It's simple question,but there's no simple answer-indeed,each of the 280 photographs in this wonderful book offers its own,unique answer,distilling subject,setting,and cerative skill into a single arresting moment that cap-tures the viewer's imagination.And though we may find this elusive quality hard to define,we recognze is imme-diately and instinctively. William Albert Allard,one of the essayists in the book,writes,A fine portrait has the potential to tell something about the spirit of the subject that can be sensed by someone half a world and a different language away.something universal and simple:This is another person in our world and I'd like you to meet him or her. Culled from National Geographic's extraordinary archive,this collection spans more than a century and explores every cornetr of the globe and every aspect of the portraitist's art.The pictures here represent both the special visions of some of the world's finest photographers and the universal appeal of our shared humanity in all i

Greece's historical and cultural legacy is set amidst landscapes and seascapes of breathtaking beauty. Noted photographer Rainer Kiedrowski's luminous color images reveal the wonders of Greece both natural and man-made in this stunning visual survey. His beautifully composed pictures capture everything from the mountainside monasteries, unspoiled villages, ancient olive groves, white beaches, and ludicrously blue-heaven waters on the blindingly bright islands, to the paradox of modern life in ancient Athens. This portrait of a country unique in charm and beauty will be the perfect keepsake for any traveler. Superb collection of color photographs that captures the wonders of Greece both natural and man-made. This is the third in teNeues' successful color version of its Photopocket series.

Already well-established in the fields of fashion, journalistic, and portrait photography in his native Berlin, Bernd Obermann moved to New York City in 1996 to experience the city’s vibrant mix of culture, ethnicity, and race. For the next five years he ventured out of his apartment nearly every day, camera in hand, to explore what New York had to offer. The results of these walks through city streets, parks, and neighborhoods are collected in this paean to a place whose energy and spirit are as palpable as they are memorable. "When I take a photograph of somebody I am also making a photo of a deeper level of myself." Says Obermann, "I believe in acceptance and not in analysis." From the Bronx to the Battery, from poor to rich, young to old, Obermann’s images reflect his own fascination and sense of discovery.

San Francisco has long been one of America's most attractive cities, "a gleaming jewel of the West Coast surrounded on three sides by water." Its hilly streets provide gorgeous glimpses of San Francisco Bay and The Golden Gate Bridge and its neighborhoods reveals a mosaic of a city whose residents are an anthology of the world. Whether he's photographing the street life of bustling Chinatown or gays of the Castro, the gentrifying Mission or faux-Bohemian North Beach, aerial views or interior settings, this third generation San Franciscan renowned for his photographic essays captures it all in this superb collection of photographs of the city he loves.

The Great LIFE Photographers is the most comprehensive anthology of LIFE photography ever published, featuring the best work of every staff photographer who worked for the famous magazine, and that of a handful of others who shot for LIFE. It was always the photographers who made LIFE great, and this is the most vivid and exciting portrait of those men and women that has ever been produced. The book offers more than 100 portfolios including those of Alfred Eisenstaedt, Margaret Bourke-White, Carl Mydans, Gordon Parks, W. Eugene Smith, Robert Capa, Ralph Morse, Nina Leen, Harry Benson, Philippe Halsman, and Joe McNally, whose work for LIFE in the aftermath of September 11 was in the finest tradition of the magazine. Each portfolio includes a short biography, offering an intimate look at the people behind the lens. Here are the defining moments of the 20th century, including MacArthur wading ashore by Mydans, Capa's D-Day landing at Omaha Beach and, of course, Eisenstaedt's sailor kissing th

This volume presents photographerCartier-Bresson's own selection of 130 of his photographs of Paris,taken over 50 years. Accompanying text discusses the history ofCartier-Bresson's engagement with the city and its place in hisachievement.

Where palm trees sway golden sunsets surf the ocean and sidewalks marked with stars stroll through motion picture dreams Sequoias mountains and deserts speak wonders while a diverse population characterizes the land California is the Golden State. Palmen wiegen sich im Wind goldene Sonnenuntergange schimmern auf dem Ozean und Wege voller Sterne erlauben durch Film-Traume zu wandern Wundervolle Riesenmammutbaume Berge und Wusten ein Land fur das die Bevolkerungsvielfalt typisch ist Dies alles ist das Goldene Kalifornien. Las palmeras balanceadas por el viento las doradas puestas de sol refulgiendo sobre la superficie del oceano y los cami nos repletos de estrellas nos permiten pasear por suenos de pelicula Maravillosas secuoyas gigantes montanasy desiertos u pais caracterizado por la variedad de sus habitantes Todo esto es la Dorada California. Les palmiers se courbent au vent les cou chers du soleil couleur or scintillent sur lo cean et des chemins etoiles nous permet tent de traverser des reves

