Ratnesh's Photography Blog

Simplicity and Grandeur


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Name: Ratnesh Sexana
Location: San Francisco



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Thursday, December 25, 2008

John Szarkowski: Photographs

John Szarkowski: Photographs
John Szarkowski: Photographs (Hardcover)
click image for info @Amazon.com


According to Publishers Weekly
Szarkowski was director of photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art for 29 years, and soon he will be returning to it, this time as the subject of a retrospective exhibition traveling across the country. This book collects the exhibit's photographs as well as snippets from his correspondence, a chronology of his career up to this point and a critical biographic essay by Phillips, senior photography curator for San Francisco's MoMA. Before going to New York in 1962, Szarkowski was well known for two books, one on the architect Louis Sullivan (The Idea of Louis Sullivan) and one celebrating Minnesota's statehood centennial (The Face of Minnesota). Numerous images from those efforts are included here, and they stand the test of time, particularly the sweeping Minnesota prairie landscapes where the stripes of grass, hills and sky pile up to resemble stratified rock. During Szarkowski's years at New York's MoMA, he presided over many shows for photographers whose names are now more familiar than his, limiting his own ability to work; only two photos from that period, both of apple trees on his farm, appear here. Much of his post-MoMA work is of trees and barns, and though some of the images are arresting, few match the grandeur of his early output. The accompanying letters provide an intimate sense of his career development as well as his sense of humor and personal grace. In one, he writes, "Being alive is getting to be such an unexplainably enjoyable thing." This zest for existence is evident in the elegant photographs collected here. 84 tritone photos.

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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Photojournalist Reza Deghati War + Peace

Reza Deghati Montage


According to Wikipedia
Reza Deghati was born in Tabriz, Iran. He studied Architecture at University of Teheran. A French citizen, today Reza is a renowned photojournalist highly regarded, world-wide. Published by the most prestigious International magazines, he travels the globe from the Bosphorus to the Great Wall of China, from Lebanon to Afghanistan, from Rwanda to Sarajevo, and Central Asian steppes to the greatness of the Arabian Empty Quarter.



Reza War and Peace
Reza War and Peace (Hardcover) - Reza Deghati
click image for info @Amazon.com


Book Description - With the Middle East and Asia as his far-ranging home territory, Reza has chronicled 30 years of turmoil, hope, and splendor for a host of international publications including Newsweek, Time, Geo, and National Geographic magazines. Now, he displays some of his most dramatic works in Reza War and Peace–a powerful and moving photo collection that illuminates current events and recent history in places of conflict we see represented in the news every day. These remarkable pictures convey torment and upheaval, but also the art, culture, and traditions of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and other areas–as well as the photographer’s understanding of humanity and deep commitment to justice. Reza trains his lens not just on war and conflict, but also on friendship and loyalty, family life and love. The book follows Reza’s photographic career and is narrated in his own words, focusing our attention on the costs of war and the human condition. Sebastian Junger contributes an introduction, offering intimate insight into what it's like to work with his longtime friend and collaborator.

Despite the challenging subject matter, Reza’s message is not despairing, but ultimately hopeful. For readers interested in world history, current events, and the human experience, this photographic tour de force is a must.

About the Author - Reza is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. He is a renowned international photojournalist, who has captured the world in photographs for many leading publications and in more than 15 books. He has devoted much of his life to documenting conflicts and to humanitarian efforts. In Afghanistan he established Aina, a local NGO aimed at training journalists and establishing newspapers and other media outlets.

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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set - Volume I & II

Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set - Volume I & II:
The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs
Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set - Volume I & II: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs (Hardcover)
please click image


Description - Few individuals have exerted as profound an influence on 20th-century American art and culture as Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946). This luxurious two-volume boxed set is the definitive catalogue of the Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, the most complete Stieglitz holding in existence, donated to the gallery by his widow, artist Georgia O'Keeffe.

Numbering 1,642 photographs, the collection represents the full range of the master photographer's work-from early studies made in Europe, to views of the majestic New York skyline, to incomparable intimate portraits of O'Keeffe. Coinciding with a major traveling exhibition and providing complete scholarly apparatus and a chronology, this sumptuous volume demonstrates how Stieglitz absorbed the most advanced artistic concepts of his time into photography and transformed the medium forever.

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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Steve Mccurry: Ritrati ("steve Mccurry: Portraits")

Steve Mccurry: Ritrati
Steve Mccurry: Ritrati (steve Mccurry: Portraits)
click image for info @Amazon.com

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Tuesday, July 01, 2008

The Digital Photography Book



Product Description
Scott Kelby, the man who changed the "digital darkroom" forever with his groundbreaking, #1 bestselling, award-winning book The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers, now tackles the most important side of digital photography--how to take pro-quality shots using the same tricks today's top digital pros use (and it's easier than you'd think).

This entire book is written with a brilliant premise, and here’s how Scott describes it: "If you and I were out on a shoot, and you asked me, 'Hey, how do I get this flower to be in focus, but I want the background out of focus?' I wouldn't stand there and give you a lecture about aperture, exposure, and depth of field. In real life, I'd just say, 'Get out your telephoto lens, set your f/stop to f/2.8, focus on the flower, and fire away.' You d say, 'OK,' and you'd get the shot. That's what this book is all about. A book of you and I shooting, and I answer the questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I've learned just like I would with a friend, without all the technical explanations and without all the techno-photo-speak."

This isn't a book of theory—it isn't full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts: this is a book of which button to push, which setting to use, when to use them, and nearly two hundred of the most closely guarded photographic "tricks of the trade" to get you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos with your digital camera every time you press the shutter button.

Here's another thing that makes this book different: each page covers just one trick, just one single concept that makes your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you'll learn another pro setting, another pro tool, another pro trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. There's never been a book like it, and if you're tired of taking shots that look "OK," and if you’re tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, "Why don't my shots look like that?" then this is the book for you.

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