The Art of WALL.E

By Tim Hauser 
 

Product Description

Pixar Animation Studios, the innovators behind Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Ratatouille, has again reinvented the genre with WALL E. When a robot searching for a connection finds EVE, a sleek female probe-droid from outer space, he embarks on an adventure-filled journey across the galaxy. Inspired by classic films, and a brave venture in its own right, WALL E is set to awe audiences this summer. The Art of WALL E includes more than 250 imaginative pieces of concept art, including storyboards, full-color pastels, digital and pencil sketches, character studies, color scripts, and more. The astute text—featuring quotes from the director, artists, animators, and production team—unearths the filmmakers’ historical inspirations and reveals a studio confidently pushing the limits of animation.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1401 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Tim Hauser has been a writer, creative executive, and producer in animation for over 20 years. He lives in Los Angeles.

Andrew Stanton is the director of WALL.E and Finding Nemo, and is the co-director of A Bug’s Life.

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Customer Reviews

Beautiful Book
If you like seeing the work that goes into making a movie, this is a great book to get.
Maybe not the best of Pixar’s “art of” books, in my opinion,
but it is full of wonderful sketches and paintings that led to the final film.

Great Art of Wall-E
If you take a look in this book, and actually carefully go through every page, you’ll see that Pixar puts an incredible amount of work and effort to make sure its animation looks ideal and stunning for every scene. The rough sketches and digital animation look amazing and the book explains many nuances in the whole making of the movie.

Missed opportunity
First of all let me say that my rating doesn’t have anything to do with Wall-e which is a great movie or Pixar which I love.

Here I’m rating this book only. Regrettably, I must say that “The Art of Wall-e” is a missed opportunity. It could have featured many more drawings about wall-e (the actual character) and its genesis. Out of its 160 pages this book manages to devote to the design of this robot and to drawings showing how wall-e “works” a mere 4 pages (pages 48-49 and 52-53).

Also, at page 102 we are told that “there were nine revisions of Eve” and yet, we are only shown that robot more or less as it appears in the movie instead of as a work in progress which would have been much more interesting and stimulating by giving the reader insight into the artists’ creative process.

Unlike the previous “Art of” books about Pixar movies, this one doesn’t really delve into the evolution of art direction or characters in a major way (except for the humans in the movie) as if what we see in the movie weren’t the result of several iterations (as it most definitely is).

In short, great art but much left to be desired.

David Busch’s Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography

[David D. Busch]

Product Description

Have you unpacked your new Nikon D300 digital SLR camera and want to get started right away taking professional quality pictures? David Busch’s Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography will show you how, when, and why to use all the cool features, controls, and functions of your camera to take great photographs of anything. After a brief introduction to the camera to help you get your bearings, you’ll dive right into all the exciting, innovative capabilities of the D300 including the focus controls, flash synchronization options, how to choose lenses, and which exposure modes are best. Beautiful, full-color images illustrate where the essential buttons and dials are, and you’ll find tips and techniques that can be applied to any type of photography to help you take better pictures with your new digital SLR. Whether you are new to digital SLR photography or an experienced pro, David Busch’s Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography will help you maximize your camera’s capabilities.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #603 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-15
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author
With more than a million books in print, David D. Busch is a best-selling author of books on digital photography and imaging technology, and the originator of popular series like David Busch’s Pro Secrets and David Busch’s Quick Snap Guides. He has written six hugely successful guidebooks for Nikon digital SLR models, and the most comprehensive manuals for dSLRs from Canon, Sony, and other vendors. His many other books devoted to digital photography include David Busch’s Digital Infrared Pro Secrets and Mastering Digital SLR Photography. As a roving photojournalist for more than 20 years, he has illustrated his books, magazine articles, and newspaper reports with award-winning images. Busch has operated his own commercial studio, suffocated in formal dress while shooting weddings-for-hire, and shot sports for a daily newspaper and upstate New York college. His photographs and articles have been published in magazines as diverse as PhotoGraphic, Popular Photography & Imaging, The Rangefinder, The Professional Photographer, and hundreds of other publications. He’s also reviewed digital cameras for CNet Networks and Computer Shopper.

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Customer Reviews

David Busch’s D300 Digital SLR Guide – excellent value
I bought this book when I bought my D300.

My background is that I have owned Nikon SLRs for over 30 years, the most recent being a F90 (N90 in the USA). The D300 is my first digital SLR – I have a Panasonic FZ5 digital point and shoot. So I am pretty familiar with the Nikon film system and SLRs but not digital.

The book is over 400 pages long, printed on good quality paper and with reasonable quality colour images throughout. It achieves what Mr Busch’s preface suggests : “… explains the purpose and function of every one of the D300’s controls, how you should use them in specific situations and why”.

It does not just rehash the manual and I found that having the manual alongside this book was useful in clarifying occasional points. The manual serves its purpose to describe the controls – Mr Busch adds a lot of meat to that skeleton in explaing how and why to use various features in real-world situations.

Some more advanced users may find some of the basic material a little low level but it only occupies a small portion of the book and is obviously very useful for beginners buying the D300.

In summary, I believe that the book does a great job in fulfilling its stated purpose. I certainly found it very useful. I’ve just finished reading it and I’ll start at the beginning again.

And it costs twenty bucks! If that isn’t good value, I don’t know what is.
(I have no connection with the author, publisher or seller).

Superb Resource for the Nikon D300
As a seasoned Nikon dSLR camera user (D70, D70s, D80, D100, D200, and the D300) and digital photograply/PC instructor, I constantly look for resources that will allow me and my students to maximize the potential of the current dSLR camera that we are using. There are so many features packed into the numerous, menus (6), buttons (23), switches (5) and dials (5) of the D300, it is difficult to learn the significance and proper use of these (by just reading the Users Manual). David Busch’s Nikon D300 Guide to Digital Photography is the most comprehensive resource (432 pages) that I have found in print. David not only introduces you to each feature but explains when and how to use them to maximize your photographic skills. This resource is more than resonably priced and at a price of $19.79 it should be considered a ‘steal’. If you really want to explore and master all the features embedded in Nikon’s D300 dSLR then this is the resource for you. You want be disappointed.

Joe R. Bumgardner, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Great book!
This book has been very helpful to me as an addition to the instruction manual with the camera. It is more comprehensive and much easier to understand. I am still working on learning about the camera but definitely would recommend the book to people like me who are not experienced photographers.

Stone by Design: The Artistry of Lew French

[Lew French]

Product Description

More than 125 gorgeous photographs showcase the beauty of award-winning stonemason Lew French’s work in eight different homes, illustrating how rounded fieldstone, gray slate, rough granite, and even curvy driftwood can be incorporated into stunning pieces of functional art.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-08
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

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Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap
When Lew French made his first stone fireplace at age nineteen, he didn’t expect to feel so drawn to the simple material. Twenty-eight years and countless projects later, he still feels awed by the presence stone has in a well-designed setting, whether it’s an artfully rendered remodel of a writer’s stone studio, a playful fireplace, or a carefully crafted garden pathway. This first collection of French’s work, filled with artistic inspiration for your own home or landscape, is a study in contrast: contemporary hearths of rustic slate, sculptured walls of both great granite slabs and stacked, rounded fieldstones. More than 130 gorgeous photographs by Alison Shaw illustrate the beauty of French’s pieces and invite you to see how rounded fieldstone, grey slate, rough granite, and even curvy driftwood, are incorporated into stunning pieces of functional art. Throughout, French narrates the charming stories behind the projects: how an idea came to be; how a stone-splitting technique is executed; even how one of his most difficult pieces, a three-year-long project, was saved from ruin just in the nick of time, the day it was completed. Stone by Design is the perfect inspiration for anyone interested in adding the beauty of stone to their own home or landscape. Lew French was born in a small farming town in southern Minnesota, called Zumbrota. He started to work with stone when he had a small construction crew right out of high school and built one or two houses a year. He moved to Martha’s Vineyard twenty years ago, and has since worked on his own stone designs exclusively. His work has been featured in many publications, including The New York Times and House Beautiful. French was also featured as a Modern Master on the premier season of “Modern Masters” in the House and Garden Network. French lives with his two sons, Asa and Truman. Alison Shaw is a fine-art and editorial photographer who lives and works on Martha’s Vineyard, which has provided the inspiration and subject matter for much of her color and black-and-white photography. Over 5000 of her original fine art prints are in public and private collections. Alison’s work appears regularly in Yankee Magazine, Martha’s Vineyard Magazine and Cape Cod Life. She teaches photography workshops for the Maine Photographic Workshops and Santa Fe Workshops. Alison lives with her family in Oak Bluffs.

About the Author
Alison Shaw is a fine-art and editorial photographer who lives and works on Martha’s Vineyard, which has provided the inspiration and subject matter for much of her color and black-and-white photography. Over 5000 of her original fine art prints are in public and private collections. Alison’s work appears regularly in Yankee Magazine, Martha’s Vineyard Magazine and Cape Cod Life.

Lew French was born in a small farming town in southern Minnesota, called Zumbrota. He started to work with stone when he was nineteen years old. He had a small construction crew right out of high school and built one or two houses a year. This is when he started to explore with stone. He moved to Martha’s Vineyard twenty years ago, and for the past twenty years has worked on his own stone designs exclusively. His work has been featured in the New York Times and House Beautiful.

