Gift of Nature + Two Books I am Reading

This image is a result of the recent things that I learned in the process of trying to improve the overall level of my photography. I am currently reading two books that are changing my whole to how I see things, as well as how I post process my images. Let me share a few thoughts on these two books and why I like them.

The first book is Photography and the Art of Seeing: A Visual Perception Workshop for Film and Digital Photography by Freeman Patterson. I’m not sure why I did not get this book sooner, but better late than ever. This is not a book on exposure or on the rules of composition. It is much more – it is a book about how to truly see and how to better express yourself through your photography. The book is well written and is accompanied by beautiful images by the author, and every chapter makes you think more deeply about yourself, about the goals you may have about your photography and about what you may want to do next to take it to the next level. It has plenty of good exercises intended to help us develop the artistic vision. The reason why I like this image is because it was taken right outside of our Silicon Valley home (in other words, one of the more boring parts of California when it comes to nature). I passed by these flowers several times every day without ever noticing them, but one day I opened my eyes as directed by Patterson and visualized exactly this image. I am learning that I don’t have to be at a National Park to capture images I like. In fact, Patterson himself have taken good majority of his favorite images in his backyard.

The second book is Welcome to Oz: A Cinematic Approach to Digital Still Photography with Photoshop by Vincent Versace. First, take a look at Vincent’s portfolio (here is the link). He’s a brilliant photographer with a very unique style. Second, this is not just another book on Photoshop. Though various advanced Photoshop techniques are covered, Vincent’s goal with this book is to teach you a new approach to seeing the final image in mind. I love his idea of drawing an image map for various adjustments I need to make on my images. Our eyes see in a certain way, and Vincent does a great job of teaching difficult concepts of how to make images more visually appealing. He’s a brilliant teacher, and this book is a five-year work of his that he’s put a lot of soul into. Bottom line - it is a book about creativity. For this image, I used what I learned in the book to selectively adjust contrast, color and light in this image.

If you are like me and are looking for ways to take your creativity to a new level, these books may help you just like they are helping me.