Review: Stephen Johnson on Digital Photography
Iain Laskey peruses a book that will change the way you view your photography
| Product | Stephen Johnson on Digital Photography |
|---|---|
| Company | O'Reilly |
| Web | www.oreilly.com |
| Price | £28.50 |
| We like | Inspiring clear text, sample images, background stories |
| We don't like | Some sections could have been bigger |
| Rating | 9/10 |
| Requirements |
There are a great many books on Digital Photography you can choose from. Some tell you how to use your camera. Others show you how to work with Photoshop and it's ilk. Others concentrate on specifics such as portraiture. This book is rather different.
Stephen Johnson is a highly regarded photographer who has pictures in some of the top museums and galleries. He has also acted as consultant to such names as Apple, Epson and Adobe. It's fair to say that when Johnson has something to write about digital photography, it's going to be worth reading.
Stephen Johnson on Digital Photography is difficult to classify. The coverage includes a discussion on the history and evolution of digital imaging, colour theory, correction and management, fine-art printing, ethics and a whole lot on the creative process. In many ways it reads like a university primer on the subject - it provides a lot of background without going too much in to how to use a camera or what you can do with Photoshop. The latter does get some coverage but it's more to illustrate a point rather than teach Photoshop itself. It may help to think of it as a mix of science, history and art wrapped up with an enthusiasm and excitement that jumps off the page at you.
Many of the images in the book have been taken with a BetterLight scanning camera which is a far cry from what most of us will use. Essentially a flat bed scanner strapped to a lens, this heavyweight device produces stunning images but often ones that are somewhat muted compared to the garish oversaturated colours we have come to expect from consumer grade devices. In many ways, the unique nature of these cameras has contributed to the look of Johnson's photographs as well as the man himself.
Throughout the book, Johnson's philosophies on photography, imaging and their role in capturing the world about us, are put forward with an intelligence and clarity of vision that is second to none.
Whilst most of the images used to illustrate the book are Johnson's own, many are not and they provide a fascinating walk through history both social as well as photographic. One particularly interesting section is about the truth or otherwise of an image, especially relevant in the age of photo manipulation software. The now famous faked shot of John Kerry and Jane Fonda supposedly together at an anti-war rally is used to show what damage these images can do but even earlier manual fakery such as an image of Lee Harvey Oswald shows how photographs can be used to sway public opinion.
If we had to make a single criticism of this book, it is that some of the technical discussions were a little too brief and merely whetted the appetite before moving on leaving a feeling of being short changed just when it was getting to stuff you could actually use in your day to day photography.
Conclusion
This is a hard book to sum up. Part history, part ethics, part science, a bit of politics, there's even some photography in there somewhere. If you want to learn how to take pictures or tweak them in Photoshop, this isn't the book for you. If, however, you want to learn the background, the art, some of the science but above all the overall philosophy of digital photography, this is a book that will give you all that and more. The quality of the book is high with glossy pages and well printed illustrations and an unfussy layout that lets you concentrate on the content without getting sidetracked on endless box outs and sidebars. Highly recommended.
