If you need a break from the overly technical photography articles that seem to have taken over the Internet, look no further than “More Than a Rock: Essays on Art, Creativity, Photography, Nature, and Life” by Guy Tal. This brilliant 256-page book is filled with topics that can both enlighten your artistic mind as well as challenge your views on the craft of photography, and I could not recommend it more.
I was first acquainted with Tal’s writing through his “Creative Thinking” essays published in LensWork, to me the finest printed photography magazine available. Instead of a single essay however, in “More Than a Rock” we get to see a constant stream of his thoughts as an artist working in photography. This creates a perfect pick up, put down summer book since there are so many subjects covered — 69 to be exact — that span only a few pages. Between the written essays are Tal’s beautiful photographic works of nature and landscapes. Do not feel like if you aren’t a nature and landscape photographer that this book isn’t for you, however. If you consider what you create when you pick up a camera to be art, then you will appreciate this book.
The joy for me in reading this book was that many essays would cover topics I hadn’t considered before. There would be times that I disagreed with Tal’s viewpoints, but this only made me value the book more because it helped clarify my own thoughts on the creative process.
"More Than a Rock" book cover
If you would like to get the feel for Tal’s writing, I suggest taking a look at his blog where you will find many topics to peruse.
“More Than a Rock” by Guy Tal is published by Rocky Nook and is available now through their online bookstore. The soft-cover, 7x9-inch print version costs $39.95, or the eBook goes for $31.99.
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Guy Tal is very thoughtful and provocative in his hard-wrought experience, insights, and communication ...
... too bad the ebook version is so expensive, since copies costs nothing-- marketing savvy has always been the bane of a photographer's existence.
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