Peter Truman Photography

Author: Chris Orwig
Publisher: New Riders
Date: 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0-321-63682-9
Price: £32.99

Books about photography that are not wholly about the technical aspects of taking photographs have to work hard to engage and be interesting. They also need to say something. Chris Orwig's book is not about the technical aspects of taking pictures, but much more about how to be creative and put more into the approach you take when creating pictures. Whilst I found the first third or so of the book a little disjointed and at times struggled to keep going, in the end I'm glad I did as I learnt a good deal from the book.

His subject matter is largely people, so if you are a landscape photographer and have no aspirations to do anything else, then you probably shouldn't read this book. Given that this book is much more about how to interact to make the subject work with you and create interesting and engaging pictures, a landscaper may find this a little frustrating as it is difficult to get a tree to smile or to be entertained by the photographer. That aside, if you are prepared to think outside your normal comfort zone then this book does have something to offer any photographer.

Author: W. A. Poucher
Publisher: Chapman & Hall
Date: 1946
Price: out of print; secondhand prices vary

By modern standards the reproduction of photographs in this book is awful. They are monochrome, grainy and poor in contrast. But then this edition was published in 1946 and mass printing technology was nothing like what we have today!

That said, the black and white images are beautifully composed and to my mind provide a fantastic portrait of the Peak District as it looked over 60 years ago. The images appear very sharp, and very carefully considered and exposed. I am familiar with many of the views in the book and in many cases can see the difference between 1946 and today. The completion of the Derwent Valley reservoirs being a particularly poignant case given the comments in the book - at the time the book was written Derwent Reservoir was not yet full!

Author: Harry Cory-Wright 
Publisher: Merrell 
Date: September 2007 
ISBN-13: 978-1-8589-4367-1 
Price: £40

Website: www.journeythroughthebritishisles.com

This book is simply magnificent! In March 2006 Harry Cory Wright started off on a journey around the British Isles that was planned to last six months. The aim was simple, to capture the beauty that is the British Isles. Whilst most of us would probably use a high end digital SLR, Harry Cory Wright used a large format 10 x 8 view camera and travelled in a campervan to slow himself down and immerse himself. The journey started in the Shetland Isles and travelled south through Scotland, down the north-west of England, through Wales and around the coast all the way to East Anglia then back up north to Scotland and the Western Isles.

Author: Fran Halsall
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Date: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7112-2828-3
Price: £14.99

Fran Halsall is well known for her landscapes of the Peak District area and this beautifuly illustrated and printed book provides a great collection of her photographs that illustrate the different moods and lighting that make this area what it is. Through the book you can get a great "feel" of the Peak District landscape, what it looks like and what makes it look the way it does.

Author: David duChemin
Publisher: New Riders
Date: 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0-321-60502-3
Price: £28.99

This book is, quite simply, the best non-technical photographic book I have ever read! OK, I have not read them all so cannot compare with every book published about photography, so why do I like this one? Many reasons, but it is not a pretentious book of philosophical thoughts about the inner meanings of creating good photographs. Nor is it (yet another) book about technical settings or camera equipment choices. The book is a discussion about how to consider your subjects in order that the resultant images convey your vision. It also invites you into that discussion by provoking thought whilst reading or joining in electronically via his blog or a flickr group.