Andes by Andrew S. Gibson
Probably already well known to Craft and Vision Readers, Andrew S. Gibson is the writer of their original books on B&W photography. This book is his B&W presentation of the Andes. As part of the Print and Process series, we first see a large collection of photographs of the Andes, both of the landscape, and of the people. This collection of 44 richly toned images represent the works from a series of trips Andrew has taken there. It's really an exhibition in a book. And a worthy one at that. I took the time to view each one on my 24" in full screen view. They deserve that much, and the PDF quality looks good at viewing distance.Once you've taken time to enjoy the photos that Andrew presents as the Print section of the book, it's on to the Process section. Here Andrew talks about the draw that the Andes has on him. Over 12 pages we hear stories of the different trips Andrew has taken. My favourite story, and for that matter, my favourite photo is that of the bullfight. Unlike Spanish bullfights, the bull gets taken away at the end. The narrative helps reinforce the image, but it's strong to begin with.What really works for me here is that because Andrew has gone through the whole cycle of Film to Digital throughout these trips, we get to see how his thinking applies throughout these phases. There is excellent commentary on lenses, with the recommendation that everyone should have at least one prime lens. There's a little soul searching in that Andrew says that sometimes you need better gear to get better photos. Faster primes is one area where you can get better photos, especially in low light. It goes against the Vision is Better mantra a little, but keeps in the with Gear is Good bit!A thoughtful addition to the book is information about getting there, including notes on keeping safe and health requirements. And of course the adage of 'Wear Sunscreen'. As photographers, we get inspired by new locations, so I'm glad Andrew included this. I know I'd love to go to Machu Picchu, even though getting clean shots would require a really early start.
The final section of the book is the tale of each photo, detailing the Camera and Lens used, along with the Location, as well as insights into it. All the camera techies out there will love this. We see the transition from Pentaz Z-50p to Canon EOS 350D, to the 40D. With the digital shots, we also get the exposure information.While this book is heavily image based, the text is well written, engaging and informative. It's hard to say bad things about Craft and Vision books, because they have an excellent mix of design ethic and good content, and this book holds the banner high.Andes by Andrew S. Gibson is available from Craft and Vision. For the first five days only, if you use the promotional code ANDES4 when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of ANDES, The Print & The Process Series for only $4 OR use the code ANDES20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST August 6th, 2011.