Product Description

Thirteen essays on landscape photography by master photographer Alain Briot. Topics include practical, technical, and aesthetic aspects of photography to help photographers build and refine their skills. Also covered is how to be an artist in business.

Alain Briot is one of the leading contemporary landscape photographers. He received his education in France and currently works mostly in the southwestern part of the United States.

This book starts with the technical aspects of photography; how to see, compose, find the right light, and select the best lens for a specific shot. It continues by focusing on the artistic aspects of photography with chapters on how to select your best work, how to create a portfolio, and finally concludes with two chapters on how to be an artist in business.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34272 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-05
• Format: Illustrated
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 280 pages

About the Author
Alain Briot is one of the leading contemporary landscape photographers. Originally from Paris, France, he attended the Academie Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris where he studied drawing and oil painting. Briot started photography in 1980. Currently living in Arizona, his favorite photographic locations are in the southwestern United States.

Customer Reviews

Mastering Landscape Photography: The Luminous Landscape Essays
When i first got this book i put it aside but recently I started to read it and it is fantastic, from nuts to bolts you can build a business on it as it takes you through the concept of landscape photography to the actual business plan. 10/10 the title really needs to be changed as it does much more than teach Landscape Photography. It is a persons life planning skills on his passion.

Should probably have "Southwest" in the title
A beautiful book with great insights into photography in the southwest. The quality of the printing and phographic reproduction is excellent, as is the author's grasp of landscape photography and his ability to communicate his insights. My only quarrel with the book is that it is too focused on the southwest, especially the red-rock and canyon territory of Utah and Arizona. I wanted more on landscape photography in general. And, although the insights shared here can be taken into other areas of the country, a broader range of photographs would have helped. Also, the author tends to use the same photographe over and over to make his point. Surely he has more images that he could share. And, since most photographers these days use digital photography in 35mm comparable cameras, I wish he had spent less time extolling the virtues of Fuji film in his view camera.
These are somewhat minor quibbling points, however. I really did enjoy the book and recommend it.

A refreshing perspective that may change your life
I own probably 40 books on photography. All were well researched before purchase, so all are good books. Of the 40, 10 were very valuable, 10 more were worth reading, the the other half were not. This is the first that I read cover to cover in just a couple of days. Some mentioned there is not a lot of information in the book. Well, it's not filled with tips and tricks and specifics of how to use a tool or camera. It's more a book on how to approach and think about fine art photography, than how to do it. Meaning you will learn what directions to head in, and be given exercises that if you do them, will help get you there. There is a lot of information about subjects many gloss over, and that lead to a lot of thought and introspection. At least it did for me. Some will say the book is too simple. To me, the simplicity is it's strength. The messages are clear. I took away the sense these are the right concepts to think about to be better at this craft.

Briot makes the point that even in todays apparently saturated market (my words, not his), there is room for hard work, quality, and a clear focus to lead to a successfull business. If that's where you want to go. He makes the point that no matter what you do, to do it well will be a lot of hard work. That's just the way it is. So if that's the case, why not work hard at something you love or really want to do? Rather than work hard at something that will pay you to do what you love in your 'spare time'. I've learned the spare time usually doesn't happen. I've read these words before, as I'm sure you have. But this author makes the point in a way I, at least, related to more than any other author. There are whole books about that one subject, actually. But Alain spends a good chapter on it, in the context of a book on how to approach being a fine art photographer. So that chapter was long enough to say something meaningful, but not so long you lost interest and forgot what the message was about in the end. Each chapter fits that mold. Long enough to convey exactly his message. And no longer. That's why the book held my interest to the end.

Those are not the only insights I got from the book. There were many. They're just the ones I believe will be most important over time for me personally. Many will say "that was obvious, you just didn't get it". That's true of just about anything you want to discuss. Some have already gotten it. Some will get it now. Some may never get it. The measure, to me, is how effectively this book conveys concepts to me that are clear, and that I can take away how I can use them in my own life or work. This book more than any other, gave me a lot of that kind of insight. And most of what he says applies to any endeavor, so whether you're a photographer or not, you'll get something from this book. Possibly I was just ready for his message. It doesn't matter. This book did it for me.

So I have to thank Alain Briot for his insight, and for taking the time to write a book that conveys it clearly and deeply. His writing and his photographs are both examples of how deeply he cares about what he does. They're also clear examples of what dedication to a few things you choose to care about deeply can bring.