Why Push the Envelope?

Capturing a decisive moment in the camera lens and knowing that you "got the shot" is one of the most satisfying feelings a photographer can experience. Best of all, it's an experience you can enjoy in the moment and then relive again later with others. And if you're lucky, when you share your image with others, they might also feel what moved you when you clicked the shutter.

You have to pursue photographs, not just in the physical sense ”as I did when I traveled to Australia to work on From Alice to Ocean ”but mentally and emotionally as well. Photography is a fascinating marriage of art and physics. It's a journey of the mind as well as of the body. And that's precisely why I'm drawn to this collection of photography hacks by Derrick Story.

The tagline for this book is "100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools." Here, hack is defined as a clever solution to an interesting problem. Anyone serious about taking good pictures knows that great photography is full of constant problem solving. When you find the solution, you're often rewarded with a striking image. This book can help you solve those problems ”not just in the sense of choosing the correct aperture and shutter speed, but also in terms of looking at your photography in an entirely new way.

The hacks in this book range from the artistic, such as using infrared imaging to record striking landscapes , to cutting-edge consumer technologies, such as weblogging with a camera phone (known as moblogging ). Each technique is an experience unto itself, and the book invites you to pick it up, open it to any page, and discover something new to do with your camera and your photographs.

The exploration of photography has been awakening the artist, scientist, and adventurer within us for over 100 years . And now, digital tools have opened doors we never knew existed. It's possible that by trying the techniques and exploring the concepts in this book, you might find your true photographic voice. And even if you feel you are well versed in the world of photography, it never hurts to speak a second language.

--Rick Smolan

Against All Odds Productions

http://www.America24-7.com