Portraits and Photos Books

This book does a great job of taking you into the lives of people who live their passion for the great outdoors on a daily basis. The photos are outstanding...by renowned adventure photographer Corey Rich.

Buy it for all of your friends and family.

Corey's show about making this book rocked, I just loved the diversity of the athletes profiled, in particular Jeff Lowe, who shared at a book signing that his photo shoot for the book may have been his last ice climb. The book shows so many cool places to explore throughout the US. Jason and Corey pay great homage to each athlete's passion for being outside in nature, often instilling the same values in their children. Outdoor sports are a tremendous highlight of life for so many people and this is explored very well. Definitely made me reflect & feel good about my choices. I wish the book included even more stories. Great project!

Between the storytelling of Jason Paur and the beautiful photography of Corey Rich this book delivers on many levels. It is a staple on my coffee table, and I never tire of flipping through it.

The idea of the this book is so great i am surprised i haven't seen it done yet: find the best adventure athletes and interview and photograph them at their favorite places to play. The photography is awesome and the profiles do a great job of getting into the lives of the athletes. some of my favorite stories are of "the making of the book adventures" that show just how involved in the action the writer and photographer got. The stories of Corey getting airsick paragliding and getting talked into Base jumping by Shane McConkey and his girlfriend Kim are laugh-out-loud funny.

I became aware of this book on an Alaska Airlines flight where a few pages of it were featured in Alaska Air Magazine. I was so intrigued I had to run out and purchase a copy. The adventurous people the book focuses on are all very inspiring and interesting. As a "coffee table book", people will pick this up and not want to put it down. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in outdoor activities.

The book was exactly what I was looking for. Help with the how to on the technical side,but was helpful on setting up shots. Looking around my house and seeing how the book would "shoot it" then applying it with my DSLR. Composition and Lighting was extremly helpful to me. This book was well worth my investment.

I've read this book from cover to cover. I love it. As a beginning photographer, this book was very helpful. Not a lot of technical info. Just enough guidance to get me going on my own.

In addition to Ginny's inspirational photography I found this wonderful book to be informative beyond taking portraits of children. I am new to photography and found lots of ideas and tips for taking better photos of any subject. An additional bonus is the assignments at the end of each chapter to put the techniques into practice. This is a book that I will refer to often. I highly recommend this and look forward to more books by this photographer.

Put this wonderful book in your shopping cart and hit "buy now" as soon as you can. I wish that I had had this wonderful tool twenty years ago when I was starting my children's portrait business. Each chapter really guides you through the tools that you will need to succeed in taking impressive images of children. If you take it seriously, and do the assignments, you just might start seeing things in a different light, so to speak. Whether you just want to capture whimsical images of your own child as he passes through the phases of childhood, or if you truly intend to make photography more than a passion, but a business, then this book will take you to your desired level.Every page will delight you with amazing images of children. The various contributing photographers offer individual treatments to their subjects showing you a variety of what is plesaing. Read it, work it, absorb it and find your place in this fascinating field. I can't get enough of the timeless beach portraits found in Chapter 7.

Having three daughters, documenting their childhood with photographs is a real priority for me. But I really lacked knowledge on how to take good photographs - I always relied on the auto settings on my camera and the pictures seemed so ordinary. In the attempt to learn more about photography, I purchased this book along with a couple of others. This book, by far, was the most helpful for me. I had been having a hard time wrapping my mind around the concepts of aperture and ISO, but this book really helped me understand! Each picture listed the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, which helped me see what those things were doing to affect how the picture looked. Also, the pictures were so inspiring and gave me tons of ideas on composition. The assignments at the end of each chapter were helpful in developing my skills. The book was very pleasent to read and it's definitely a book for parents aspiring to become better photographers! My only wish was that the pictures also listed what type of lens was used (so that I could buy it and have the lenses that the professionals used!).

Physiognomy is "discovering temperment and character from outward appearance." Mark Seliger in the epilogue talks about how he sees his role as a photographer as to "deliver the essence." These portraits of celebrities magnificently fulfill that mission.