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Customer Reviews

Shows stonework can be true art.
This book is 5 stars all the way. Lew French shows his masterful stonework in the many photos this book provides. If you are interested in what can be done in stone and how stone can be used to create a “WOW FACTOR”, this book is made to order.
Every other page has photos that are “WOW”.
Is you love stone you need to see this book.

Stone By Design
Caught a TV article on Lew French – CBS Sunday Morning. What a fabulous
artist! I bought the book based on the show. The book was not as good
but not bad. It’s still very interesting stuff with some beautiful photography.

True Beauty
This book is pure pleasure. The artfulness in creating the spaces we live in with stone in pattern, an organic extension of this earth. This is not a ‘paint by numbers’ how-to book, rather, like looking at a
Rembrandt, ultimate examples of stone taken to true art.

Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)

[Bryan Peterson]

 Product Description

For serious amateur photographers who already shoot perfectly focused, accurately exposed images but want to be more creative with a camera, here’s the book to consult. More than seventy techniques, both popular and less-familiar approaches, are covered in detail, including advanced exposure, bounced flash and candlelight, infrared, multiple images, soft-focus effects, unusual vantage points, zooming, and other carefully chosen ways to enhance photographs. The A-Z format make sit easy for readers to find a specific technique, and each one is explained in jargon-free language. Top Tips for each technique help readers achieve superb results, even on the first attempt.

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 Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #131 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

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Customer Reviews

The confidence to switch to M
What a great book! This guide gave me the confidence to switch off of Auto and really put my camera through the paces. Great insight, pretty easy explanations, and beautiful pictures.

My only 2 negatives, and neither were promised, so they don’t count against the rating:
1. Written (even in the revised version) heavily leaning to film photographers. Not to say there isn’t a lot of commentary on pros and cons of digital, and some specific advice pertaining to them, but you’d be even happier with the book if you were shooting on a 20-year-old Nikon.
2. No commentary or advice on the use of flash. Not expecting a comprehensive guide (because there can be a lot to it), but some basic pointers would have been good.

Overall, well worth the time and money.
Off to shoot…

Puts the how to of photography into plain words
I’m glad this is the first “how to” book on photography that I purchased. It provides in clear words the effect your shutter speed and aperture have on obtaining the correct exposure. It also explains in an easy to understand manner why a photographer would occasionally want to go with different settings for a more creative exposure. Also it has great photos to help explain how the different settings will help you obtain similar types of work. I would highly recommend this book as a good starting point for beginning photographers. It should provide a good basic understanding of how cameras work before moving on to more advanced books.

Great Book
This is a great book and a must read, at least for the beginning photographer. It definitely helped me in taking better exposures.

2 thumps up

Oscar

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2

[Scott Kelby]

Product Description

Scott Kelby, author of the groundbreaking bestseller “The Digital Photography Book, Vol. 1” is back with an entirely new book that picks up right where Vol. 1 left off. It’s more of that “Ah ha—so that’s how they do it,” straight-to-the-point, skip the techno jargon; packed with stuff you can really use today, that made Vol. 1 the world’s bestselling book on digital photography.

In Volume 2, Scott adds entirely new chapters packed with Plain English tips on using flash, shooting close up photography, travel photography, shooting people, and even how to build a studio from scratch, where he demystifies the process so anyone can start taking pro-quality portraits today! Plus, he’s got full chapters on his most requested topics, including loads of tips for landscape photographers, wedding photographers, and there’s an entire chapter devoted to sharing some of the pro’s secrets for making your photos look more professional, no matter what you’re shooting.

This book truly has a brilliant premise, and here’s how Scott describes it: “If you and I were out on a shoot, and you asked me, ‘When I use my flash, the background behind the person I’m shooting turns black. How do I fix that?’ I wouldn’t give you a lecture on flash ratios, or start a discussion on flash synchronization and rear curtain sync. I’d just say “Lower your shutter speed to 1/60 of a second. That should do it” Well, that’s what this book is all about: you and I out shooting where I answer questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I’ve learned just like I would with a friend—without all the technical explanations and techie photo speak.”

Each page covers a single concept on how to make your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you’ll learn another pro setting, tool, or trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. If you’re tired of taking shots that look “okay,” and if you’re tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, “Why don’t my shots look like that?” then this is the book for you.

This isn’t a book of theory—full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts. This is a book on which button to push, which setting to use, and when to use it. With nearly another 200 of the most closely guarded photographic “tricks of the trade,” this book gets you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos every time.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #149 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-05
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Scott Kelby is President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and Editor-in-Chief of both Photoshop User and Layers magazines. Scott serves as training director for the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour and is the technical chair of the largest Photoshop gathering in the industry, Photoshop World. He has written numerous best-selling creative technology books.

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Customer Reviews

Lots of great tips
Ever wanted to sit down with a great photographer and and ask a bunch of questions, about how they got those great shots? That is exactly what this book is. It a conversation about how to get those perfect shots. He discusses various techniques, and equipments, giving you the pros and cons of the different options.