Adult/High School–The enormous variety of things that people do for survival and sustenance is impressively represented in this book. Neither doctor nor lawyer is included, and only a small number of white-collar jobs make the cut. Instead, readers see clover collectors in Yemen, bootblacks in Portugal, ice fishermen in Russia, coal miners in West Virginia, and salt miners in Ukraine. The volume is arranged in geographic sections: Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, Americas, and Islands. Interspersed among them are three thematic portfolios: agriculture, extraction (mining), and manufacturing. Protzman contributes engaging and helpful introductions to each geographic section, as well as brief notes introducing the thematic portfolios. With few exceptions the photos are captivating and of high technical quality. Most were taken within the past 20 years, although some are historical, including a few early-20th-century images by Lewis Hine. Many of the images display poverty, hardship, and oppression (especial

From her virtually sub-tropical climate in the north to her almost sub-antarctic south New Zealand offers a fascinat-ing variety of landscapes:bubbling vol canos geysers and hot springs Alpine mountatin ranges giant lakes and fjords and bathing beaches that are like a scene from paradise. Vom annahernd subtropischen Norden bis zum fast subantarktischen Suden bietet Neuseeland eine faszinierende Landschaftsvielfalt:brodelnde Vulkane Geysire und heiBe Quellen Alpen rie sige Seen und Fjorde dazu traumhafte Badestrande. Du Nord du pays quasiment subtropi cal au Sud preque subantarctique la Nouvelle-Zelande offre un paysage a la diversite fascinante:volcans bouilon nants geysers et sources chaudes lacs et fjords gigantesques les Alpes sans oublier des plages de reve. Desde el norte aproximadamente sub tropical hasta el sur casi subantartico Nueva Zeland ofrece una fascinante variedad en su paisaje:gorgoteantes volcanes geiseres y fuentes de agua caliente Alpes gigantescos lagos fior dos y playas de ens

The secret to taking great “people pictures” is to observe your subjects, connect with them, and use your camera to its best advantage. Here’s how to work with lighting, location, angle, composition, physical characteristics, environment, and countless other variables, including the unique challenges of photographing babies, group activities, and action. Learn to capture facial expressions, tell a story with a series of candids, add interest to large-group shots, and more. Apply these techniques and watch your subjects come to life.

‘The Bitter Years’ was the title of a seminal exhibition held in 1962 at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, curated by Edward Steichen, and 2012 marks its 50th anniversary. The show featured 209 images by photographers who worked under the aegis of the US Farm Security Administration (FSA) in 1935–41 as part of Roosevelt’s New Deal. The Great Depression of the 1930s defined a generation in modern American history and was still a vivid memory in 1962. The FSA, set up to combat rural poverty, included an ambitious photography project that launched many photographic careers, most notably those of Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange. The exhibition featured their work as well as that of ten other FSA photographers, including Ben Shahn, Carl Mydans and Arthur Rothstein. Their images are among the most remarkable in documentary photography – testimonies of a people in crisis, hit by the full force of economic turmoil and the effects of drought and dust storms. The Bitter Years celebrates some of the m

This is an elegant book, designed and printed in Germany, with an essay by Terence Pitts, of the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona. It presents 180 of Weston's finest images, including many--such as the pines of Point Lobos, the sand dunes of Oceano, and his stark, unadorned nudes--that have become icons. Whereas the photographs of Man Ray and Moholy-Nagy were, to Weston's eyes, hopelessly mannered, his images are elemental, organic, and in harmony with nature's rhythms. Weston spent most of his working life in Mexico and California, and much of his work, replete with shadows, is illuminated with the harsh light of those places. In 1932, he and Ansel Adams founded the influential photographic collective Group f/64, named after the lens-aperture size that exposed an image at its most detailed and clear. This was Weston's aesthetic: to show the real world in its unrelieved integrity rather than create an imaginary construct. He was concerned with visual truth, not with character or storytelling

Birds have been a source of fascination and mystery for humans throughout the world, and throughout time.The Encyclopedia of Birds reveals in striking detail the rich variety of bird life,from the exotic to the common that we can see everyday in our locality; birds whose songs and silhouettes in flight we often take for granted. But you will also find, photographed close-up with stunning clarity, occasional visitors to these shores, together with images of birds from all over the world.Splendidly illustrated, featuring more than 400 species in a highly informative text,The Encyclopedia of Birds offers a window on the world of the extraordinary diversity of birds on our planet.