Before going further, let me note that this book contains much discrete male and female nudity, some violent images, and one impolite gesture. If this book were a movie, it would probably receive an "R" rating.

Mark Seliger is one of the very best of the current celebrity phtographers, a talent that has won him the role of chief photographer for both Rolling Stone and Us. You will enjoy both Mr. Seliger's epilogue, where he describes the development of his career, and Eric Bogosian's introductory commentary on the book's contents. Both explore the notion of finding the reality of the person's character.

Mr. Seliger has a particularly playful side that is wonderfully displayed in the book. For example, his portrait of Keith Richard makes him look like a jealous wife flirting with the image of a brooding Mick Jagger. In another case, the energy of Ringo Starr's drumming is captured by displaying him with four arms, hands, and drum sticks! One of the most humorous is an opening sequence of a bare Ben Stiller, first as an ape-man, then as a human.

The facing pages are brilliant. In most situations, they mirror each other by either portraying the same image, but with a different style, or having the two images interact as though they were one image.

One of Mr. Seliger's strengths is that he has a wide range of talent. His color photographs are powerfully effective in ways that most photographers can only accomplish in black-and-white. He can also do simple face shots, or complex compositions. I can think of no other currently popular photographer with nearly this range of effective style. One of my favorite examples of this range is that he has a beautiful shot of Jennifer Aniston in the buff, discretely displayed. At first you are inclined to think of it as a "beauty" shot, and then suddenly you realize that it's really a play on all of those photographs that parents take of their young children lying bare on a rug.

Mr. Seliger is equally adept at the dark side. Sean Penn's volatile personality is nicely captured in a brooding photograph of him pulling on a cigarette. Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg show up looking like they are relaxing during a rumble looking for trouble. "Don't mess with me" is written all over their faces and bodies.

Here are some of my other favorites:

Fiona Apple, Los Angeles, 1997

Bob Dylan, Los Angeles, 1998

Michael J. Fox, Burlington, Vermont, 1993

Merle Haggard, Lake Shasta, California, 1994

Billy Bob Thornton, Toronto, 1997

Bob Dylan, New York City, 1995

Pat Conroy, Charleston, South Carolina, 1995

Charlize Theron, New York City, 1997

Jerry Seinfeld, Los Angeles, 1998

Will Smith, Los Angeles, 1997

Winona Ryder, New York City, 1997

Jerry Seinfeld, Los Angeles, 1994

Drew Barrymore, Bell, California, 1994

There is another way to think about Physiognomy. People who have studied Neuro-Linguistic Programming argue the opposite way, that physiology becomes psychology. Repeated psychology becomes a habit, and the build-up of habits becomes a character. Spend some time thinking about how you hold your body. Test out how those positions and facial expressions affect you mentally, and how that influences your behavior.

Pose for best advantage . . . to others and to the development of your own character!

You may be like me and wondering which of the Seliger books to buy? He has this one, a couple of US MAGAZINE books with Drew Barrymore on the covers, but let me tell you now - THIS IS THE BOOK YOU BUY! It has the US MAGAZINE pictures and more.

It''s huge in dimensions and page count! The quality is great, but if you know who Mark Seliger is then you know that already. The paper is mid-weight and the colour reproduction is excellent.

My only gripe is that after a year I've torn the dust cover because the book is so huge it's easy for the cover to slip off a bit and get caught on something. So if you want the cover in good condition forever maybe you should take it off when looking at the book.

Want a look at some of the photos in the book? Go to www.markseliger.com

This book is goregeous to look at: the photographs are amazing (and printed HUGE so you can get a good look at the detail), and Seliger's ideas are phenomenal -- who would've thought to dress the cast of Seinfeld up as the characters from Wizard of Oz? Genius!

Whenever I have friends over to my home, people inevitably end up flipping through this book and being fascinated by the photography inside. Every time I look at it, I notice something new, or another photograph catches my eye, no matter how many times I've seen it before. This is a book you will look through many times, and whether you're a fan of the musicians and actors (and other famous folks) that Seliger photographed or you're a shutterbug yourself, you'll find something to take away from these amazing pieces of art.

