Class Bibliography / Recommended Books / Books for Sale
The items on the following list are all available from Amazon.com by clicking on the link to the left. They are also available in the Hawaii State Library System.
In Looking at Photographs, Museum of Modern Art photography curator John Szarkowski has selected 100 worthwhile images and has crafted exceptionally well written commentary about each image. The book is an education about looking at and creating photographs.
The varied perspectives and approaches depicted in the book as well as the diverse subject matter is refreshing and energizing for any photographer.
The Zen of Creativity is a change of pace in artistic method. Precise and evocative, it's more like a cool drink of water on a quiet country afternoon than the usual breathless books on creativity that push you to produce, produce, produce. Here, the focus is not on squeezing your mind for ideas, but on the quiet observation of oneself and life, and the exact origin of those mysteries we call inspiration, block, connection, as well as exercises to encourage us to trust our inspiration and see through the places we are blocked. It's about trusting yourself rather than about pushing for ideas.
The Art of Photographing Nature is a unique photography book. Master photographer Art Wolfe dissects his own work with commentary by Audubon photo Editor Martha Hill, bringing an entirely different perspective to the analysis. The hundreds of photos not only show off Mr. Wolfe's considerable ability but also provide fertile ground for the discussion of what makes one shot more desirable than another. This is one book that you shouldn't read just once. Come back to it every so often and you'll find that it opens your eyes to new possibilities again and again.
Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland is a real favorite of mine. It "explores the way art gets made, the reasons it often doesn't get made, and the nature of the difficulties that cause so many artists to give up along the way." It was written for visual artists, but I think it's also perfect for writers, musicians ... virtually anyone who creates.
Art & Fear is an unpretentious little paperback, written by two lifelong friends who have been artists, as well as other things, for most of their lives. Both of them have their feet firmly rooted in the real world that we all live in (however high their ideas and ideals might fly), and both of them have keen insights into what enables individuals to produce good art and to continue to produce good art, and what stumbling blocks stop many individuals. These insights are of value to artists in any medium whatsoever, and are in fact likely to be of significant value to many individuals who don't think of themselves as artists at all. One doesn't need to be an artist to be struggling with goals that seem beyond your reach and a lack of appreciation from others; it's just a little more pervasive in the artmaking world.
"Photography and the Art of Seeing" is an excellent resources for student or pro. It's full of exercises that are interesting, expansive and useful. If you are a student, Patterson's ideas are an excellent guide for exploration. If you are a pro and want to get out of a rut, the book is filled with unique approaches. Also contains many of Freeman Patterson's wonderful images!
The book of Bruce Behnke's photographs published this summer in Japan is now available in the U.S. in limited quantities through Amazon.com Entitled Ho'okili o Hawai'i, this bilingual edition is a collection of images from all the islands. Bruce explains the title and theme of the book in this excerpt:
"As I write this, sitting on the lanai behind my house, I am watching a fine, warm, light rain falling in the woods. The rain is so fine, I could walk a long way in it without getting wet. It cools the air and leaves fine, diamond-like water drops on the ferns and tree leaves. Hawaiians call this kind of rain ho'okili. In Hawaiian poetry, rain can signify joy, life, growth, greenery or good fortune. For indeed, our Hawaiian rain showers seem to bring all of those things. I have chosen to call this collection of photographs Ho'okili o Hawai'i because the rain is a ubiquitous and important part of the growth, life and regeneration of the Islands depicted in these images."
Ho'okili o Hawai'i is now available in all major bookstores in Japan and in the United States only on Amazon.com
Tao of Photography, Seeing Beyond Seeing, is meant to have you reconsider how you view the world. It uses the writings of Zhuang-zi and Lao-zi (Dao De Qing) as a framework for enhancing awareness, perceptual cognition, and creativity. It addresses barriers that constrict awareness and suggests strategies that can free awareness.
The book is illustrated by 70 black and white photographs, which are not only well selected, but could also stand alone as an excellent photographic essay.
