770: Japan

When someone asks "How do I improve my photography?" the answer that is surely soon to follow is to "Shoot, shoot, shoot." While that may be true, I think that looking at photographs is equally valuable in enhancing one's craft.

Just as there is so much misinformation on the internet, you must also be discriminating in the photos you look at and try to learn from. Especially when browsing galleries and yes, photoblogs. At least in print form, there is some kind of editing process, that what you see in books and magazines have gone through some critical sifting.

I thought I would start a series of posts highlighting any new or favorite books in my modest and evolving photography book library. Not really meant to be reviews, but rather a few lines about why it is in my modest collection. Not recommendations by all means. We all have our own tastes. Just books that I enjoy.

770? In case you haven't figured it out yet, that's the Dewey Decimal Classification number for Photography and Photographs. I figure that in the future, it would similarly help search for these blog entries.






Possibly the most beautiful book of photos I have ever seen. Enough said. The printing is exquisite. The binding, and even the folio, are first-rate.

The photos I take are mostly of people. But I think there is something to be said about turning away from society and focusing on the beauty of nature.

Not AA's grand vistas. More simple. Moody. Serene. Not an epic. More a haiku.