I especially appreciate his very tactical advice on how to start the process - what picture to use first, how to setup a sequence that conveys a mood and character to the story line.
I really liked how he used real examples (his daughter) which helped take this practical book out of the theoretical and into the real world of dealing with images.
My girlfriends father relies on me for technical support for his camera (which we got him for Christmas). So for Fathers Day we bought him his own copy of Dane's book - and a copy of Microsoft's Digital Image Suite software.
He is loving both!
mark sylvester
I believe this book will have a lasting impact on the world of photography because it helps the reader capture better pictures, streamline the tedious parts of digital photography, and how to tell effective digital stories with photos. Stories and memories, isn't that's why we take photos anyway?
It's also a beautifully designed book that I'll keep just for the design even after I've absorbed all the content.
Dane covers a multitude of options available for the digital photographer, and covers various methods, programs, and techniques for sharing, managing, and tweaking images. The clarity and simplicity with which the book delivers this information is refreshing. He delivers clear descriptions of the mythology and uses personal family experiences as examples. These personal stories form the heart of the book and make the concepts easy to understand. Each chapter continuously serves up an honest and straightforward delivery that helps create a solid perspective on the different techniques.
Access to website links allow you to experience the solutions and further demonstrate the possibilities. He uses "easy to follow" language, plenty of photo examples, and well laid out graphics in various combinations to effectively communicate the essential message in each lesson while encouraging you to dive in along the way. This book has changed my paradigm concerning digital images where they no longer sit idly in my hard disk! Happy story telling...
I feel the addition of a CD with examples and demos of the software programs would have made the experience even more enjoyable.
This simple and lovely book is not about how to use my new sophisticated digital camera (I will have to study the manual) but has encouraged me to free my amateur photographer mind from concepts carved there like "don't shoot until you are pretty sure the scene is good enough and that film is not wasted". It didn't teach me either how to download the photos to my Mac but certainly has broaden my world and taught me creative ways of sharing my good memories with my Spanish family.
The photos are really nice and support very well all the concepts. The language is clear and so are the explanations even if I doubt I will use the Microsoft products mentioned in the book. I am sure I will be able to "replicate" them with my Mac. To cut a long story short: as the proverb says "it hasn't give me the fish but has given me the knowledge to catch fish by myself".
