Budding or serious amateur photographers at some point in time, need books that cover topics ranging from the history of cameras to the diverse genres of photography. The market is abundant with a diverse collection of such books, most times at exorbitant rates. Steering away from this pattern is ‘All about Photography’, an elementary book, by the very well-known landscape photographer, Ashok Dilwali. With the target market being students, the book is nominally priced and it covers the technicalities of film-based, as well as digital photography. This reference guide deals with photography as an art and science. The language is simple, hence it flows well, and the jargons are expanded or explained to give readers a better understanding.
Although the author’s intent is to shed light on various topics, with very few pages dedicated to images, the reading can get a little heavy. Each chapter in the book deals with a specific area of photography, such as Travel Photography, Advertising Photography, Panoramic Photography, Lighting, Composition, Developing and Printing in Digital Photography, etc. Sub-headings such as Composition, Equipment and care, Lens, Filters, Techniques, Selection of Film, etc. under each chapter, manages to touch upon the main areas. For example, in a chapter titled ‘Panoramic Photography’, the author gives us a brief history of this genre, the type of cameras that can be used, techniques, and tips on how to cost-effectively do a panorama. All the other chapters too are structured in this concise manner. The images featured stand on their own, and are not in sync with the text. The print quality of the images could have been better.
‘All about Photography’ in functionality is similar to a book of basics in photography. Published by the National Book Trust (NBT), India and priced Rs.90, the book is available at all NBT outlets.
Aswathi Nair
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