The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Nature Photography

by Jim Miotke and Egerton Ryerson

Book Overview

From a tiny ladybug to a towering glacier, nature subjects offer some of the greatest challenges and rewards to photographers. This text covers every aspect of digital nature photography, from buying... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0817435530
• ISBN13: 9780817435530
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill Publications
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Good Information

I am in the process of reading about 20 guides and books related to Nature Photography (Landscapes, Macros, Wildlife, etc)...everything from the older Shaw books to new digital books such as this one. This book has a lot of good information. I enjoyed the mentoring style of the book and thought the LCD (Lighting, Composition and Digital(Eposure) approach to each of the sub topics was well presented. There are good ideas for assignments also. I only have one fairly minor flaw with the book and it is a rather subjective one...while the photos in the book were good examples of the topics being discussed, not a lot of them were jaw dropping and inspiring to me personally. Obviously this is a subjective point and others may disagree. After reading the Shaw and Audubon and acouple of digital nature books prior to this one, the photos in this book just didn't wow me as much as the others I have read. I don't feel the above is enough for me to knock the book down to a 4 star so I am still giving it a 5 star rating although if there was a 4.5 star option, I would probably select that. Don't get me wrong, though, I still feel this is quite a worthwhile book to buy. The approach is friendly, encouraging and refreshing and the author obviously knows his stuff and has produced a good book. One further note...I also liked the fact that this book is definitly about nature photography and doesn't spend an over-abundance of time on generic photography priniciples that one has more than likely picked up from other general photography books. Some nature books are general photography books with a splash of nature thrown in. This one is a nature photography book with just the right amount general photography thrown in. An honest approach to a nature photography book.

Reads like a conversation

I love this book. Jim is not only an excellent photographer, he is also an excellent writer. His style is conversational, and his book is well organized and easy to read, while not being too "simple" sounding. No corny humor either (I like Scott Kelby, but his humor annoys me after a while). He also clearly put thought into what he covered. He first ASKED people WHAT they wanted to know about digital nature photography and then wrote his book guided by those needs. He covers topics that other authors would not have thought to cover (like what to pack for photo trips and peripheral tools that can be helpful in the field). Excellent reading. I am now looking at digital photo books based on author, and Miotke is one of my search words!

The new "bible" on digital outdoor photography!

I have been an avid amateur photographer for over 30 years. I am very thankful for having started my photography journey with a "match the needle" manual Canon SLR in the early 1970's, forcing me to learn the dynamics of ISO/speed/aperture. John Shaw, George Lepp, and Art Wolfe were early inspirations for the composition and artistic side of the equation. Many pieces of f2.8 and faster glass later, I have been recently building my Canon 30D system (my 5th digital camera) and hungry for a comprehensive book to complement my past learning experiences and add new tips. Usually this exercise requires multiple books that one pieces together from recent reading memory. Not the case with The BetterPhoto Guide to Digital Nature Photography. Jim's book was EXACTLY what I was looking for. A great refresh to my past learning combined with the new techniques and clear methodologies from Jim's expert experiences. I read this book cover to cover in one sitting - how could I put it down when the next unread page promised to reveal yet another gem I would commit to use? I took 2 pages of notes - many action items for me to follow through with on the prep for and during my next photo experience. I consider this a must-have photographic bible to refer to on a regular basis. Jim assumes the reader is on the path to becoming a professional outdoor photographer. This is a fresh approach. Much more of an apprenticeship style mentoring relationship with the reader. Well done Jim! 5 stars.

Very Good Read

This book is very well done. I enjoyed his writing style. It contains a lot of examples and has assignments to help reinforce what is being taught. There a good tips and many examples that are easy to follow and understand. This is a nice follow-up to his other book Digital Photography.

BetterPhoto Guide to Digital Nature Photography

Awesome book! Jim Miotke covers all the basics and more. I have many books but none cover the subject like this one does. It covers all areas from your camera to composition and lighting plus special effects. It even has assignments at the end of each chapter that you can do to practice the information. I recommend it to anyone from beginner up to someone that just wants a new idea or approach.