuary as complete command of form. Whatever Rodin thought of them, it wasn't enough. His later life produced "one-minute drawings" like these by the thousands. He was looking for something, possibly within himself, that he never found words to articulate wholly. One proposal holds that he wanted to capture the dimension of time, the frozen moment, that eluded stone and bronze.

Perhaps he succeeded. Beyond that, he also succeeded in collecting a wonderful catalog of female figure - not just figure, but dynamic and exciting figure. The excitement is more than just intellectual. It goes well towards the carnal but stops short of vulgarity, at least to a modern eye. These models presented not just their forms but their arousal, of themselves and of their same-sex partners. Rodin's genius captured their passion and his own, stripped of any critical sentiment.

This book will work well to complement a library that already represents Rodin's better-known works. These watercolor drawings tend toward a sameness of color, contrast, and style that might wear on some viewers' patience. I guess it's not for everyone. If you've already befriended Rodin's work, though, this is an enjoyable way to deepen your relationship.

-- wiredweird

Images Of Desire: Erotic Watercolors And Cut-Outs showcases the erotic watercolor illustrations and cut-out artwork by Auguste Rodin, the famed French artist most commonly known through his sculptures. A brief introduction by Anne-Marie Bonnet adds pensive thought on these minimalist, somewhat abstract yet undeniably sensual and sexual artworks celebrating pleasure and love. Intense imagery evokes passion out of the simplest lines. The full color reproductions are superbly presented and make Images Of Desire a welcome and highly recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library Art History and Art Appreciation reference collections.

Gary Bedingfield has done a FANtastic job showing the American Pastime. It's like a trip though The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. This is a must for all baseball fans. The photos bring back memories of the House of David and other barnstorming teams. Seeing integrated baseball teams years before the Major League, is something I never knew existed. Well done, Gary!

Baseball has always been one of America's favorite pasttimes, whether one played or was a spectator. Here is a beautiful collection of photos and history recapping baseball in a way that many may not even be aware. The author salutes the unknown heroes that served in World War II and boosted the morale of other soldiers and spectators by exhibiting their love of the game of baseball. For anyone who served and had loved ones involved in the sport, this is an absolute treasure. One can reminesce or capture the spirit of those who played and witnessed the game that has become and always will be America's favorite. If you like baseball and would like to learn more of its history, reading these pages will certainly increase your knowledge and give you insight on the significance of baseball's presence during World War II.

This is an intriguing, stimulating, accessible, and lively text that follows the path of the Beatles in America and their evolving image, from lovable Liverpudlian, working class "moptops" to their ascendancy to the forefront of the youth countercultural movement. In the words of Frontani, this is a "thorough time capsule" that explores how the Beatles' image was carefully promoted by their manager Brian Epstein, and as the turbulent events of the `60s unfolded, how that initial image gave way to one more authentic, more in tune with the hopes, aspirations, and frustrations of the time, and one more consonant with the group members' self-perceptions and self-understandings. Anyone who has an appreciation for the Beatles will find much that is satisfying in this text. But just as the Beatles were so much more than the music (as great as that music is), so this book examines the various social and institutional forces that shaped our understanding of the Fab Four. Towards this end, Frontani introduces critical theories (the Frankfurt School, star theory, hegemony) that illuminate the contested social terrain where image is forged. As a book that follows the Beatles' journey through America, Frontani has much to say about American society and who we are as a culture and a people. This book, therefore, has appeal to readers interested not just in music, but also for those who appreciate history, culture, power, media, and politics. Still, the centerpiece of the book is the magic that was the Beatles. As Frontani writes, many artists have obtained great success in America, but "with the Beatles, there is something extra." It is this "extra" that Frontani skillfully explains.

Robert Hislope

Dr. Michael R. Frontani's book: "The Beatles: Image and the Media" provides a brilliant insight into the Sixities co-energizing forces through which the Beatles shaped the American popular culture, and the way the latter transformed the Beatles into a universal phenomenon. In the best tradition of Erik Barnouw's "Tube of Plenty," Frontani brings to light the political context and the role the media played as they first challenged, and later celebrated, the revolutionary and creative soul of the Beatles. The book, furthermore, is not merely an historical account of the engagement between the Beatles and the American media, but also an inspiring demonstration of the creative power contained within the original tradition of the American intellectual life. Through their engagement with America's open-ended universe in which, as Emerson observed, "the only sin is limitation," the Beatles were transformed from a local European sensation into universal prophets of the new age. Frontani is correct in describing this engagement as "the Twentieth Century's Greatest Romance." The book is well researched, creatively written, and destined to become a milestone in the ongoing scholarship and inquiry into America's contemporary popular culture. The book's well painted picture of this unique and dynamic period should be of great interest to all serious scholars of music history, media studies, American popular culture, and for all serious students of the Beatles's music and creative imagination. In particular, Frontani's book must be essential to anyone who wishes to understand the political and social upheaval of the Sixties in America, the role the Beatles played in the anti-war movement, and the profound consequences which still shape our contemporary experience. Together with the poet we still hope for "Strawberry Fields Forever."

Yoram Lubling

This excellent book is immensely enlightening. I was very interested to learn how many people's personalities tend toward one of 8 categories: Clinging Vine, Prima Donna, Bully, Con Artist, Wallflower, Hermit, Big Shot, and Perfectionist. However, each represents a jagged, unfinished, hard exterior in which a person is trapped. Dr. Montgomery shows how only God can chisel away the external "junk" and polish the internal essence of each stone into a unique, well-rounded, resplendent work of art. This is a must read for anyone who finds that negative personality traits keeps him/her from experiencing effective, fulfilling relationships with other people.

As I read the book, I could not help but find myself agreeing over and over with the truth that is fleshed out. It is an absolute must read for those who want to work with and help people. This has to be one of the top five books that I have read in the last five years

The book was received in perfect condition and shipped in a timely manner. Two other sellers that I tried to purchase this book from previously ended up not having it in stock. I was not sure why they were listed as suppliers if they didn't have this book. Anyway, I'd give this supplier an excellent rating.

This awesome book begins with images of Christ as a newborn and carries you through His wonderful life. Simon Dewey often adds an inspirational message to his beautiful art, in addition to quoting scriptures and poems from various authors. I highly recommend this book for anyone's coffee table. Get one for yourself and all your friends!

Great and wonderful book. It is a wonderful and magical way to look back at a very special place that is now being forgotten. The pictures and notes are wonderful. What a fantastic work!

A wonderful pictorial sample of life in Berlin New Hampshire. A beautiful and hard to come by book!!! If you have roots in this area, you should have this book.