Product Description

Veteran National Geographic photographer, photo editor, and filmmaker Richard Olsenius provides a compelling case for capturing the essence of people and landscapes through black-and-white photography and shares his secrets to mastering the craft.The ability of the black-and-white photograph to strip away the unnecessary and concentrate a message through form, shadow, and light provides its intrinsic strength. Because of its power to communicate, black and white is often chosen in the art, documentary, and commercial worlds. With 120 photographs illustrating the techniques used, this guidebook is as much about how to visualize a story in black and white as it is about the technical aspects of photography.

With the popularity of digital cameras, Olsenius dedicates much time discussing the benefits of using digital technology for black-and-white photography, but he also discusses more traditional cameras and their uses. In addition to advice from Olsenius, this field guide includes the work of four other noteworthy photographers—Father Don Doll, Brian Peterson, Marion E. Warren, and Nick Kelsh—all covering a realm of different subject matter from Native Americans to commercial photography.

For more than a century, National Geographic has been synonymous with expertise and excellence in photography. National Geographic Photography Field Guide: Black & White is a vital reference and how-to manual for photographers of all levels.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #384416 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-01
• Released on: 2005-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

About the Author
Richard Olsenius is an award-winning photographer, filmmaker, and former photo editor at National Geographic magazine. His work has appeared in 17 books and over 15 stories for National Geographic. He has won more than 100 state and national awards for his photography and filmmaking, as well as the international World Press Photo Award. Olsenius is married and lives near the Chesapeake Bay.

Customer Reviews

There are many other better books on the subject
I bought this book thinking it was about digital black & white but was disappointed with the lack of proper content. This is a very basic book for absolute beginners that tries to cover a little of everything from the history of photography to format types to styles of photography but then adds a little digital content on the side to keep up with the times but ultimately offering no useful information, and strangely using non digital photos for illustration. It reads like someone took the World Book Encyclopedia's entry for photography, added some digital content and made it into a book.

Best NG Book on Photography
This is the best book of all the photography how-to books from National Geographic. Although it is about b/w photography, there is much to be learned from the basics. The advice found on this book is very useful and I highly recommend it.

National geographic does it again!
National geographic does it again! They are the authority on Photography and this book shows you why. Excellent book! You will improve your photos if you follow the advice in this book!