The hardcover book is a jewel: the pictures are absolutely beautiful, and the texts which accompany them is interesting. The excerpts from Valentin Rasputin's books on Lake Baikal are well chosen. It is extremely interesting to "meet" this controversial Russian author in the way we do through this book. He deserves praise for his environmental work, especially in such a country as Russia. The book definetely makes you wish to visit the place. It sounds loike a spiritual enriching experience, the lake seems alive...

This is probably one of the better "how to" books on landscape, wildlife and general photography from one of the finest shooters to come along in decades.
Text is easy to understand and follow and the related photo essays are very well placed for learning, and are of superior quality.
A great book by any standard

I just wanted to echo what others have said so far about this book. To be honest, I had never heard of Boyd Norton until Amazon recommended the book to me when I purchased another photography book. But I decided to try the book out, based on the previous reviews and the inexpensive price, and I'm sure glad I did! It's very well written and I can relate to the author's challenges of long-held photographic beliefs. He seem to state that, as long as the end result is pleasing, go ahead and break all the rules! I agree, and he offers many ideas and methods of coming up with unique perspectives and images that do just that.

I find most photography books I read to just re-state what others have already said, but this book continually gave me new ideas and fresh insight into different techniques and subjects. I'd be surprised if even an accomplished and seasoned photographer didn't get more than a few things out of this book.

Thanks, Boyd Norton, for putting together a very informative book with amazing pictures and descriptions of the processes used to create them!

Boyd Norton does a great job of covering a broad range of topics in a relatively small amount of space. His clear and casual writing style makes the book fun to read and the concepts easy to understand.

Norton first discusses a range of general issues such as lighting, lens choice, composition, films, etc. A section on impressionistic rendering is quite interesting and gives a different perspective from what is normally taught. He then discusses specific cases in more detail: wildlife, travel, landscape, closeup and underwater photography. An additional section on photographing ones immediate surroundings once again provides a different twist.

Norton provides enough charts and technical material to make a useful reference text. The section on lens choice - with advice on the effective use of wide-angles and telephotos - helped me quite a bit.

I found his view of compositional rules to be the most interesting aspect of the book. Instead of rigid rules that would result in everyone taking the same pictures of the same things, he tries to provide some intuition into what makes for good composition. Even in one of his own examples there is some latitude. In the pair of shots of a racing sailboat, one picture has the boat heeled a bit more, giving the greater sense of motion he mentions. In the other shot the boat is surrounded by the sails of its competitors. This may only clutter the scene, or, worse yet, further the impression that the boat is parked. However, to someone familiar with the sport, it can evoke the flurry of activity that marks the start of a race.

I only just started reading this book about a month ago, and instead of reading it all the way through cover to cover, I've been dipping into it here and there at random. I've discovered that no matter where I start reading, Norton offers valuable advice that will be useful to relative neophytes such as myself as well as the more technically experienced photographer.

Soon I will read the book from cover to cover, after which I'll write another more comprehensive review. For now, I just wanted to echo the other reviewers' comments here and say this is an excellent book that is well worth the money, considering it's only about ... ... ... It's definitely the best of 3 or 4 books I've bought recently on the subject of outdoor photography.

I have several travel photography books. This is the worst I've ever bought. Although it has many pictures, in my opinion, the text is very poor.

This book is a 5 for beginners, becomes less useful to the more exerienced, but even for a more advanced amateur, it is worth a quick scan of the text for a refresher. Consisting of tips and suggestions, there is not alot of technical data as the various topics are covered, most topics covered in one page of text with a facing page of a couple of photos. The photos do support the topics well enough, such topics as City Vistas; Royal Dwellings; Formal Gardens; In the Rain; Rainbows; Strangers Faces; Close Ups; Dramatic Angles, etc.
Look it over at a library or book store, and you'll know whether it will be a carry along pocket guide for you or not.

I love technical books; so I bought this book looking for some technical advices on "how to" take pictures when traveling: landscapes, low light conditions, using flashes, etc. When received the book, I found this is not a technical book, in this book you can find useful ideas and comments about "what", "where" and "when" to take nice pictures when traveling. I recommend this as a nice and "light" book to read written in an easy way to all kind of readers.

Numerous beautiful photos. Somewhat short as far as the text and descriptions are concerned, but overall a good guide for exploring. This book won't be a "travel video" for those who don't want to go exploring. It gives you enough to want to drive the backroads and see everything for yourself.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to experience the thrill of finding those lesser-known, out-of-the way, and ultimately unforgettable scenic areas of Colorado. Illustrated with magnificent photographs, this is a guide intended to put you on the right track toward creating a unique adventure of your own. Unlike other travel books, this is not a step-by-step slog through all the tourist traps in Colorado. The best part about this book is that it captures the character of a given area, gives you enough information to pique your curiosity, helps you find your way there, and leaves the rest of the exploration up to you.

In addition to maps, illustrations, and a general guide about each area, the book also contains many "Colorado Sketches", brief vignettes about historical characters and events which are not only entertaining to read, but help capture the flavor of the history and culture that make up this great state of ours.

Overall, it's not only a great guide, but a good read as well. Buy one for your coffee table, and another to keep in your glove box!

Well written and easy to follow. We used the guide during our trips to the hidden places in Colorado and found it to be easy to follow without being overly explicit with too many details. Lived in Colorado for several years and this was our weekend guide when we wanted to get away from the front range crowds.