Photography book publisher Rocky Nook recently released several new titles which join their now expansive library of topics. I checked out two of these new books, and in this article I review “Street Photography: The Art of Capturing the Candid Moment” by Gordon Lewis. In addition to the review, we are giving away two free copies of “Street Photography” to two lucky readers.
With the abundance of photography knowledge and material on the internet, one may believe that all of the things that they want to learn is a simple Google search away. I get the impression that Rocky Nook fully understands this, and so they have done a tremendous job at hitting back with books that bring solid information with focus, refinement, and completeness that is very rarely found on the web.
In Lewis’ “Street Photography,” the genre is tackled head-on with a wealth of well-rounded information. The 144-page book also leaves no one behind. So regardless of previous experience, anyone should be able to pick up this title and follow along without issue. Lewis very much focuses on the art and craft rather than the camera-specific technical aspects of street photography, which is how it should be.
Here is a look at the chapter list:
- The Allure of Street Photography
- Tools
- Techniques
- Locations and Events
- Styles of Street Photography
- What Makes a Great Street Photo?
From reading the chapter titles, it is easy to see that the book really does cover ground on most anything that one would question when looking to improve their street photography knowledge. The six chapters are further broken down into many subtopics. One thing that I realized while reading was that the book was giving me many ideas and answering questions that I never would have thought to ask the almighty Google. That’s either because they were in the form of a well-put, easy to grasp quote or because as someone who is a newbie at street photography, I hadn’t learned enough yet to know good questions to ask.
One of the most interesting chapters for me was Styles of Street Photography. In the very first sentence I was hit squarely in the face with, “One of the most common misperceptions about street photography is that is all looks alike.” That certainly sounds like something I’ve thought. Seeing street photography strewn about the Fstoppers Community Portfolios, on Flickr, 500px, Instagram, and so on… it all sort of blended together with a few exceptions. After reading through the chapter though, I feel like I have a better understanding of: a) what to look for to better interpret these images, and b) how to set myself up to create images that are part of the wonderful exceptions I’d sometimes see. As the longest chapter in the book, it is obvious that developing a personal style is absolutely key to shooting great street photography.
Throughout “Street Photography,” there are large, stunning photographs by Lewis that accompany the thought out text. On the surface, they pull duty of illustrating a book about street photography. Makes perfect sense. But, they also work together as a whole to clearly define what a personal style looks like. In contrast to Lewis’ images, there is a section of the book dedicated to displaying other street photographers’ work. Gained here is both seeing what a master street photographers’ images look like, and seeing how styles in interpreting a scene differ.
“Street Photography” is an easy read, but that’s not to say the concepts within are mundane. Lewis’ words are meaningful and succinct, using straightforward language that is clear and easy to understand. The book’s presentation is free of extraneous flair, and instead relies on its great information and photographic examples. Instead of purchasing pages of elaborate design, you are paying for the knowledge within the text. I’d recommend “Street Photography” to anyone who seeks to improve their craft. At the same time, if you enjoy teaching others about photography, Lewis’ words and select quotes make for a great way to get concepts (such as style) across to students that you may have a hard time explaining on your own.
Giveaway
I’ve been in touch with the awesome people over at Rocky Nook and they’ve graciously decided to give away two copies of Gordon Lewis’ “Street Photography” to two lucky Fstoppers readers!
How to enter:
- Register for an Fstoppers Community account if you haven’t already.
- Join the Fstoppers General Discussion Community Group.
- Leave a comment in the discussion Rocky Nook “Street Photography” Book Giveaway.
Rocky Nook is also giving Fstoppers readers a 40% discount on eBook versions of “Street Photography.” Simply add the eBook to your cart and then enter the code FSTOPPERS during checkout.
PURCHASE "STREET PHOTOGRAPHY: THE ART OF CAPTURING THE CANDID MOMENT"
