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Digital Photography Masterclass, By Tom Ang, (Dorling Kindersley)

AWARD-WINNING photographer and best-selling author Tom Ang has released his latest photography book titled Digital Photography Masterclass.

I was pretty excited to review this one, having had one of his previous books, Digital Photographer’s Handbook.

Unlike many instructional books out there with plenty of pretty pictures and little else, Ang’s latest is more like a reference guide to improving how you approach a subject and ultimately how to see a picture.

His advanced photographic and image enhancing techniques are inspirational and the book offers tutorials to work through and practical assignments to improve your skills.

Ang covers topics such as pre-visualisation, being alert for the opportunity, how to use light, composing with colour as well as post-processing techniques such as using raw, high dynamic range, layers and masking to name a few.

I highly recommend this to photographers of all levels – it’ll make you want to get out there and start shooting. — Alan Eason

Creative Bird Photography, By Bill Coster, (New Holland)

BILL Coster is a well-known photographer who regularly has work published in bird and wildlife magazines.

In this book he offers practical advice that is easy to follow and which will certainly help expand the reader’s photographic skills.

The pictures of birdlife in their natural habitat are beautifully displayed and accompanied with an explanation of how he took each shot. What was of added value for me is that the advice he gave on the basics of photography and digital equipment can be used in everyday photography and not just for capturing birds of the feathered kind . — Glen Bradshaw

Africa Lens, 20 years of Getaway Photography, Edited by Justin Fox, (Jacana)

FOR some two decades Getaway Magazine has taken us on journeys to some of the most remote destinations on the planet allowing us, through the lenses of its cameras, to view these amazing places from the comfort of our homes.

The magazine set the benchmark for travel journalism in Africa and really opened the continent up for the average traveller to explore the land north of our borders.

Over the years Getaway journalists have covered most of the great subjects such as the Serengeti migration, Mali’s mud cities, gorillas in the rain forest and the contrasting moods of the Namib Desert.

A collection of these and other images is showcased in Africa Lens, 20 years of Getaway Photography.

Divided into seven chapters, the book features pictures on adventuring, built environments, land shapes and creatures of the wild to name a few.

Although the book is largely a photographic exhibition, there is a short written introduction, which gives information on the history of the magazine, how the photographic ethos has changed over the years and what goes into getting some of the iconic pictures featured in the book. It’s the ideal coffee table book to leave lying around so that you can page through it at your leisure. Or even better yet, hopefully it will plant a seed for a little adventuring of your own. — Andrew Stone