Photography and the Art of Seeing by Freeman Patterson (1999-01-01)

I bought "Photography and the Art of Seeing" knowing nothing about it. I had not even heard of the author, Freeman Patterson. I had a certain expectation based on current photography books of the same genre, but what I found is a book beyond compare. I would recommend this book to any level of photographer with a desire to truly express themselves through their photography. You won't come away with a list of rules and instructions about when to apply them. Nor will you end up with a cheat sheet of camera settings that achieve particular effects. If you are open to it, however, you will learn new ways to look at, think about, understand, and portray the world you see through the lens of your camera; you will become more empowered to express yourself in your photography. I was happily surprised that this book is more about photography than it is about the author. Certainly he includes many personal experiences to explain himself and his work, but he does so without the self-aggrandizing rhetoric of similar books. You really begin to feel as if you are part of his process, rather than someone he is trying to impress, as he describes his approach to his work. And the photos! While they are exceptional, this is not a book to flip through, pause for the pictures, and then put on a shelf. Instead, it lives up to an important word in the subtitle, "workshop." You may never attend an expensive workshop with an accomplished photographer. But Patterson generously provides a workshop that includes intriguing, mind-expanding exercises all for the cost of this book. Yes, I love this book! So much so that I've ordered two more of Patterson's books, and I can hardly wait to get started on them.

great photo book to get started on exploring the 4 basic skill of taking picture which are more than snapshots. Use this with my 35 mm work years ago ( 1994 on advise of a Cannon rep and I dont use Cannon)and bought again after starting to work with digital . Most of the same principles apply with digital or 35 mm. Now you should know that I won 1st place in a art museum photo contest and can say it was because I used this book for several months before I got that shot. It was a structural shot of the sub structure of a 1100 ft bridge as it was in the process of being built. I would not have had anything but a snapshot if it had not been for what this book showed me. Also got a magazine over shot and 2 runner up wins for other shots of cranes and boots of men working in concrete. Be patience, use the theory of the book, and your pictures will be more than snapshots too. Would buy again .

This is another wonderful book by the award winning photographer, Freeman Patterson. There are many books that teach technical photography but the challenging part is in creating pleasing graphic designs. This is the subject matter of this book and it boils over with the author's enthusiasm. The book starts out with a chapter on Learning to Observe. The author lists the inevitable rules but then explains how to break free from the rules and provides examples, exercises and his own images demonstrating what he is teaching the reader. This is followed by a chapter on Learning to Imagine in which he teaches to manipulate, in your mind, what you observe through using your imagination, abstracting and selecting. Again the reader is challenged with exercises to practically learn the techniques. The rest of the book is dedicated to discussing the elements of visual design including light, shape, texture, perspective colour, patterns and many more. In summary this is an excellent book if you are looking to improve your artistic capabilities as a photographer.

This is not a book on photography, it is a book on applied philosophy and one of the most important books I have read. I heartily recommend this book to anybody who has got her first digital camera and wants to go on a shooting spree. The book is beautifully printed on good quality paper, though the prints of images lack contrast could be much better.

I love this book for its wonderful exercises. Freeman Patterson helped me to see familiar sites that daily embrace me in a new way. I have discovered art, begging to be created, just ten feet away from my bedroom slippers. With camera in hand I am having fun!!! You dear reader, will too :)

I love this book. It gives you a excellent basic understanding what Photography is all about. Further author gives away some really good information concerning set-up of camera and how to achieve great pictures from the get-go.

I think the author of this book was speaking directly to me page after page. This book is an important addition to my library and I keep reaching for this book almost daily.

Excellent and inspiring. This is an elegant book, with gentle guidance on how to see and perceive the world from a different angle and capture what you see with a camera. Very well done book.

Ich habe das Buch gekauft, weil ich es bei den Querverweisen ("Kunden kauften auch") von David DuChemins "Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic" gesehen hatte und es nur gute Bewertungen hatte. Von letzterem bin ich vollends begeistert. Bei "Photography and the Art of Seeing" erreicht der Autor sein Ziel nicht, dem Leser zur vermitteln, wie er durch besseres Sehen oder Beobachten, seine eigenen Bilder verbessern kann, so dass sie ausdrucksstärker werden oder Reaktion beim Betrachter hervorrufen bzw. der Betrachter die Reaktionen, die jemand beim Anblick des Photoinhalts hatte, nachvollziehen kann - schlussendlich seine eigenen Visionen besser umzusetzen. In dem Buch sind viele Photos, bei denen man subtil Formen und Muster erkennen kann. Interessant, was man in solchen Bildern alles sehen kann. Aber wie man das nutzen kann, um ausdrucksstärkere Bilder zu machen, erschließt sich mir nicht. Ich habe übrigens keine Bilder in dem Buch gesehen, die ich irgendwie für ausdrucksstark halte, wenn ich das mit den Büchern von David DuChemin vergleiche. Ich habe es noch einmal gelesen mit der Hoffnung, ich finde noch etwas, um wenigstens das Gefühl zu haben, dass das Geld halbwegs gut angelegt war, aber das ist mir nicht gelungen. Mir ist daher leider auch nicht klar, wie die anderen guten Bewertungen zustande kommen.

Good information and gets you thinking outside the box

Concise, well written, organized text on how to use the visual elements of design to make your subject matter express the subject of your photographs. Thought provoking, proposes a number of exercises to help you break free from limiting photographing habits. Gorgeously illustrated with beautiful landscapes and macro pictures. The only area where I found it lacking is on how to apply this to pictures featuring people, my main interest. It focuses on landscapes and still lives for all examples. A recommended read to all photographers, specially those who feel a bit stuck in routine.

El libro esta en muy buenas condiciones y tal como se indica tine algun que otro subrayado, pero se puede leer perfecctamente.

Truly Excellent