My only complaint is that the book is a little odd-sized and probably won't fit on a standard size bookshelf (luckily, Amazon gives you the dimensions here, so that's a help).

This is the only book I know of that will give me goose bumps every single time I look thru it. Mark Seliger captures something brillant in every photograph in this book. What an amazing gift he has. If you or anyone you knows is a fan of photography or of music this book is a M-U-S-T!!!! You just CAN NOT go wrong with this book.

this book is incredible. if you are a subscriber to rolling stone magazine, and have ever noticed a photograph that is simply amazing, it is probably the work of mark seliger. if you buy this book, you will be able to see hundreds of pages of these intriguing photographs, some involving vivid use of color, and others utilizing the intimacy of black and white photography.

when you first get this book, you will set it down, read it from cover to cover, be solidly amazed, and then promptly read it again from cover to cover.

i know nothing about photography, but you don't need to in order to appreciate seliger's appealing, beautiful pictures. i would suggest that anyone buy this book.

Steve Schapiro's book is a treasure that you must have if you love great moments of people and history. Steve Schapiro has the gift of capturing greatness that some of us are fortunate enough to see with our eyes but which is gone in the blink of an eye. This is not just another photographer's work. This is a classic part of everyone's life that you will look at often.

"Schapiro's Heroes" takes us on a visual journey through the very public, but shrouded lives of some of the most influential figures of the 20th century. Steve Schapiro knows how to make an image speak. His craftsmanship is moving and inspiring. This is a great item for any fan of modern history, 60's pop-culture, and photojournalism.

Technology has developed to a point where we are inundated with images. Cell phones, digital cameras, photoshop.... all of these advances have helped us to see the world through the amateur's view. Quantity, however, is not quality. In many of those images, we are often left with the feeling that we are missing something. Pictures alone do not communicate to us. It is the artist, the person behind the technology who is finally able to touch our soul through the medium of a photograph. Steve Schapiro has the "touch," the pulse of our humanity, in the photographs of his most recent book. Iconic figures who we think that we know are shown anew in the photographs in Schapiro's Heroes. Muhammed Ali, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr.are all public figures that we think that we know. Open Schapiro's book and be re-introduced to the humanity and the innocence of seeing the familiar in a new and unique way.

When I first glanced through this book, I was expecting another photo expose on famous people. What I got instead was a very moving and provocative glimpse into the lives of people who shaped the second half of the 20th century. The sense of history, coupled with the artful beauty of the photographs, caught me by surprise. I find the work stunning and moving. No mere photo essay, Steve Schapiro's work is a chronicle of the power that art has to capture time.

Many of the moments Schapiro's Heros captures pre-date me. But one doesn't need nostalgia to love this book. His images are incredible and facinating and could hold anyone's attention even if you dropped from another planet and had no idea who the subjects were. The fact that the images are intense and striking glimpses at some of the most influential people in our cultural and political history is just a bonus. This book is lovely, captivating and downright gorgeous.

If you don't feel something while looking at the photos in this book you are dead inside.

I dont think Sebastiao Salgado needs any praise but this is the most beautiful book i have ever seen. The photographs are not only absolutely perfect but, most important, they tell us a story. the story of the movement of humanity. and make us think that we are only one, that borders should not matter.

Sebastiao Salgado has earned numerous accolades for his dignified photographs of impoverished humanity. This, his latest book, covers work he has done over the last few years, documenting forced migrations and economic squalor throughout the world. He is certainly a keen observer of the human condition. However, I felt completely overwhelmed looking at his work from this book when it was exhibited a few months ago at New York City's International Center of Photography. Looking at this book allowed me to step back, and catch my breath, studying each image at my leisure. Those interested in looking at some of the finest current work in black and white documentary photography will not be disappointed with this excellent collection.

Ex-economist Salgado keeps a rational mind while making exquisite emotional photographs, reproduced to the highest standard. As much as anyone could want to know about the world's unsettled peoples.

