Listed below are a collection of my favorite Torah and photography books. The list is a work in progress so keep checking back for updates.
The photography books are either an artist's exhibition or instructional or a fusion of the two.
Written by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812), the founder of Chabad, Tanya is the central text of Chabad Chassidism. Its stated aim is to show a path to realizing one's purpose and developing a deeper relationship with G-d.
The Tanya offers guidance for every facet of the day-to-day life of a Jew in his or her service to G-d. This book:
Lessons in Tanya
leads the reader through every paragraph and page, illuminating the mystical, often allusive, Talmudic, Kabbalistic, and Scriptural verses and concepts.
Lessons in Tanya is catered for all levels of learning skill and is guaranteed to illuminate your soul and home with the warmth of Judaism.
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Roman Vishniac's
A Vanished World
is an extraordinary record of the lives of German and Eastern European Jews in the years immediately preceding the Holocaust.
Vishniac, a Russian Jew, began to take photographs of village life during World War I, when Russian Jews who lived near the front were accused of being German spies and were deported to Siberia. He later moved to Germany, where he witnessed the horrible events of Kristallnacht and the anti-Jewish legislation that allowed Hitler to declare his enemies stateless and therefore unworthy of international protection.
As you study Vishniac's photographs--a surviving fraction of the more than 16,000 he took--you are aware that you are seeing the faces of those soon to die, witnessing a world that has all but perished. Yet that world, of shops and schools, of busy streets and quiet farms, remains with us if only as a ghostly memory, thanks in part to Vishniac's compassionate eye.
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Written by world renowned photoshop and photography educator Scott Kelby,
The Digital Photography Book
, tackles the most important side of digital photography--how to take pro-quality shots using the same tricks today's top digital pros use.
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; I answer the questions, give you advice, and share the secrets.
Suitable for both the beginner and advanced shooter. When you have completed this book there is
volume 2
and
3
, or the entire
boxed set
. I own all three and continuously refer back to them.
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By far the best book on photography I have ever read - unbelievable!
Brenda Tharp is an award-winning photographer, writer, and teacher specializing in travel, nature, and outdoor photography.
Amateur and experienced photographers interested in taking more compelling, personal images will love this new edition of
Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography
. Brenda Tharp’s inspiring approach has garnered fans all over the world, as she teaches that magical skill no camera can do for you: learn how to “see.” Readers expand their photographic vision and discover deep wellsprings of creativity as they learn to use light, balance, color, design, pattern, texture, composition, and many simple techniques to take a photo from ordinary to high-impact.
Featuring more than 150 stunning, all-new images, Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography, Revised Edition is for anyone who understands the basic technical side to photography but wants to wake up their creative vision.
