Another great From Basics to Fine Art book review. Only two weeks after its launching, we already had some fantastic reactions and great reviews to the book From Basics to Fine Art by me and Joel Tjintjelaar.

These great reviews please us very much and make us very happy. This means we managed to reach our readers, to help them in searching for their vision in fine art black and white photography and hopefully added a few pieces in the puzzle that is their personal style in black and white photography.

We wrote this book with the hope and the intention for it to be an instrument for all fine art black and white photographers, no matter their background or where they are, an instrument that will help them find their own voice and learn how to cultivate it, how to develop their skills and talents, how to go from theory to practice and how to use processing in expression their visions. Because it is not only important to have a vision, but also to know how to make it reality, and there is where we come and give the practical solution by explaining our processing methods and how to get from the RAW image, which is the first step in expressing one’s vision, to the final image which is the coronation of it.

We hope everyone that read the book enjoyed it and whoever hasn’t read it yet will do it very soon. Here is the link where you can find the book:

From Basics to Fine Art

This is another From Basics to Fine Art book review, this time by Noel  Baldewijns. Noel’s website will be launched soon so I’ll be hosting his review here for the moment. Noel is a fine art black and white photographer from Belgium and you can find out some more about his work from my Testimonials page and also from his Facebook page.

Enjoy Noel’s review:

“From Basics to Fine Art – Black and White Photography – Architecture and Beyond
by Julia Anna Gospodarou and Joel Tjintjelaar

Book Review by Noel Baldewijns
From Basics to Fine Art gives an extended inside look at what goes behind the portfolio of these two top photographers, Julia Anna Gospodarou and Joel Tjintjelaar.
The book provides answers to all the questions that may arise for everyone exercising this very exquisite form of fine-art photography, and even more, this book is “THE” necessary reference. It is written to share knowledge, vision, experience, tips and tricks, to inspire and so much more.
Without any doubt, it is the most complete book ever published on this subject.

Joel Tjintjelaar is a black and white fine art photographer from the Netherlands specializing in long exposure and architectural photography. He has won several international photography awards, he was featured by NIK/Google software Silver Effex Pro 2 in their advertisement campaign, and he has recently released, together with Formatt-Hitech a signature edition IRDN filter set carrying his name and signature.

Julia Anna Gospodarou is a well-accomplished architect who collaborated with famous names in the international architectural world and is an internationally awarded black and white fine art photographer with high distinctions in the most important photography competitions worldwide. Julia lives in Athens but considers herself a global citizen.

The book holds 33 very detailed and complete chapters. After reading it, I realized it can be split up into 2 main separate parts:
The first part is very intense and a must-read for every photographer, fine art or not. The topics you can find inside include how to develop a personal vision, what is the theory behind vision and presents a guide on how to get there.

• Julia writes about the well-known German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and she says: “The world is a dream, the world is an image. So the world is unique for each of us and in our interpretation”.
• Furthermore, Joel and Julia refer to Alfred Stieglitz’s concept of Equivalents. Referring to vision, Joel says: “It is not what you capture that matters, it is how you interpret it that matters and will elevate it from a snapshot to a work of art”
• Both authors will provide you with hands-on tips on how to find your vision.

The second part of the book speaks about all the technical, practical and post-processing tools that one must know. I have to say the subject is covered in a very complete way. Everything is there!

• Composition and light: If the composition is bad, there is no way that the image can be saved… Study the old masters to learn about the use of light…. Simple means beautiful…. Learn all the  (composition) rules, study all the examples, listen to all the advice, then do it your way!
• Photography drawing !: The method of Photography Drawing (Phtd) is related to how to shape volumes by using light as a tool. It is how to process and render an image the way you would draw it in black pencil.
• Rules of gray !: “there is just one color in black and white photography and that is gray: 10 rules of black and white photography that everybody should know.
• Emotional abstract is all about capturing the emotional soul of the building. To do so, you have to understand the architect and building in front of you!
• Guidelines for cityscapes and skyline photography, night photography and the setting tips for all these styles of architectural photography.
• A very interesting section is the one about “subjects in Architectural street photography” which is a genre on its own. Here the authors discuss human presence vs the person as a subject n architectural Street photography, this being the main difference with classical street photography which is more assertive as opposed to this one, which is more contemplative and reflective.
• Additional topics include HDR, Infrared and also all technical aspects and principles of long exposure photography. 
• It also includes the fully detailed iSGM technique developed by Joel.
• There is also an important and very detailed chapter in this book explaining how to use a tilt-shift lens in a correct way.
• The book shows also an insight into the processing workflow Julia and Joel are using in their award-winning photos.

In conclusion, I can say that this work is probably the most complete work produced on this form of art. It is done by 2 of the finest black and white long exposure photographers of today. It is also written in an “easy to read” structure.
I highly recommend this work for everyone who wants to go the next level with their Black and White photography.”

Thank you, Noel, for a great review!

If you want to see what other readers think, there is another review, a review by Jack Torcello, that honors us and that you will surely like:

http://torcello.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/if-barnbaum-was-the-bible-of-black-and-white/

Hope you enjoyed the reviews.  If you want to purchase the book, here is where you will find it:

From Basics to Fine Art – Black and White Photography – Purchase Link