Robert Stone Nature Photography

One of the attractive aspects of photography is that it's an art you can learn on your own. Books are a great time saver! Why struggle through all the testing and experimentation when a quick read from a good book opens up location, aesthetics and all the technical stuff? By using these links, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. You get the same, great Amazon price everyone gets, but a small referral fee helps support this site.

Amazon sometimes fails to render the images for these books. Try the placeholder link anyway!

Location, Location Location! These are about finding waterfalls. Russell Dunn covers eastern New York, Vermont, Connecticut and Berkshire County in western Massachusetts, all in amazing detail. And newly published - Keene Valley Region! The Freemans cover western New York very well. Scott Brown's NY book covers the whole state quite nicely. Scott Ensminger's new book also has good coverage. Derek Doeffinger's images are exceptional. None of these books covers every area completely; there is still much to be discovered! All have a few issues concerning driving directions; to be sure, use Google Earth or Maps before you leave.

Read a book; learn a new skill! The books in this group are about landscape photography. Not the technical stuff, the artistic stuff: composition, lighting, seeing, feeling. These books concern the photographic quality of the image. Composition is always my hardest decision; these help me get better. Brenda Tharp's 'Expressive Nature Photography' is her latest and best book!

Study the great photograpers! David Ward, Joe Cornish and Charlie Waite are exceptional British photographers, well worth getting to know. Each of their images is a lesson in composition. The Joe Cornish book "First Light" has been published under two different titles; the other is "Light and the Art of Landscape Photography". (These older books are available both new and used at ridiculously low prices from 3d party sellers on Amazon!)

Master the hardware! When you find that the automatic settings on your camera just fail for some images, these are the books that will help you understand when and how to make adjustments to the recommended exposure.

Photoshop and Lightroom: Professional tools ... or video games? No camera records images like the human eye; post processing is always required, especially if you wish to bring personal style to your artistic images. Photoshop and Lightroom are deep software products; both have hidden features and 'magic keys' that open up hidden but astonishingly useful features. These books will help you get to know these deep features.

Guy Tal covers the Photoshop tools use by landscape photographers, and adds a great deal of insight into creating images that reflect your emotional resonse to the captured scene.

Scott Kelby writes humorously and is always a good read. He provides specific step-by-step instructions for common tasks. You get both the recipe and the reasoning behind it.

Martin Evening covers the software comprehensively. His books are big, but the writing is extremely clear and easy to follow. As a working photographer, he covers things photographers need to know, and he updates each book with downloadable material for new features. Martin's latest book, "Lightroom Transformations", deals primarily with the Develop module of Lightroom and includes using Photoshop as a supplement. Since Lightroom (LR) and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) share the same pixel engine, it is just as much an ACR book as it is an LR book. Well worth reading for a Bridge/ACR/Photoshop workflow!

Both Scott and Martin have been writing for a long time; be sure to get the edition that corresponds to your version of the software, and visit the website for each book.

If you live in upstate New York as I do, or just plan to visit, then these books will lead you to some of the best locations for landscape photography! Carl Heilman's 'Photographing the Adirondacks' is all about the iconic locations; 'The Adirondacks - Season by Season' has his latest and greatest images. And I thank Carl, Hardie, Nathan and Mark for sharing such fine, motivating images and locations.