Salgado is without a doubt the greatest photographer alive today. His pictures are like paintings in black and white, where he has taken the light and applied it with a paint-brush as if he were Rembrandt or Caravaggio. He is that good.

But you must also take a step back at some point and remember what it is you are seeing: misery and suffering and depravity on a unbelievable scale.

And that is the tension within Salgado's work and the source of the criticism of much of his work.

His photographs of the Brazilian gold mines are unforgettable and feel as if you were witnessing something biblical. His photograph of the refugees in the Sudan, starving huddled under a tree with the sun streaking in behind them is a painting, of unparrelled mastery of light and shadow and raw human misery. His photograph of the a mother bouncing a her baby girl on her lab in a refugee camp for victims of Rawandan's genocide, the steam rising from the pot next to them, the sun rising over the mountains in the back, the other refugees shivering with their coats over their heads, and the little baby and her mother smiling broadly -- it is haunting.

Salagado is a master -- there is no question about it. From someone who dreamt of being a photographer himself, when I saw his pictures for the first time, my immediate feeling was to throw away my camera. There was no competing. He is the best and the standard by which all photographer working today are to be judged against.

If you don't know what is portrait photography, or better, if you think you know what is portrait photography, you have to buy and/or read this grand format book !!
Emotion, beauty, technical perfection....certainly one of my favourites

Photographer Steve McCurry's images of Asian peoples and culture is renowned the world over, so it's especially pleasing to discover them all together under one cover in LOOKING EAST: PORTRAITS BY STEVE MCCURRY. Don't think you know Steve McCurry? Yes, you probably do - he's the photographer who captured the Afghan girl with the big eyes that appeared on the cover of National Geographic. More big-eyed and striking peoples are captured here, displaying the power of the portrait in cultural understanding.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Tremendous pictures by the one and only Steve Mccurry.
Big print size portraits, great captures.

I think this is the best collection and the best printing quality of McCurry's portraits to-date. These images are truly fascinating. I enjoy in particular those from Tibet.

This is a magnificent book full of stunning portraits.

McCurry has captured the soul of his subjects using simple yet finely tuned techniques of a master photographer.

Opening this large book to page 48 we see the Kuchi Shepherd from Kashmir, his orange beard jumps from the page while his sage blue eyes reflect the years.

The Afghan Girl is here too. Her blue green eyes tinged with ochre match her clothes and background so perfectly she appears to own on the page.

Of course I'm romanticising about these images. Most of these people endure hardships most Westerners can't imagine. McCurry went back to look for the girl many years later (a National Geographic documentary). He found her still poor and unknown. Her eyes were still luminous though, her humanity shining through.

This is what photography is all about - no fancy tricks or gimmicks, just letting the subject speak for themselves, to live on the page and in our memories.

Not only do the "twin authors" provide a first-hand glimpse into the world of "being a twin"...but through the plethora of inspiring interviews with "real-life" twins, they gave me the "real-life" gift of stopping to think of "being human!"

Not only do the "twin authors" provide a first-hand glimpse into the world of "being a twin"...but through the plethora of inspiring interviews with "real-life" twins, they gave me the "real-life" gift of stopping to think of "being human!"

It was refreshing to read a book about twins that wasn't all research and statistics. This book tells a short story about the lives of twins that are either famous or have accomplished something extraordinary or stick out in some other way. Notables are Muhammad Ali's twin daughter, the Hennessy's, Tamera and Tia (Sister Sister show), Mario Andretti and his twin Aldo and Jane Seymour's twin boys. Also the story of the Jim Twins (in every book about twins) and the famous Hensel conjoined twins.

Very interesting reading, and I agree it's a good coffee table book. I do think they should have more boy-girl and other fraternal twins sets represented though.

I liked this book enough. I was disappointed that it focused so much on identical twins and same-sex twins. (My twins are boy/girl...there is only one vignette in the book.) I haven't found myself reading it over and over. The pictures are lovely and the stories are fine. I give it a B or maybe B+.

