Now that the Xmas mayhem has subsided and the new socks, DVD's and Aftershave / Perfume are sitting neatly in the cupboard, you might be on the prowl for something to inspire you photographically in the new year? Well here's two great ebooks from a couple of top guys that will do just that?
Patrick LaRoque and David Cleland (also known as Flixelpix) are both Fujifilm X-Photographers and gifted lensmen. They are also very generous when it comes to sharing their knowledge about photography. So for less than the price of a DVD, you can kick back with your favourite tablet or laptop and treat your eyes and mind to some great photography and knowledge. I'll start with Patricks as his was released first. Disclaimer: I'm friends with both of these guys. I shot the Freedom Through Photography campaign for Fujifilm UK and Millican Bags with David (and Andrew James) and Patrick is a friend and colleague from The Kage Collective. That said, I wouldn't write a blog post about these ebooks if I didn't feel they would be a great resource for the readers of this blog.
Patrick sent me a copy of his ebook a couple of weeks before it went on sale (for some feedback), and although I know his style pretty well, I was really excited to see 1EYE Roaming open up on my iPad. I love the minimalist look of the layout and the way Patrick lets both the photographs and the words breathe. If you're not a reader of Patrick La Roque's blog, you really are missing out. You'll never find a better match of great photography and well crafted words. 1EYE Roaming is all about Patricks trip to France and is split into two with the first part dedicated to the photos and the second to Case Studies. Each section of the first part has a page of text followed by all the photos from that area or subject (Paris, Trains, Port Leucate etc). The photos are given either a full page or almost a full page (Landscape) to themselves. Case Studies take up the second half and are a gold-mine of information on how Patrick sees and edits his photos.
This is David's second ebook. His first was the brilliant Long Exposure and if you haven't read it, David has a discounted price on his website if you buy both his ebooks. This latest offering is called Shooting Shallow and as the name suggests, is all about the art of shallow depth of field, wide open apertures and how to get that beautiful Bokeh (the creamy out of focus part of a photo). David has written an ebook that will be interesting to any photographer, but for the beginner this is an absolute must. Getting that shallow depth of field look is a big mystery to a lot of people that have just started taking pictures with a DSLR or Mirrorless camera. This ebook is packed full of information that strips away the big mystery for the newbee photographer, but still very interesting to the more advanced.
Both of these works are the kind of books that you can go back to again and again and I recommend keeping them on your favorite reader. Both Patrick and David have done a stellar job! Lets hope they do more.