John Shaw's Guide to Digital Nature Photography

I have always enjoyed Shaw's books. I learned a LOT from his film books. I would say his books were the most instructive I read that developed me into a good photographer. I learned so much from his previous books that when I taught a college film course in nature photography I used one of his books. He is an excellent writer, not flashy, and his suggestions did not necessarily start and end with the newest most expensive piece of equipment.This most recent book though doesn't live up to his older books. While it has good photos they seem less instructive than in his previous books.The main issue though he didn't really transition this book to take better advantage of digital photography. For example he talks about using graduated ND filters.. I used them a lot in my film days, but now I use software to make those kind of corrections, I think most people do. And when he comes to histograms he talks about them but could have gone a long way showing how to use them instead. A discussion on APS or Full frame or micro 4/3rds would also seem to be important discussion hereFocusing his equipment discussions so much as he does on Canon and Nikon is, frankly, annoying. I shoot Pentax and of course many are now moving to Sony or Panasonic. Many things he thus says is just flat inaccurate about equipment options. I'm willing to overlook this, but it is an issue.One thing I really miss from his old books is all his approaches to macro. I feel he is missing a lot of the options available to macro users now and didn't explain through images or figures those types of extension he discussed in his previous books.Still, I need a book for a new college nature digital photography class I am teaching. I'll likely still use this book despite of its shortcomings because of his excellent writing.

I feel John Shaw is a great teacher . He has a way of communicating through writing as if you are having a conservation with him and he already knows what your next question will be . In his writing about technical things he goes into detail and doesn't leave you guessing about what to do with the information he has just given . His earlier books got me on the path to photography and I still have them . I referred to them regularly until things had really sunk in . The pictures inspired me and the writing instructed me . Of all the photography books I have purchased , I still have these but have donated most of the other writer's works .. At this point you might be asking why a four star writing ?! This is a good book but not Shaw's best . I am comparing it to his earlier writings . There is too much general repeat of his earlier writings that are dealing in the film era and still deal with the photographic process , but have been covered great in his earlier books . This one let me down in that he didn't cover the later advantages of digital and how to use those in the field . This could have been done and would stay relevant into the future as long as digital stays with us .

In the 1980's I read several of Mr. Shaw's books. His explanation then of f-stops, shutter speed, ISO, flash and other factors in photography for making his photographs so great. His approach is very clear and while it is up to readers to make their own photographs, learning his techniques and the science behind them gives readers an excellent foundation in digital photography. His descriptions of how to think in terms of stops is still valid and greatly simplifies the process for shooting in manual modes. His explanation of the use of histograms and the use of flash along with all the many pieces of equipment he finds useful in his work are generously shared with those of us who admire great photographs. Thanks, Mr. Shaw, for yet another masterpiece in your work! I appreciate you!

I've been following John Shaw for over 30 years now. His work is always amazing and inspiring. I can't imagine anyone more talented than John Shaw when thinking of nature photography . I feel I'm a rank amateur but after I read John's books and get a little of his inspiration , I go out and shoot and feel good about myself . If you really serious about learning how to shoot and compose images, as well as how to use the Nikon cameras , then you need a book like this. His advice extends to other mix of cameras as well . I'm happy to be able to recommend this book highly .Mike , D. Charlottesville, Virginia

This long-anticipated update to John's venerable John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide (written in the film days) doesn't disappoint. It is completely rewritten with all new digital photos. His style is thorough, yet conversational. Advanced photographers will benefit from his concise explanations of both photographic and digital fundamentals. Novice to intermediate nature photographers would do well to study this book until they can subconsciously apply the fundamentals John explains so well. I highly recommend this book to every photo workshop or class I teach. Kindle version looks great on the iPad. The images are larger and look great in the print version. Either version is great.

I really like John Shaw's perspective and clear and well-written book. He manages to cover essentially everything you need to know about gear and technique while also emphasizing the creative elements of photography. His writing style is also fun to read and the example images are exquisite treats that made me want to turn the page to see what's next. Highly recommended!

Good book for beginners. I think I might be a little bit too advanced for it, I didn't realize it's going through basic principles of digital photography in general. However, it's no fault of the book, and info in it is great. I did pick up quite a few good tips from it too. Some of the points might not apply fully for mirrorless camera users. Photos in the book are great.

Outstanding digital photography guide!Although I am a novice photographer, I was able to glean so much from this guide. The author does an amazing job of explaining the techniques in a way that can be understood by novices like me yet any professional would benefit from Mr. Shaw's advice and expertise.

I have hugely enjoyed this latest book by John Shaw, as I have all his others. In it he has covered the wide field of nature photography, ranging from landscape, flora and wildlife, through to macro. The photography, which is very well reproduced, is as always excellent and to me a constant source of inspiration.Technically, I would have thought that just about every aspect that any photographer from the beginner to the more experienced would require, is covered. Certainly the chapters on exposure, histograms and exposing to get the maximum from RAW files, were worth the price of the book many times over.Certainly one of the very best and most worthwhile books, that I have read on photography. If you are not familiar with his work, then I would also highly recommend getting hold of his earlier books as well - which are classics.

This is quite simply the best book on nature photography that I have ever read. Very highly recommended.

Das Buch ist nicht nur inhaltlich sehr gut geschrieben (englisch), vermittelt es doch alles, was der Fotograf zur Landschaftsfotografie wissen muss und wissen kann. Die Publikation ist überdies sehr gut aufgebaut, sodass man wirklich alles nachlesen und alles lernen kann was man möchte.Hinzu kommen die überragenden Fotos des Fotografen John Shaw, die so eindrucksvoll und wunderschön sind, wie man es sich als Fotograf nur wünschen kann. Lediglich die Schriftgröße ist etwas klein, weshalb ich Fotografen, mit guten Englischkenntnissen dazu raten würde das E-Book zu kaufen. Ich persönlich mag gerne ein Buch in Händen halten, aber in diesem Fall ist die Schriftgröße leider etwas zu klein. Es kann auch nicht schaden dieses Buch überall unterwegs dabei zu haben, deshalb ist eine elektronische Ausgabe nicht verkehrt.Die vorherige und verheerende Kritik (outdk) kann ich überhaupt nicht teilen. Sie ist völlig unbrauchbar. Auch legt die Kritik überhaupt nicht dar, warum dieses Buch schlecht sein soll. Man sollte diese miserable Kritik also in keinem Falle beachten. Ich werde auch einen ähnlichen Kommentar über dieses Buch auf fotowissen.eu schreiben und das Buch noch genauer rezensieren.

It's a John Shaw book. Expect dry humor and a certain writing style that some may or may not like. The photography is technically perfect. The illustrations in themselves are a constant lesson in composition for me and that in itself is worth the price of the book.

Lots of good insight to this style of photography