Fstoppers Reviews Rocky Nook's 'The Art, Science, and Craft of Great Landscape Photography' Plus Free Book Giveaway

As mentioned in my previous article reviewing “Street Photography: The Art of Capturing the Candid Moment” by Gordon Lewis, the digital photography book publisher Rocky Nook has recently released some new titles that I was eager to check out. In this article, I take a look at “The Art, Science, and Craft of Great Landscape Photography” by Glenn Randall which offers an interesting take on the classic genre. In addition to the review, we are giving away two copies of this book to two lucky Fstoppers readers.

From the title alone, I was very excited to check out this publication. My expectation of this 240-page book was for it to essentially be a filtered science textbook. It would contain the relevant scientific information and explanations behind the natural world that could be directly applied to any landscape shooter’s current abilities. I also expected to find language that was more direct rather than musings of how “art is 100 percent subjective so good luck out there.” I’m happy to report that the author, Randall, matched and exceeded these expectations. The book covers so many topics that I haven’t seen much talk about even though I read about landscape photography almost every day. If you’re like me and just the title of the book caught your attention, you’re going to end up loving this one.

Take a look at the chapter list for “The Art, Science, and Craft of Great Landscape Photography”:

1. Landscape Photography Looks So Easy
2. In Search of Extraordinary Landscapes
3. Visualization
4. The Art of Science of Light
5. The Art and Science of Composing Compelling Images
6. The Perfect Exposure
7. Digital Capture and Processing of High-Contrast Scenes
8. Take a Walk on the Wide Side
9. The Landscape at Night
10. The Psychology of the Compelling Landscape

A big thing I appreciate about Randall’s book is its familiarity by touching on big photographic topics such as composition, mood, and style, all while bringing a new angle to these discussions. If you’ve read at least a couple other photography textbooks, you understand that there is a general formula in how they are laid out. I found “Great Landscape Photography” respects the formula to make it simple for the reader to follow, but still heads down paths at lengths uncommonly found in other photography materials.

For example, you’ll find information about photographing rainbows in this textbook which is completely fitting and normal for a science-y landscape photography book. But at the same time, this book has eleven pages that talk about photographing rainbows. It dives deeper into topics that comprehensive photography books generally don’t match. Personally, I love it. The subchapters in this book cover what something is, how it is, and why it is. I’d be blown away if you read this book and don’t learn anything either on the science end or the photography end of landscape photography.

Alongside the eye-opening teachings come Randall’s gorgeous landscape photography. Not only are the images in this book vibrant and beautiful, they match up very well with the chapter’s discussion at hand. Many times throughout the text, Randall refers to these images placed on the adjoining pages in order to better teach what he is spelling out. For a big time visual learner such as myself, I found the provided example photographs and diagrams usually very helpful to illustrate the points he makes in writing.

“The Art, Science, and Craft of Great Landscape Photography” is a genuinely unique book that I encourage the landscape community to look into. If you appreciate the craft of landscape photography anything past snapshots on a family road trip out west, I guarantee you’ll find something of interest in this book. If you consider yourself a serious landscape photographer, you pretty much have to find yourself a copy.

Giveaway

Along with the other giveaway that is running for “Street Photography” by Gordon Lewis, we will also be giving away two copies of “The Art, Science, and Craft of Great Landscape Photography” by Glenn Randall as well.

Here’s how to enter:

1. Sign up for an Fstoppers Community account if you haven’t already.
2. Join the Landscape and Nature Photography Community Group.
3. Leave a comment in the discussion Rocky Nook “The Art, Science, and Craft of Great Landscape Photography” Book Giveaway.

Rocky Nook is also giving Fstoppers readers a 40% discount on eBook versions of “The Art, Science, and Craft of Great Landscape Photography” by Glenn Randall and the previously reviewed “Street Photography” by Gordon Lewis. Simply add “Great Landscape Photography” and/or “Street Photography” to your cart and then enter the code FSTOPPERS during checkout.

PURCHASE “THE ART, SCIENCE, AND CRAFT OF GREAT LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY“