From Camera to Computer: How to Make Fine Photographs Through Examples, Tips, and Techniques [Paperback]

"Examples: The Making of Forty Photographs" by Ansel Adams is one of the great books of photography. In it the noted landscape artist described the decisions he made from idea to print in creating some of his greatest photographs. "From Camera to Computer" may be the equivalent for the digital age. In it, Barr describes many of his own decisions in creating fine art prints from selecting a subject to printing the image and even whether to include it in a portfolio.

Most chapters are almost free standing essays that take a single image and follow the author's processes from capture to print. A few of the essays are slightly different as in his description of uses for the Lensbaby and his recommendations for photographing on a European vacation. The book concludes with a description of Photoshop tools that the author acknowledges is not a complete guide but rather an indication of the tools that he uses to create his style of image.

Each chapter starts with a listing of the major points covered. After discussing a subject, the author highlights a teaching point, and the chapter usually ends with the author's thoughts on the image.

This book is not appropriate for beginners. It assumes one knows how to use a camera and image processing software proficiently. Instead it deals with the kind of higher level problems that photographers intent on creating art are concerned with. For example the author recommends working the subject and taking a range of images to insure one will have something with which to work back at the computer. He describes how moving the camera even a few inches can capture a different image. His processing of images in Photoshop is beyond just general tonal and color control. He applies tools like curves and dodging for local adjustments on an almost minute scale to create the finest possible images. Along the way, stitching, focus blending, high dynamic range and similar topics are discussed.

Although some of author's images are of landscapes, much of the work presented seems to concentrate on form rather than content, like close-up photographs of rusty machinery. Although images that seem like abstractions are not my favorites, I still found many useful lessons in his descriptions of creating these images.

Images used for illustration may be downloaded from a website if the reader wishes to follow along with the text.

Reading the essays is like having a conversation about an image with an articulate top notch photographer. The tools he uses are not as important as his overall approach. I noticed that while I was reading the book, I began to work the images that I was processing far more than usual, thanks to Barr's urging not to accept anything less than the best. On the other hand, I must confess a little feeling of inferiority as a photographer, for it was clear that while I considered myself a competent photographer, my approach to images was not on Barr's level. Perhaps as I read the essays again, slowly, I can become more like him.

If the marketing copy and text on the back cover is to be believed, Mr. Barr's book shares his insights on how to create fine art photos by following some detailed editing examples (in addition to working the scene, etc.). Yet only 8 of the 23 chapters include detailed workflows of his edits. (One can add 2 more chapters to the total -- 7 and 11 -- because they include some processing details.) And the author does not take the description of his workflows far enough; he's often content to explain the main steps in his edit of an image, and then skims over the rest of his detailed ("minor" as he calls them) edits to show the final image. I've seen a few other authors include a screen shot or two of their entire layer hierarchy for an image, and including something similar would have added more value to the book, allowing the reader to get a better grasp of just how much work is involved in making one of Barr's fine-art images. That would be more educational than simply stating that a number of minor edits and masks were applied to the image.

A few chapters look as though they were filler, in an attempt to make the book approach a saleable length. For instance, why include a chapter on the Lensbaby when Barr isn't particularly enamored of the accessory? Is the chapter included because the Lensbaby is a current fad in photography? And Barr feels necessary to include short chapters on a number of subjects -- people photography, portraits, a European trip -- that little of value to the book. They cause the book to loose its focus [no pun intended].

Lastly, I continue to try to impress on Rocky Nook to be more conscientious with their copy editing. (Tghis is the fourth Rocky Nook book that I've read and each has had its share of glaring typos or grammatical errors.) There's no excuse for a misspelled page heading for an entire chapter (Fruitr when it should be Fruit.) And the first figure in the Appendix spells histogram as historgram, for example.

Would I recommend this book to other photographers? Perhaps. I did find some useful information in the book, which is why I decided not to return it. There's some valuable advice on working a scene that you don't find in many other places. Just don't expect to find complete answers on how to create a fine art print.

The author delivers a lot of insight and jovially talks/walks you through the various aspects of his work-flow.
Bottom line, looking at pictures I processed during the period I was reading the book, I see some improved results.
There is much to be learned from this book regarding the appropriate philosophical approach to photography that seems to suit both fine art photographers like the author and amateurs like myself.

What I did certainly not enjoy is the low level of editing the book received. I red other "Rocky-Nook" books, and they also suffered from miss-numbered illustrations, but this volume excels in giving the feeling that you are reading a not proof-read copy: talk about pictures that did not make it into the book and even whole paragraphs and phrase sections that have been duplicated.

Though I am not a "Photoshop" user, all the techniques with the exception of the commercial tools easily translate the the tools I am using. More important than these details are the ideas related to the goal and spirit of the processing.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 8 reviews  4.6 out of 5 stars