Be ready to go take some pictures! These are practical, hands on tips that you need to practice and learn to apply. There is very little theory here, it’s one page one technique, next page something different. Something like an apprenticeship, get this, do that, don’t ask why, it’s not important. Here is how you do this technique.

Well worth the money for a someone who understands how the camera works and wants to learn how to make different types of shots “LIKE A PRO”.

the digital photography- great
this is a great book for beginners. Straight to the point and with some good tips. The humor wasn’t too much and it was like getting advice from a buddy. I recommend it for amateurs. More advance shooters should look elsewhere but you never know there might be a little trick in there for you too.

For Novice, Amatuer, or Professional Photographer alike
I really like the presentation and layout of this book! I’ve got other books by Scott Kelby and I like them as well. I know some people have knocked his attempts at adding humor to the publications. Overall, the information is definitely useful and worthwhile. I bought two copies of this book. I gave one to a friend in Ireland who does wedding photography. He thought that it was brilliant! He’s a very talented photographer but was still fascinated with the contents of the book. My point is that beginner to advanced can learn something that they previously did not know. Highly recommended.

The Digital Photography Book

[Scott Kelby]

 

Product Description

Scott Kelby, the man who changed the “digital darkroom” forever with his groundbreaking, #1 bestselling, award-winning book The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers, now tackles the most important side of digital photography–how to take pro-quality shots using the same tricks today’s top digital pros use (and it’s easier than you’d think).

This entire book is written with a brilliant premise, and here’s how Scott describes it: “If you and I were out on a shoot, and you asked me, ‘Hey, how do I get this flower to be in focus, but I want the background out of focus?’ I wouldn’t stand there and give you a lecture about aperture, exposure, and depth of field. In real life, I’d just say, ‘Get out your telephoto lens, set your f/stop to f/2.8, focus on the flower, and fire away.’ You d say, ‘OK,’ and you’d get the shot. That’s what this book is all about. A book of you and I shooting, and I answer the questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I’ve learned just like I would with a friend, without all the technical explanations and without all the techno-photo-speak.”

This isn’t a book of theory—it isn’t full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts: this is a book of which button to push, which setting to use, when to use them, and nearly two hundred of the most closely guarded photographic “tricks of the trade” to get you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos with your digital camera every time you press the shutter button.

Here’s another thing that makes this book different: each page covers just one trick, just one single concept that makes your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you’ll learn another pro setting, another pro tool, another pro trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. There’s never been a book like it, and if you’re tired of taking shots that look “OK,” and if you’re tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, “Why don’t my shots look like that?” then this is the book for you.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-02
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Scott Kelby is President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and Editor-in-Chief of both Photoshop User and Layers magazines. Scott serves as training director for the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour and is the technical chair of the largest Photoshop gathering in the industry, Photoshop World. He has written numerous best-selling creative technology books.

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Customer Reviews

Can this book help you take better photos? Yes!
I bought this book after purchasing my camera, but didn’t review it closely enough.
When I had a specific need to get some good shots, I went back to this book and studied it closely.

The learning and depth really occurs with the explanation of the manual settings on most popular brands.
Namely, White balance, ISO (film speed), shutter speeds, F stops and Burst mode, for quick sequential shots.

Understanding these settings, and practicing with your camera, will improve your photographs. You can then return to the book, for a better understanding of the tips.

Many times, I’m trying to recapture exactly what my eyes are seeing at the moment not end up with something that is starkly lit by a “flash bulb”. These settings, with the help of the book will give you a good understanding (or at least a lot of practice will) of how to capture the moment.
I never realized how much better shots can be without the flash. Users really need to try to force themselves away from the “auto” setting on their camera, except for the MOST basic shots.

With storage space so cheap, it’s so much easier than the days of film and film processing to get the practice you need.

The downside of the book is that it tries to cover almost too much info. (lenses, filters, kids & old people) I think some of this could have been left out, and focus around manual settings could have been covered in better depth.

I think the book is a very good starting point, and should also be used as an ongoing reference until you are comfortable with your brand of camera and its settings.

Go with a book the author recommends
After reading the reviews here on Amazon I have to say I was highly disappointed in this book. Instead I would recommend Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition) which the author of this book recommends himself.

This book is full of lame jokes about shoving other photographers down and breaking their equipment to “get the best shot.” There is no clear explanation of how shutter speed and aperture work together to give you the proper exposure. If any of my family or friends asked me if I thought this was a good book on photography, I would tell them to avoid it at all costs.

Great book if you wnat to improve your photography
This is a great book if you want to improve your photography. To move to the next level of photography, you need to read this book. Scott is witty and this book shows you different ways to really great shots. K. Frank