This book truly touched my heart. I am a twin and felt that it honestly portrayed the many complex and deep emotions and issues that twins experience. I can't wait to share this book with my twin and family! And there are so many amazing people in the book. I didn't realize Muhammad Ali and Jane Seymour had twins. And how different each relationship can be, yet also have such commonalities. I absolutely love this book and find myself opening it up often to read an essay and look at the beautiful photos.

We've Come This Far is an insider's inside look at a pillar of African American Christianity, Abyssinian Baptist Church. Bob Gore's skill as a photographer and his commitment to his faith are evident on each page of this lovingly crafted work. In some cultures in the world, taking a photograph of a person is looked at with trepidation because it is believed to be an attempt to capture the subject's soul. And that's exactly what Mr. Gore has done in this book and there is no need for fear. The pictures and accompanying essays capture real life/real time moments in the broad scope of the life and spirit of this historic church.

I've never been to New York, and I've never been to a black Baptist church. But the spirit of this institution- its leaders and worshippers- absolutely radiate off the pages of this book. It is unbelievably inspiring. It would make an excellent gift for any liberal Christian activist you know, for a pastor or clergy member working hard to integrate the church into the community, or for yourself. The text is also beautifully formatted, and the history and descriptions are very accessible. The primary focus is always on the black and white photos found on almost every page. Beautiful.

The rich and vibrant history of Abysinnian Church and the Harlem community is revealed in this work by Bob Gore. The photos are of such superior quality that you can feel the message conveyed in the picture without using the text. With the additon of text there is a wonderful account of the Harlem experience, chock full of information about the history and the individual personal expressions of those who were there when it happened. This photographic journal is vibrant and colorful in both word and image. There are real accounts of Abysinnian Baptist Church's history, including it's spiritual, political, social and economic relationships with the communities that it serves. I urge you to consider this book not just for reading but also as an important addition to your library.

I've been to Abyssinian only twice, but was almost overwhelmed each time with the power of commitment and community. Bob Gore's book captures with warmth and intimacy the spirit of this special place and its people. It is the only church I've been to where I felt that power of love which Christianity must have carried through the centuries.

this book will move you. i have viewed many photo books and exhibits and have found many to be interesting and technically proficient. this book easily jumps those hurdles, but more importantly, the images on these pages reach out of their simple wood pulp shelter to touch your heart.

white, black, or blue; gospel lover or country western, you owe it to yourself to spend time with this group of deeply felt images.

buy two copies.

David Morgan's new book is a celebration of the very muscular, male nude body. The theme is a day at the beach on a warm summer's day, where all the guys seem to be enjoying each other's friendship. All these photos are in black and white, some nude, lots in bathing suits, lots of nude butt shots, but no frontal nudes. There are lots of couples in erotic poses, and lots of group shots around the beach and water.

I enjoyed this new collection very much, although it seemed like an ad for 2(x)ist underwear at times, but that's fine, because that's my favorite brand. There is a companion story by Ernesto Mestre-Reed which is suppose to capture the physical joy in Morgan's photographs. I didn't see the connection that much myself. Maybe I am not in the same mind-frame as the author or didn't get the connection that was intended. I don't know. It was a cute little story, though. All in all a beautiful book, by a photographer who knows how to capture the beauty in the male nude body. If you enjoy viewing mature muscular male nudes, you should enjoy this book.

They're not really boys anymore, yet, while they are physicaly mature, they still play like boys. THE BEACH is a thrilling mix: playful pixie, Peter Pan, meets the Olympian Gods on a vast beach. I wonder if the energy and creativity of boys is why they are so widely preferred to girls around the world (especially by women).

I have to be honest--I've never understood the appeal of beaches at all. Strangely, though, I love deserts [which some friends refer to as 'a beach with no ocean']. At any rate, this book may change my mind -- regarding some beaches at least.

While I've seen David Morgan's work for years, it wasn't until the "Global Groove" CD series that I actually paid attention to the photo credits. To say that this book is a real treat for the eyes is an understatement. The photography--all black and white here-- is just magnificent. The images are sensuous, and erotic, but never 'pronographic'; sexy without ever looking 'dirty'; great studies in natural & enhanced lighting, along with the human body in top form.