Best known for his striking photographs of people on the fringes of South African society, Roger Ballen makes images that are ambiguous and often disturbing, but also shot through with flashes of dark humour. The photographs in Shadow Chamber blur the boundaries between documentary photography and art forms such as painting, theatre and sculpture, challenging the ways in which we perceive the 'reality' of photography. Ballen's images are completely honest, yet also fabricated. The mysterious, cell-like rooms that Ballen photographs are actual places, but they are unsettling and strange, logical but impossible: their walls are covered with scribbled drawings, stains and dangling wires, the floors are strewn with bizarre props and artefacts. Dogs, rabbits and kittens wander into the frame or are stuffed into unlikely containers. The humans and animals in Ballen's photographs appear isolated and lost, yet strangely empowered at the same time. The resulting images are allegories of lived experiences and surre

In 1950, Robert Frank left his job as a photographer in NewYork to travel through Europe with his family. That summer hearrived in Valencia, Spain, which was at the time a humble, bleakplace enduring the austere conditions of the postwar period likethe rest of the country. The pictures Frank took of Valencia depictthe daily life of a fishing village. His portrayal is so naturaland clear that further verbal explanation seems superfluous; theysimply reflect, in the photo graphers words, the humanity of themoment. The photographs in this book, many of which have never beenpublished before, allow dignity to override poverty. Robert Frank,a key figure in photographic history, was born in Zurich in 1924and immigrated to the United States in 1947. He is best known forhis seminal book The Americans, first published in 1959, which gaverise to a distinct new form in the photobook, and his experimentalfilm Pull My Daisy (1959). Franks other projects include the booksBlack White and Things (1954) and The Lines of

This book presents photos taken by Roman Signer on a 2005 journey through the Carpathian Mountains, which took him to the Ukraine and Romania. The photos evidence brief stops at the side of the road and present subjects that fall into two distinct categories: home-grown fruits, vegetables and other produce for sale, carefully displayed on stools or small and loving memorials of flowers, crosses and wreaths for deceased family members and friends who were road casualties. The similarity between each composition the landscape format, the colourful centred arrangement, the consistent distance between photographer and subject belies a deeper message: the produce suggests sustenance, growth and while the memorials are signs of tragedy and grief. Karpaten / Carpathians is thus not only a collection of travel photos, but a reflection of the human need to shape events, and a succinct story of life and death both realities along the metaphorical road on which we all travel. Born in 1938 in Appenzell, Switzerl

"Life" has brought Americans the world in pictures for nearly seventy years. Now, in this very special gift book, "Life" treats us to the most romantic photographs ever to appear in the magazine-a passionate gallery of hugs, kisses, caresses, and embraces. From an old couple walking hand in hand to young lovers sharing a tender moment in a graveyard, from tentative first kiss to tender nuzzle, every picture tells a story and captures one of the many faces of love. Beautifully packaged in a square-format hardcover, LIFE & LOVE is the perfect way to say happy Valentine's Day.

The Great Encyclopedia of Mushrooms throws new light on the mushroom kingdom． Every effort has been made to facilitate the identification of fungi——even by an amateur——thanks to the quality and quantiW of the photographs which are used throughout the book，as well as the original keys to identification which are also richly illustrated With nearly 500 species and 1．000 photo-graphs，this guide covers a wide range of wild mushrooms and thus constitutes a reference work of major importance.

This book is Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld'sreinterpretation of Chanel's iconic little black jacket. Lagerfeldhas redesigned the jacket, transforming it into a modern, adaptablegarment to be worn by both sexes of all ages. The Little BlackJacket contains Lagerfeld's photographs of celebrities wearing thejacket with individual flair - sometimes classic, sometimesirreverent, but always Chanel - and each styled by Carine Roitfeld.A range of accomplished actors, musicians, designers, models,writers and directors gets the little black jacket treatment,including Claudia Schiffer, Uma Thurman, Kanye West, Tilda Swinton,Baptiste Giabiconi, Yoko Ono and Sarah Jessica Parker. This bookshows the astounding versatility of Chanel's vision in Lagerfeld'shands, and ensures the little black jacket's future as a timelessclassic.

Digital photography has revolutionized the way people take, print, and share photos. But if you're wondering why your digital photos don't measure up to the terrific shots that some people take of sunsets, people, pets, and everything else, you probably need a little help from Digital Photography Workbook for Dummies. With great, easy-to-follow instruction and lots of practice tasks, this roll-up-your sleeves workbook is packed with exercises to help you become a better digital photographer and photo editor. You'll learn the basics of classic photocomposition, find out how to capture and accentuate movement in action photos, and get comfortable adding even more pizzazz to your pics using Photoshop Elements. More than 100 step-by-step procedures, illustrated in full color, help you discover how to: Get familiar with your camera's features and tools Control depth of field Minimize reflections Photograph children and pets Calibrate your monitor Notice and remove s