Photographing Flowers: Exploring Macro Worlds with Harold Davis

It a great book but some quality control would have been nice. The entire book is assembled upside down and backwards. I will have to do what a previous reviewer said and flip it and put in new binder. Disappointing.

I got this to pick up some pointers on shooting one of my favorite photography subjects, flowers. I didn't expect to be greated by some amazing photos of flowers by the author. Of course I had read the reviews here praising the photographs in this book but was expecting the usual mundaine flower shots I see everywhere. But in fact, I was blown away by the amazingly gorgeous and sophisticated photos and rich colors.The author uses a few techniques continuously, from the obvious one of wrapping the blooms in black velvet to using bouquets in vases on a lightbox to get translucent shots through the petals. But the reason I wanted this book was to find out what lenses he uses and some of the tricks with Photoshop he uses, particulary how he uses layers to create some beautiful and technically masterful compositions.This book is really beautifully printed and it's a high quality coffee table book that combines gorgeous photos with all the technical specifications. Unfortunately lots of details are left out and many shots only tell the lens, f-stop and exposure used. But then it's up to each photographer to experiment on his or her own to learn what works best.I took an adult education course in Photoshop and there were no less than five courses in it that gradually advance in difficulty, so Photoshop is a skill in itself to learn and this book can't teach all there is to know about how to manipulate photos. You could almost earn a degree just in Photoshop, there is so much to learn and know about it. For any serious photography student, it's something that really can't be ignored. At some point one needs to bite the bullet and learn it, if possible in a classroom setting.What I found particularly interesting is that the author included the histograms of each photograph he displays. If you are familiar with Photoshop you will know that by manipulating the histogram of a photo you can change it's look.I'm not sure how much practical information I will learn from this book as far as learning how to shoot beautiful flower shots. Mostly, this book will serve as inspiration to get out there and start taking lots of flower photos. My method is haphazard and involves simply taking as many photos as possible, hundreds in a shoot, of various settings and lighting moods, and seeing what turns up when I get home and look at them. This book will help me plan my shots out and be more disciplined in developing my techniques. I can see by looking at these photos that the extra work involved may pay off beautifully.Here are some of the more educational chapter titles:Making Flower PhotosPlanningChoosing a lensMacro LensesA Compariosn of Macro LensesGadgets and Gee-GawsUsing an Exposure HistogramExposure and FlowersDetermining the Right ExposureWorking with Aperture and Depth of FiedlFocus and SharpnessCompositionUnderstanding LightNatural LightUsing Macro FlashFlowers in the StudioFlowers in the Digital DarkroomFocus StackingEnhancing Colors iwth LABGeorgia O'Keeffe FlowersGo van GoghPost-ImpressionismFlowers in Black & WhitePhotographing on White for TransparanceyPhotographing Flowers On BlackCreating a Background for FlowersBeyond the Flowers We KnowNotes & RespircesBotanical TermsPhotographic Terms

Please note, this review is only about the product appearance, as it was purchased as a gift. This negative review is NOT related to content.Purchased a “New” softcover copy of this title, and upon first glance, it looks used, and not even gently used. It’s difficult to take representative images of the condition (I’m not a photographer ;)), but the glossy cover is scratched, bent, and mottled-looking.Pages within the book are folded over, with hard pressed creases, some of which look dog-eared. Although labeled “New Item” on the back, I find that questionable.I expected much more in terms of print quality of these beautiful images, especially since the content is all about photography, but it was printed with incredibly thin paper that is allows for text to be viewable on the backside of the pages.If I had time, I’d return it, but since it is a gift that arrived with limited time to spare, I’ll be sharing it with apologies.Such a shame! Would have been a gorgeous (and informative) book if printed on heavier-weight paper and a better printer!

Photographing Flowers by Harold Davis is an interesting and informative book, with stunning flower shots both macro and closeup. I even learned about my own macro and closeup flower shots and how they register on histograms, which was a huge help, and the art of selective focus.My only real gripe is on page 74, where he lists a "comparison" of macro lenses. He covers Nikon, Canon, Sigma, Zeiss, Pentax (!) et al, but neglects including the outstanding macro optics made by Olympus/Zuiko. To do so does a disservice to some of the finest, most detailed, perfectly-engineered macro lenses ever made, like the OM system 90mm F2 macro and the ZD 50mm (100mm efl) F2 macro, both of which I have either used or still use extensively. Maybe Mr. Davis does not know of the micro/macro optic legacy of Olympus, as their glass have graced microscopes and endoscopes and other scientific and medical equipment for nearly a century. C'mon now, you include Sigma but NOT Olympus?So please, Mr. Davis, in a later edition I think you could find the space in that table to include a couple of the Zuiko marco masterpieces, especially the older ones that have been given new life with the plethora of adapters available in most formats. Also, there are some Leica macros that deserve attention as well. Please strive for some balance, or just take the table out and insert something more useful and beautiful.

Upside down and backwards. The cover was upside down. The pages are backwards. I liked it anyway. I’ll keep it and trim off the spine and put it in another binder.

The authors enthusiasm for flower photography shines though. I originally bought this book to seek advice regarding light box usage, layering and how Photoshop is involved in such attractive images.I was slightly surprised initially by the botanical bias in the initial text, but in retrospect I definitely think this helped my understanding of how to develop my interest in this area.The last part of the book gives good information on how the digital darkroom is involved.A worthwhile buy!

I like Harold Davis but this book was a disappointment. It's not cheap but I expected something more substantial. One third of the book is nothing but botany lessons. One of the interesting aspects - "Creating the Illusion of Transparency" is so vague as to be pretty well useless. It's almost as if the author didn't quite want to let you in to his secrets.

Great photos and some interesting ideas. But IMHO spends way too much time enthusing about flowers and not enough time discussing technical approaches to photographing them. So overall it was interesting if a little disappointing as a resource to improve my flower photography.

This man is an absolute genius. The book covers pretty much everything you think you need to know plus a lot you didn't realise you needed all in reasonable detail. What is not covered in detail is some of the processing techniques but Harold Davis covers many of these in his other books. There are excellent sections on the use of LAB colour and blending which can introduce a whole new aspect to floral photography.This book is a must for anyone interested in either macro or floral photography.

An excellent guide to making painterly photographs of flowers. Several techniques are well explained and the effects are amazing. Not your usual macro photography book but more of an art lesson with your camera. A very good book.