Book Advice Please

I am begging to feel that my skills have stalled a bit, and to that end I need some new reading material that will provide advice and inspiration.So I wondered what books do people feel have had the greatest impact on their photography and why?

I currently have two books by Michael Friedman on exposure and composition.

Graham

Join a Camera Club

There are some websites I enjoy browsing through, sometimes just to admire but sometimes for inspiration:

http://www.earthshots.org/

http://1x.com/

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/

http://www.framenotincluded.com/

Do an evening class A level or vocational. They'll be enroling in a few months (signifying the end of Summer ) They will have a library full of books.

Also you can enrol as a external member of your local university library. They will have more books than you can shake a stick at. Cost about £25 ish

books:
Genius of Photography, book and DVD of the series too.
The book is not a direct lift of the series. It is more companion.

Image Makers, Image Takers,
Irving Penn, Still Life,
Masters of Photography: Paul Strand,
William Eggleston's Guide,
The Decisive Moment, Cartier-Bresson,

The Photographer's Gallery London has a great book shop. They do mail order I think. The yearly Borse prize is a good show and each catalogue will have four significant contemporary photographers. So get a few of these either from the gallery or from ebay for past years and you'll have some pretty well filtered broad inspiration to browse.

I thought that John Shaw's nature photography field guide was really helpful. Although it is entitled as 'nature/wildlife photography' it is pretty much relevant to any kind of photography and deals in a logical way with the building blocks (as he sees them) of photography...

It's available on amazon:
link

I found it helpful in any case

Regards

My bible has been the Photographers Handbook by John Hedgecoe, I bought my first copy back in the 1970`s and it was always full of inspiration and advice. O.k a large proportion of it deals with film but There is still plenty that is relavent in todays Digital age. (Only the Media has changed not Photography itself!) You can pick up a copy for under £3 online if you shop around.


Regards - Pete

Thanks for all the comments and if you have more to say keep them coming.

Don't think I'm read to come out of the shadows yet, far too many Hasselblads lurking around my neck of the woods.

Thanks Tim, I have booked them for future reference, some great sites.

Now I'm like a kid in a sweet shop, a great list of books, I can feel my bank balance draining away as I type.

I have been pondering the OCA course the more flexible hours appeal, has anybody done this course?

I did try the gallery book shop online , you cannot brows the stock only search which is a bit hard when you don't know what you are looking for, I must pop in next time I go down to the big city though it sounds interesting.

I will look into this one tonight, along with Doug's list, thanks

Thanks Pete, I may just have to take this growing list up to the photography book shop in Edinburgh this weekend, so many books so little time

Does it have to be a book Graham?

In my youth I got a lot of inspiration from Penthouse Magazine

Seriously though, have you thought about searching the charity shops, most of the books will be well out of date with regards to film V digial but the techniques and inspiration will still be valid. You just have to imaging the models without the big hair or ignore the Hillman Hunters parked in street images

I dont buy technique books now (I know it all:roll but anything which is a portfolio of someones work may get a second look.

+1

The only book on photography you'll ever need IMO.

Seconded. Even his older editions are valuable.

Well the new Photographer's Handbook by John Hedgecoe is on its way and I think some of the others will be following sharply behind it. I was sad to see that John Hedgecoe past away recently link

Thinking about this, and unfashionable as it is, the 17 volume Time Life set on photography is still worth reading through. It covers a lot of timeless material and could still provide a lot of inspiration. The out of date stuff you could skim.

I suspect this is the sort of thing you would find expensive postage-wise on eBay, but probably quite cheap in second hand book stores.

Try and get the original larger format books rather than the resissued compact ones.

Thanks John, I will keep an eye out for them. We have a very large and quite well know second hand book shop that fills the old railway station in Alnwick called Barter Books, well worth a visit if your in the area.

Graham

I know Barter Books well and always make time to have a long browse when I'm in the area.

They do have an inflated view of some prices, but that's probably because I'm looking to buy things that lots of other people might like as well. Supply and demand...we all want to get good prices for our rare items!