Take your prhotographing skills to the next level

Now that the sun shines for endless summer hours, it's a perfect time to step outside and start sharpening your photography skills. From DVD's to children's books, Peter White Public Library offers these non-fiction materials to help inspire and drive your photography to the next level. 

Alfred Stieglitz: The Eloquent Eye. Directed by Perry Miller Adato 

Alfred Stieglitz was a genius photographer who wanted to push the boundaries of his medium and this DVD biography outlines how he did just that and became known as the father of modern day photography. Stieglitz was more than a photographer; he was a champion of art, promoting other forms art long before they gained any sort of a following in America. He was incredibly gifted with an impeccable artistic eye and thus began a magazine intended to foster avant-garde art around the beginning of the 20th century. Though much of the film is about his art, the bulk of the content is about how he selflessly put aside his own highly respected work to foster that of new artists who were working out of the mainstream. 

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Eames: Beautiful Details. edited by Eames Demetrios 

This large, hardcover book details one of America's greatest and most iconic design couples, Charles and Ray Eames. Though the Eameses are best known for their groundbreaking furniture designs, this book explores their important and experimental, contributions in the areas of architecture, exhibit design, textile design, product design, graphic design, toy design, film, and photography. That may seem like a lot of topics for one book to cover but all of that information is made easy to digest through glossy high-resolution images that fill the pages. The book offers a comprehensive look at the life of Charles and Ray through their eyes and the eyes of their family, with several intimate family photos found only between these pages. This book will inspire and challenge you to think "outside the box" while reminding you that the beauty of life lies within the details. 

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The Complete Guide to Black & White Digital Photography. A book by Michael Freeman.

Michael Freeman guides you through the process of digitally converting a color photo into a black and white copy but his main objective is to teach you to see in black and white.  With Adobe Photoshop as his main weapon, Freeman shows how to overcome the various issues one faces with digital images such as noise reduction, color correction, and distortion.  The step-by-step guides make producing black and white images fun and easy.  

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Walker Evans: Photographer of America.  by Thomas Nau

Although this book was written for school-aged children in grades 5-9, it will prove to be an important find for anyone interested in American photography from the early half of the 20^th century.  This 60-page book beautifully recounts the life and philosophies of Walker Evans while displaying some the most striking reproductions from his career.  Many books on Walker Evan’s work deal entirely with his contributions to the documentation of depression-era America, however, this book shows the wide scope of his career with great respect to his earlier photographic work.  

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Build Fun Paper Cameras: Take Eye-catching Pinhole Photos.  A Lark Photography Book.

This new book explores numerous ways for creating your own paper pinhole cameras that actually work.  A CD also accompanies the book for added ease and instruction.  With the aid of Justin Quinnell, an expert in pinhole photography, this book explains how a camera is a simple light processing box and how you can create your own with outstanding results.  Due to the experimental nature of pinhole photography both novice and experienced photographers will find this book fascinating.  

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20^th Century Photography.  A book edited by the Museum Ludwig.

The stunning reproductions in this book come from the Photographic Collection at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany.  The vastness of the museum’s collection is obvious with all of the major photographic movements and genres represented in this book.  In the span of less than 200 pages you are able to explore the works of photographic icons ranging from Ansel Adams to Joel Peter Witkin.  This book does not shy away from controversial work from photographers such as Herbert Bayer and Duane Michals either.  Instead, 20th Century Photography celebrates all of these photographers and their varying viewpoints. 

Adult Non-Fiction 770.904 TW

by Dominic M. Davis, Administrative Assistant