Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting

Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting



This highly respected text, now in paperback (and now also for Kindle), has been thoroughly updated and revised. It introduces a logical theory of photographic lighting --- one that teaches beginning photographers to predict results before setting up lights. This is not primarily a how-to book with only set examples for photographers to follow. Rather, Light: Science and Magic provides the reader with a comprehensive theory of the nature and principles of light to allow individual photographers to use lighting to express their own creativity. Numerous photographs and illustrations provide clear examples of the theories delineated within the text, while sidebars highlight special lighting questions.

Although styles of photographic lighting continue to change, Light: Science and Magic does not go out of fashion because it is not based on style; rather it is based on the behavior of light. These principles will not change until fundamental physics does.

*Now in paperback
*Highly respected text on lighting theory covering the principles, applications, and equipment for informed lighting decisions
*Sidebars highlight special lighting questions


Customer Review: Jam-Packed

This book is a terrific exposition about the science of light (in simple terms) and why it matters to photographers. It is so jam-packed with information I read it twice in one month! If you're looking for a book about the "best" films, cameras, lights, or other equipment, then don't buy this book. If, instead, you're looking for timeless book about lighting principles and how to handle difficult lighting situations, then this is the one for you.

Customer Review: The "handguide" to lighting well...

amazing users guide to the basic principles of how light falls upon subject matter. If you ever want to know how to create better images using better light, then start with this book.



the book is laid out in easy to understand chapters, image examples and lighting diagrams. I had no problems trying out many of the lighting scenarios discussed in the book.



Recommended, especially if you are studying photography in high school or college.

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Kindle, Photography, Light, Lighting

The Greatest Battle: Stalin, Hitler, and the Desperate Struggle for Moscow That Changed the Course of World War II

The Greatest Battle: Stalin, Hitler, and the Desperate Struggle for Moscow That Changed the Course of World War II


The battle for Moscow was the biggest battle of World War II -- the biggest battle of all time. And yet it is far less known than Stalingrad, which involved about half the number of troops. From the time Hitler launched his assault on Moscow on September 30, 1941, to April 20, 1942, seven million troops were engaged in this titanic struggle. The combined losses of both sides -- those killed, taken prisoner or severely wounded -- were 2.5 million, of which nearly 2 million were on the Soviet side. But the Soviet capital narrowly survived, and for the first time the German Blitzkrieg ended in failure.



This shattered Hitler's dream of a swift victory over the Soviet Union and radically changed the course of the war. The full story of this epic battle has never been told because it undermines the sanitized Soviet accounts of the war, which portray Stalin as a military genius and his people as heroically united against the German invader.



Stalin's blunders, incompetence and brutality made it possible for German troops to approach the outskirts of Moscow. This triggered panic in the city -- with looting, strikes and outbreaks of previously unimaginable violence. About half the city's population fled. But Hitler's blunders would soon loom even larger: sending his troops to attack the Soviet Union without winter uniforms, insisting on an immediate German reign of terror and refusing to heed his generals' pleas that he allow them to attack Moscow as quickly as possible. In the end, Hitler's mistakes trumped Stalin's mistakes.Drawing on recently declassified documents from Soviet archives, including files of the dreaded NKVD; on accounts of survivors and of children of top Soviet military and government officials; and on reports of Western diplomats and correspondents, The Greatest Battle finally illuminates the full story of a clash between two systems based on sheer terror and relentless slaughter.



Even as Moscow's fate hung in the balance, the United States and Britain were discovering how wily a partner Stalin would turn out to be in the fight against Hitler -- and how eager he was to push his demands for a postwar empire in Eastern Europe. In addition to chronicling the bloodshed, Andrew Nagorski takes the reader behind the scenes of the early negotiations between Hitler and Stalin, and then between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. This is a remarkable addition to the history of World War II.




Customer Review: Mildly satisfying

The Greatest Battle is well worthwhile if only to focus our eyes on a monumental event that strangely has received lesser attention in this country than the battles of Stalingrad or Leningrad. At the same time, the author over-reaches in attempting to cover the thinking and strategies of two arch antagonists, the order of battle of two great armies, and the collatoral political and social upheaval. It's good but not great--more of an extended article than a book. The result is a worthwhile read that also leaves one wanting greater depth, analysis and understanding.


Customer Review: Thoroughly Engrossing Account of an Epic Battle

Nagorski has done a remarkable job telling the story of a pivotal aspect of WWII that many of us know very little about. The book is thoroughly engrossing, drawing you into this epic battle through historical narrative, behind-the-scenes insights and fascinating first-hand accounts.

Personal remark: might help to remedy and dismiss the legend of D-Day as the main event in "liberating" Europe and defeating the Nazis...

Start 2008 with a good laugh: Buddy Buddy

Buddy Buddy
Customer Review: Really funny!!

This is one of my favorite Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau movies. It is up there with the Fortune Cookie and other great ones.



Sadly this movie was never released in DVD. It needs to be.



Walter has really acted brilliantly here as a crusty professional assassin who keeps getting fouled up by the incompetent suicide attempter (Jack Lemmon).


(((oh, and this is NOT for Kindle... *lol*)))

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (A Marketplace Book)

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (A Marketplace Book)




Few investors have made and lost fortunes to equal those of the legendary Jesse Livermore, a notorious stock market speculator during the first half of the 20th century. Enjoy this highly readable, entertaining chronicle of one of history's boldest speculators.



Written in 1923 by Edwin Lefevre, this work is cleverly written as a narrative biography. Independent-minded investors today will enjoy and even profit by Lefevre's shrewd, witty book. His observations of human behavior and market trends are as wise and accurate now as they were 75 years ago. There is nothing new on Wall Street, Livermore observes, "Whatever happens in the stock market today has happened before and will happen again.



yeah, well, 'nuff said... Or 'nuff sad?
No matter. Some insights into an ugly world... Worth a look.