Santa Barbara, CA, May 28, 2008--Over the last few years, most books on photography emphasized explaining the new breed of cameras and how to master the digital imaging workflow. In The Art of Black and White Photography Torsten Andreas Hoffmann takes a different approach, as he focuses on image composition and image capture, with an emphasis on the creative aspects of black and white photography, as well as on the digital workflow.
After introducing the ground rules of composition, the author illustrates their applications with various photographic genres such as architecture, street photography, portraiture, and surreal photography with his own stunning black and white images. In the second part of the book, Hoffmann illustrates the elements of a "photographic language", which distinguishes creative photography from random shooting. The final part of the book is dedicated to post-processing techniques, mostly in Photoshop (CS3), emphasizing the functions that are necessary for creating outstanding black and white images.
Topics include:
- Why you should shoot in RAW mode
- Overcoming cliched photos
- Why moods are so important
- What is pictorial composition
- Balance in a photo
- Unusual perspectives
- Pictorial tension between elements
- The play of forms
- Conversion to black and white from color
- New features of Photoshop CS3
About the author:
Born in Duesseldorf, Germany in 1956, Torsten Andreas Hoffmann is the
internationally renowned photographer and author of illustrated books on
New York, Paris, Rome, and the Himalayas.
Having spent his educational years studying art and majoring in photography, Hoffmann has dedicated most of his life to this craft. He is a teacher of workshops on composition and black and white photography, and shows his students how to find their own individual style.
Hoffmann specializes in the medium of black and white photography, as well as in the field of conceptual photography. His stunning photographs have been shown in numerous exhibitions in Germany and abroad, and have been published in many well-known magazines.
In addition to his many books, he regularly writes articles on picture design for the popular German magazine Photographie, and he is a regular contributor to LFI, the highly acclaimed international journal published by Leica.
Additional Resources:
For more information about the book and about Rocky Nook, see: www.rockynook.comThe Art of Black and White Photography: Techniques for Creating Superb
Images in a Digital Workflow
Torsten Andreas Hoffmann
Published by Rocky Nook
978-1-933952-27-7, 270 pages, $44.95 US, $49.95 CA
Hardcover
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
About Rocky Nook
Rocky Nook was founded in early 2006 in Santa Barbara, California, and we are closely associated with dpunkt.verlag, a leading publisher of books on technology based in Heidelberg, Germany. The focus of Rocky Nook's publications is on digital photography. However, other areas related to modern photography, such as imaging and computer technology, are also important to us. Our mission is to demystify the cutting-edge developments in digital photography, providing practical instruction to enhance the skills of amateur and professional photographers. Our books offer in-depth information on technological advances in the digital photography workflow. We strive to support the efficiency and creativity of our readers with the ultimate goal of fostering outstanding image quality.Rocky Nook’s books are distributed worldwide by O’Reilly Media.
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