Understanding exposure third edition. Although it could be called understanding your camera.

This is a moderately complete overhaul of the second edition. It covers all of the things covered in the second edition plus additionally Author Bryan Peterson covers HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography.

One of the sections I enjoyed the most is Peterson’s photographic triangle. aperture, shutter speed plus iso. All three are of equal importance in the photo hard I sometimes forget about the effects of different iso’s so this section brought that to life for me. some of the other subjects that were fascinating to me was his explanation of white balance plus how it’s over rated “It’s my view that, next to the histogram, the white balance is one of the most overrated controls on the digital camera”. Another section I liked was one entitled “The sky brothers” Here Peterson talks about difficult light plus contracts situations that meters have difficulty with. Peterson moves the light meeter to one area or another to receive a reading that’s not so effected by bad light or contrast including the always difficult images of snow. Read more…

This book really clarified in my mind, why it is so important to put yourself out there & make growing your network part of your daily ritual along with eating a healthy breakfast & exercise. In all six cases, the benefits may not immediately felt, but over time the payback is indisputable!

I highly recommend this book to somebody trying to get their head around the concepts of social networking & why it may be relevant to you.

Each chapter contains important lessons of how to leverage the tools that now exist so that you can establish & grow your brand online. The story of how Gary Vernechuck, a 22 year elderly, transformed his parent’s wine business from $2 million a year to $45 million a year & became a mini-celebrity in the system is a lesson that can be applied by both individuals & corporations.

In today’s down economy, making a rich network of people that you can tap in to is more important than ever before. require a job? require a recipe? require advice on where to stay in the south of spain? The more individuals who know you directly relates to the more individuals who can help you accomplish your goals whatever we may be. It worked for Obama (he tapped in to the social networking to raise huge amounts of campaign funds), it can work for you .

The book is both a practical guide for somebody looking to carve out a niche online & get their brand noticed.

The tools that Juliette gives you in this book can basically be applied by somebody irrespective of your field. These are the ingredients you require to know in order to become a ‘mini-celebrity’.

Altar of Eden: A Novel

I’ve seen the teasers for Alter of Eden here at onlinebooktips.com for quite some time before it became available, and suddenly, out of the blue, the amazon vine program offered me (for the first time) a copy of a Rollins book before it was released. Being the slow reader that I am, I didn’t finish it until it actually came out, but I had a good head-start, which I am very grateful for. Being a James Rollins fan now sure makes waiting for the NEXT novel sometimes difficult, but 2009 has been quite a busy year for him. By my count, he’s given us ‘The Doomsday Key’, the first ‘Jake Ransom’ and now ‘Alter of Eden’ in an 11th hour final pitch. Fine with me. All things considered, I’d rather wait for a great novel than be semi-satisfied by churning out one sub-par novel after another like some factory Read more…

Open: An Autobiography

So you’re thinking this might be one of those recently retired famous people books aren’t you? One where a celebrity, or a Politician, or a sports star cranks out hundreds of pages of self-serving, history-correcting drivel in order to cash the big advance check. A book you can’t even bring yourself to finish; better than a tranquilizer at bedtime.

Well, this is certainly not that book. “Open” is a journey that I predict will stay with you for a very long time. It’s a completely unexpected trip to places you’ve never been. I’m not one of those quasi-professional reviewers you see on Amazon. But this book practically made me write about it.

Interestingly, Open starts not at the beginning and not quite at the end. Second round, US Open, 2006. Read more…

Keys to Drawing

I loved to draw as a little girl until my grade 5 art teacher held one of my “creations” up in front of my sister’s class (she was very talented) and said, “can you believe they’re sisters?”. I was crushed and other than in art class, I never picked up a pencil again.

Fast forward 20 years where I see Bert Dodson’s book “Keys to Drawing”. I remembered how I used to love to draw and bought it on impulse. I started at page 1 and progressed through the book. The day my sister (the artist) walked into my house and seeing the drawing I was working on said, “nice drawing of Louis Armstrong” was one of the best moments of my life. By the way that was a drawing of Satchmo I was working on. Read more…

The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, … and continues on to the last country Zimbabwe, Lonely Planet has put together an extraordinary travel book that brings us to every country in the world. Listed alphabetically from A-Z, each country occupies 2 pages with vivid pictures and some impression of the lands. Even tiny Pacific islands get the same amount of space as everybody else, regardless of their size and popularity in tourism. Using a more liberal concept of ‘country’, it brings the total number to 230. Read more…

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (Wiley Investment Classics)

Literary critics are often asked, “If you were stranded on a tropical island and you only had one book to read for the rest of your life which book would you choose?” Well, if you posed that same question to the world’s professional traders the response “Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin LeFevre” would be the most frequent response, and by a large margin.
Despite being written in the early 1920’s, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator continues to be the most useful and most-loved book ever written on the subject of trading and speculation. In this novel, LeFevre brilliantly describes the life and times of the book’s protagonist, Larry Livingston, a pseudonym for Read more…

Bay Area Graffiti

Like the region it hails from, this compilation is cool, colorful and idiosyncratic and will appeal to anyone interested in graffiti, photography, the San Francisco Bay Area, and especially art and the creative process.
While serving as serious documentation of a specific art form, the book also has a refreshing sense of playfulness (check out the upper right-hand photo on page 40, for example).
In addition to Read more…

The Yankee Years

The Yankee Years by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci has received a large amount of pre-release press especially from the New York media, but also the L. A. Times. I can’t remember a book release in the recent past that has garnered so much attention before anyone has had a chance to read it. Even Steinbrenner is curious about the books contents. He should be.

The Yankee Years is a measured and thoughtful look at the years Joe Torre managed the Yankees, 1996-2007. During that time he got to and won four World Series out of five, not an easy task for anyone. Torre also stopped much of the ridicule he received from the New York media upon his appointment. If winning four World Series doesn’t prove you’re worthy of the job, nothing else will. The fact of the matter is that Joe Torre became the most beloved Yankees managers of all time winning the respect of the fans and his players…..also not an easy task given the list of outstanding players he Read more…