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Urban Photography by Tim Cornbill

Obregon Obregon

Is from: Southold, US
3070 posts

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Obregon Moderator Donor Ribbon awarded for his generous support to the Fundraising Campaign 2014 Donor Ribbon awarded for his generous support to the Fundraising Campaign 2015 Awarded for his in-depth knowledge and high level of skill in several areas.  Donor Ribbon awarded for the contribution to the 2016 campaign Charter Member
Mon 26-Aug-19 07:27 PM
I live in a very large city. I love this city. And yet, I spend most of my time photographing other subjects. I had high hopes that this book would provide both the inspiration and the techniques to capture this love.

The book begins with a rather sparse discussion of equipment and ends with a limited discussion of a few Lightroom tools and the World Wide Web. In between the author touches on the more spectacular aspects of several major world cities; architecture; street photography; skylines; and night shooting. Sprinkled throughout are references to “Hero” photographers of cities like Martin Parr and Brassai. Cornbill’s photographs appear as examples throughout the book. Some like his prize winning Sony Award for Architecture image are stunning; others are, well, pedestrian. (Pardon the pun!)

Although this book seems interesting enough, the reader should remember that Urban Photography is really a bunch of different genres: landscape, architectural, street photography and so forth. Each of these genres has its own techniques and goals. In a book this short, it’s impossible to provide enough information on all, or even several of them. Thus, while Cornbill discusses the importance of cloud formations, he just doesn’t go into depth. For example, how do cumulus clouds contribute to an image of the urban landscape?

Even the author’s discussions of “Hero” photographers usually just present a photo or two and the examination of the hero’s work is cursory. At most, these point the reader to photographers whose work the reader might want to further research. Any travel guide will reveal more about the great world cities than the author does and some of the pictures he presents of those cities are uninspiring.

In fact inspiration is what is most lacking here. An urban photographer friend loves to shoot small construction sites in New York, like the repairs to subway entrances. Her pictures captivate me because of the enthusiasm she brings to capturing these sites. A writer can’t teach inspiration but he or she can show you how to look within yourself to find your own inspiration. This book doesn’t do that.

There are small nits I could pick, like the author’s advice to only use a tripod when absolutely necessary. I would say, use a tripod unless you absolutely can’t. The captions rarely revealed where the photograph of an interesting site had been taken.

If your expectations are not too high, this book can provide an introduction to photography of and about cities.

G