Book Design, Digital Imaging and Photography

Studying Photography
A Survival Guide

Douglas Holleley PhD

9x6 inches, 122 pages in black and white, soft cover.
Rochester, NY: Clarellen 2010.
ISBN 978-0-9707138-8-9

If you are, or will be enrolling in a visual arts course, this book is an invaluable survival guide. The book lays bare the powerful value systems that are embedded within higher education institutions and explains them with wit and clarity. Issues such as the hidden curriculum, analyzing images, progression, writing an artist statement, assessment, plagiarism, copyright pitfalls and ultimately getting a job at the end of the degree, are all explained in clear, easy to understand language.

Because of the author’s background and experience, this book is addressed to photographers. However, any student of any of the visual arts will find it a useful companion as they proceed on their course of study. The principles described in this book are equally applicable to students of drawing, painting and printmaking. Even sculptors and other 3-D artists will benefit by reading it. The book is also required reading for graduate students contemplating a teaching career as it will give them a privileged insight into the perils, pitfalls and delights of working in the higher education system.

Editorial Review

December 2010 issue of CHOICE. — 48-1879 MARC

Holleley (independent scholar) has written a thorough and very entertaining guide to the study of photography (see also his Your Assignment: Photography, CH, Feb'10, 47-2985; and Photo-Editing and Presentation, CH, Nov'09, 47-1255). The lessons he offers should not be limited to students enrolled in baccalaureate or graduate programs; anyone interested in photography or the visual arts will find this book to be of great value. Beginning with the impediments to growth and learning, and delivering mechanisms to overcome the obstacles, the chapters reveal the lessons of an accomplished teacher who has distilled decades of education into a single volume. Several parts, e.g., on analyzing photographs and on professional practice in photography, are devoted to and perhaps of interest only to photography majors. But most of this book is of much broader interest. Students and learners in any number of fields will discover important suggestions regarding self-assessment, academic honesty, progress, excuses, computers and copyright, and professionalism. The book is interestingly designed and illustrated, augmenting the clearly written, cogent, and wise words of a lifelong teacher. All students interested in a career in the visual arts should read this valuable contribution to visual education.

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. -- R. M. Labuz, Mohawk Valley Community College

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Photo-Editing and Presentation

Douglas Holleley PhD

9x6 inches, 148 pages in full color, sewn signatures, soft cover.
Rochester, NY: Clarellen and
RIT Cary Graphic Arts Press, 2009.
ISBN 978-0-9707138-5-8

This book introduces photographers, print-makers and other graphic artists to the creative possibilities of image editing and presentation. The focus is on how meaning can be created and shaped if the emphasis is placed on the totality of the visual experience rather than by looking at each single image in isolation.

In the first instance there is a discussion of a variety of ways images can be grouped together. This act has implications for how the work should subsequently be presented. To this end there is a discussion of various presentation techniques, and how each different forum can further amplify the desired effect. Finally there is a hands-on look at a variety of presentation techniques such as artist book publishing, exhibition design and portfolio construction that will help the reader to present his or her work in a professional manner.

By employing the principles outlined in this book readers can expect that the content of their work will be more coherent and accessible, not only to an audience, but also more importantly, to themselves.

FOR PHOTO-EDUCATORS AND STUDENTS

Finally, a textbook for mid-level to senior college students and for graduate students of Pho- tography that addresses the demands of senior study. At this level students must take more responsibility for the content and appearance of their work. Until now, there has been no text to assist this process. This book will enable such students to edit and present their work in a professional and thoughtful manner. Additionally, the book will help students develop a helpful critical vocabulary for discussing and interpreting images.

Editorial Review

CHOICE November 2009 Vol. 47 No. 03

This book is a superbly designed and illustrated introduction to the successful presentation of a single image and an entire visual portfolio. Beginning with selection, strategy, and intent, photographer Holleley wisely asks those who create images to understand that the presentation of an image has a profound impact on what they are saying and how they mean it. After laying the intellectual foundation, Holleley provides a splendid review of appropriate processes, offering students and practitioners articulate ideas, effectively charted, that will assist in making visual ideas more interesting and more coherent. The text is engaging and comprehensive, accessible and authoritative; the only thing (a bit) ponderous about the book is the title. For the more advanced visual artist, the most interesting part of the book may be the final section, which discusses construction methods. Fascinating approaches to the creation of mattes, artist books, and portfolio boxes are beautifully diagrammed and explained. This is a brilliant introduction to the topic that teachers and librarians should recommend to their students.

Summing Up: Essential. Libraries serving students in photography and the visual arts; lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. -- R. M. Labuz, Mohawk Valley Community College

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Your Assignment: Photography

Douglas Holleley PhD

Foreword by Nathan Lyons

9x6 inches, 148 pages in black and white, soft cover.
Douglas Holleley. Rochester, NY: Clarellen, 2009
ISBN 978-0-9707138-7-2

PHOTO DEVELOPING is a series of books addressing conceptual and practical issues relevant to photographic education. This is Volume 1I.

The art of photography can help us see ourselves just as much as it can help us see the world around us. But just how does photography become an act of self-discovery? How do we decode the meaning of images?

This book addresses not only the acquisition of photographic skills and techniques, but also shows us how we can recognize the signs, and understand the meanings, contained within the images we make. The exercises in this book will enable both beginners and advanced students of photography, to sharpen their abilities and enhance their awareness, of themselves and the world.

Teachers will find inside this volume a well-reasoned and coherent curriculum. It provides many valuable resources they can share with their class. Students will gain a greater understanding of the process of photographic education because each assignment is accompanied by a detailed rationale that explains not only what is being asked of them, but more importantly, why.

Whether you intend it or not, after reading this book, your images will be more thoughtful, insightful, and indeed more beautiful, than ever before.

Douglas Holleley PhD is an experienced and devoted teacher. He has conducted classes and workshops throughout the United States, Australia and the UK. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed, Digital Book Design and Publishing. More recently he published the companion volume to this book, Photo-Editing and Presentation. His books and artworks are in many public collections in Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States, including the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Nathan Lyons, is an American photographer, curator, educator and founder and director of the Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, New York, and a founding member of the Society for Photographic Education.

Editorial Review

CHOICE February 2010 Vol. 47 No. 06

This intriguing book by photographer Holleley is presented as a series of potential assignments in photography, but these suggestions and exercises have a much wider application. Students, teachers, and professional artists who use paint, pencil, words, and other media to express themselves will benefit from reviewing them. The essential intent of the assignments is self-discovery. Although many of the suggestions are visual, everyone interested in learning new ways to express themselves will benefit from this work. Whether the assignment is to find a place, create a new landscape or a history, participate in one's own art, or define one's own mask, the opportunities provided are worthwhile explorations. That emphasis often is lost in foundation programs or neglected by practicing professionals. This book reminds readers that fundamental purposes should always be remembered and respected. Teachers in art and photography programs would do well to incorporate these ideas into their courses. Indeed, anyone interested in the visual arts, whether currently involved in education or not, will enjoy and learn from this book, which offers appealing, cogent prose and insightful illustrations. A valuable acquisition for libraries serving art and photography programs.

Summing Up:Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. -- R. M. Labuz, Mohawk Valley Community College

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