The pictures are appropriately playful and despite the beefiness of the bodies, never mean, threatening or hard looking (it's that boyish thing again). Like the mythical "peter Pan", the guys in these photos seem to be forever young, and in what is such an odd example of life imitating art, it seems that every year boys get younger while observers like me, go on, inexorably aging. There is a bit of the modern here (the sexy briefs many of the guys are sporting), but really, these pictures evoke the imagery suggested in ancient Greek, Roman and other Classical art, that celebrated, rather than exploited, the beauty of a well maintained body. But unlike Tom Bianchi who recreated the Classical formalism along with the god-like male imagery, BEACH suggests that when no one is looking, even the gods are still boys inside.

While there was no doubt a lot of effort that went into posing and composing for each phot, they somehow all manage to look spontaneouos and candid. And, unlike some of the modeling photography that David Morgan has done, these pictures exude a casual friendliness that is in many ways more effective than some of the more rigidly posed and arranged ad copy [check out the 2X-ist shots].

As stunning as the photography is here, this book does have a minor flaw: the prose. It is as noteworthy for its vapidity and insipidness and thephotography is for its aesthetic beauty and strength. Perhaps that is deliberate: Morgan is a photographer, and prefers that people buy books to see the pictures, rather than to read them. But, whatever the reasons for the bad writing, it can easily be ignored, since th phtots are what this book is really all about.

Taken over a 10 day period in the waning days of summer, BEACH makes for the kind of September one will always remember. Even when all those 'boys of summer' have left, you can always relive memories through delightful books such as this..

David Morgan has secured his reputation as one of America's finest photographers---certainly our finest photographer of the male body. His photographs for the earlier book Basic Training help explain why that bestseller flew out of the stores, and although an impressionistic tale by Ernesto Mestre-Reed weaves through these pictures, they exist for themselves. These young men's sleek muscled bodies are bountiful, but it is Morgan's art that makes them beautiful. The restraint of the black-and-white plus Morgan's concern for pure form and outline is classical, and teach how beefcake can be exalted into art.

David Morgan is a talent that you must behold. Working withhim on BASIC TRAINING (available here at Amazon.com) gave me aninsider's perspective of his artistic eye and natural talent as aphotographer. David's passion is performance and in his images, andwhat images these are, is a performance. Beach is his way of showingthe world his experience of Fire Island. These men are his friendsand this unique beach environment IS paradise. BEACH is a malecandyland, a summer fling, a celebration of being out and proud and ofcommunity. I am so proud of the work David and I created together andcelebrate this new collection of his. I know that people who admiregreat black and white photography, sensual imagery and a poetic textto bind these images together, will be fully satified with this book.

Until recently i didn't think much of reincarnation, but having purchased this book, I now know for certain that I wish to come back as a few strategically placed grains of sand! Morgan is the driving force behind Basic Training, an awesome pictorial/ men's fitness book that is the perfect companion to Beaches. His work is spectacular and this offers an inside view behind the passions which drive his work. I am not a huge fan of the Speedo but man who can complain about the subject matter that fills these black stretches of nylon! Granted, full frontal nudity isn't present, but I've always been one who appreciates those "larger" details left to the imagination. Isn't it true that size is in the mind of the beholder? The accompanying story is as vivid and breathtaking as the photography. A touching tribute to the coming of age/coming out story that we have all experienced during our lives, takes on a new aquatic approach in the tale of a young man who over a summer discovers the pleasures of male love. I've seen a lot of photo books that try too hard. This one is just..... well, hard to resist for so many reasons.

Very, very, very nice. A bargain at the price. The pics have appeared before in glossy, "male art" mags, but I am still looking forward for Mr Black's next book.

Wonderful...the men are magnificent, the photography beautiful, the presentation flawless...a great coffee table book...and fun to flip through too!

Jonathan Black's highly successful book Idols is now available in postcard form. Beautiful colour images in an easy pull out book. Great value.

This book is stunning. A sexy, erotic yet classy book suitable for any man's coffee table.

Excellent Photography, Vivid Color and HOT men.