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Share your favourite resources related to photography (NOT gear related)


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If something like this already exists here and I'm just not finding it, mods please delete this and point me in the right direction. 

I thought I would start a thread where we can share some of our favourite resources relating to photography itself - NOT camera gear + equipment, but the process of making photographs. 

I'll start out with a link to a great video to watch; Sam Abell: The Life of a Photograph 

For anyone unfamiliar with Sam's approach, he talks about what makes a lasting photograph and some of the things to keep in mind when making photographs. He composes his images from the back to the front. Setting first. Subject second. You first create an image that's interesting in and of itself. Then you wait... for a gesture, an expression, or a bird to land in a tree, or the wind to lift the bottom of a curtain into the frame. Something which brings life to the photograph and gives it a lasting quality.

Sam is slow and methodical. He is the king of compose and wait, and whether you shoot landscapes, portraits, weddings, wildlife or sports, there is something to be gained in Sam's process.

It's a long watch, but well worth the view. 

If you're looking for a briefer introduction to Sam's process, try this short video as a primer: 

 

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Secondly, if you're not already familiar with Abe Books ( www.abebooks.com ) it's a brilliant resource for cheap photo books. 

I'll often find books on Irving Penn, Avedon, Lewis Hine etc for around $5 USD, plus about the same for shipping (and that's all the way to Australia). 

Abe Books basically aggregates a whole bunch of used book stores from across the globe and makes them searchable in one place, but usually way cheaper than Ebay. Lots of ex-library copies that are still in very decent condition. 

Worth checking out if you haven't yet. 

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34 minutes ago, Stevejack said:

Secondly, if you're not already familiar with Abe Books ( www.abebooks.com ) it's a brilliant resource for cheap photo books. 

Agree. I've bought many photography books from Abe. Especially good for out of print books.  Sellers tend to be very good in garden gate quality of th ebooks.  Nothing described as 'minty' 😁

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21 minutes ago, MarkP said:

Agree. I've bought many photography books from Abe. Especially good for out of print books.  Sellers tend to be very good in garden gate quality of th ebooks.  Nothing described as 'minty' 😁

Yep, it's the first place I look these days - I've found some real bargains on there before and as you say, if you're happy with an obviously used copy then you're laughing. 

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34 minutes ago, Stevejack said:

Yep, it's the first place I look these days - I've found some real bargains on there before and as you say, if you're happy with an obviously used copy then you're laughing. 

Many of the books I've bought are in 'as new' condiition.

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On Being a Photographer, by David Hurn (Magnum) and Bill Jay, a book structured as a conversation that explore's Hurn's approach to photography in detail, and offers a great deal of practical advice.

https://www.lenswork.com/obp.htm

https://www.lenswork.com/obpexc.htm

An online copy turns up near the top of a Google search so you can preview the whole thing, but I won't link to it here as I don't know that it's authorised. Hurn in any case deserves the modest price of the ebook or paperback. Not many other world-class photographers have given us quite this sort of insight into their process - Ansel Adams is one obvious exception, with a classic series of books, and Andreas Feininger's (pre-digital) textbooks like The Complete Photographer are worth seeking out.

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5 minutes ago, Anbaric said:

On Being a Photographer, by David Hurn (Magnum) and Bill Jay, a book structured as a conversation that explore's Hurn's approach to photography in detail, and offers a great deal of practical advice.

https://www.lenswork.com/obp.htm

https://www.lenswork.com/obpexc.htm

Brilliant, thank you. I’ll definitely take a look. 

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22 hours ago, Anbaric said:

On Being a Photographer, by David Hurn (Magnum) and Bill Jay, a book structured as a conversation that explore's Hurn's approach to photography in detail, and offers a great deal of practical advice.

https://www.lenswork.com/obpexc.htm

Thanks for posting this link; refreshing to read such a truly fascinating conversation which gets directly to the nub of so many home-thuths with such accuracy.

Such a shame that, in my time as a student, we didn't have THIS volume on our 'required-reading' book-list instead of the utterly dire 'On Photography'.

Philip.

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I'm sure most of us are well aware of this one, but just in case anyone hasn't come across it yet - The Candid Frame podcast has been going for many, many years. Almost 600 interviews with all kinds of photographers. Some are famous, most you've never heard of.

A good way to find out about the projects other photographers are working on, what inspired them, and the challenges they faced along the way. Plus Ibarionex has a voice that's just pure velvet. 

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