Retro Photo: A Personal Selection of Vintage Cameras and the Photographs They Take by David Ellwand [Review & Giveaway - US/CANADA]

With exquisite original photos and boundless enthusiasm, David Ellwand offers a love song to film photography and the vintage cameras that capture it.

ISBN: 9780763692506
Hardcover $45.00

My thoughts: Growing up, it was quite the norm for me to see a camera in my father's hands and to be the subject of his many creations. Our family had a real treasure trove of photographs taken by Dad.

I even had the experience of helping him and learning from him in our old garage where half of it had been converted into a photo processing lab. Dad had a contact printer and an enlarger. He had rolls (huge rolls) of photographic paper. He had large jugs of the processing liquids, white enamel pans for bathing the pictures in the processing liquid, and a line stung at the end where the wet pictures where hung to dry.

Yes, photography was part of Dad's and my lives.

The opportunity to review Retro Photo: A Personal Selection of Vintage Cameras..... was one I simply couldn't pass up. I truly hoped to see Dad's argoflex in there. And he had one of those large "newman's" cameras that used plates for the images.

Retro Photo.... was a real treat to stroll through visually and mentally picture my Dad's enjoyment of his cameras and the pictures he took. No, I didn't find Dad's Argoflex nor his German  camera pictured in the book. But treasures they are.

About the book: With exquisite original photos and boundless enthusiasm, David Ellwand offers a love song to film photography and the vintage cameras that capture it.

From the pinhole to the Pentax, Retro Photo: An Obsession is a visual journey through the history of photography, highlighting some of the iconic cameras of the analog era. Appealing to those new to film photography as well as the seasoned professional wanting to explore new avenues, this beautiful keepsake volume showcases more than one hundred cameras from the collection of photographer and author David Ellwand, along with photographs he has taken with them. At once an accessible guide to vintage cameras, a highly personal take on photographic history, and a celebration of classic design, here is a book that takes the fear out of old-style photography and puts the fun back in.

And now some pictures of my Dad's cameras that I have saved.

My brother brought this back from Germany in 1958 for Dad.

Additional filter lenses from Argoflex and some
Dad had ground locally.  Also his light meter.

Dad's Argoflex that he used prior to my birth in 1939.
A treasure.

GIVEAWAY

Begins December 5

ENDS December 13 @ 12:01 a.m. ET

Open to USA & CANADA addresses only. NO P.O. BOXES

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Find it at Candlewick-click here Or Amazon.com-click here

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from Candlewick Press to facilitate a review of my honest opinions which are freely given. I was not compensated. Giveaway prize copy is provided and sent directly to the winner by Candlewick.

"Among A Thousand Fireflies" and two other books by Helen Frost, photography by Rick Lieder [Review & Giveaway-US/CANADA]

I just became acquainted with the beautiful works of Helen Frost and photographer Rick Lieder and have fallen in love with and am awed with the splendid beauty of the photography as it captures the wonders of birds and insects. The sparse lines of prose so beautifully intersect with the beauty of the images that one's mind journeys deeply into the eye-capturing visions of loveliness.

Published by Candlewick Press these are considered children's books but should also be considered as a coffee table keepsake book that one can pickup and take a few moments to gaze and revel in our absolutely lovely world.

Among a Thousand Fireflies - published in 2016

If you've ever watched the fireflies dance about on a summer's evening in your backyard or out where it is quiet and dark in the evening, you have probably marveled at these delightful insects and perhaps have even begged a lidded jar in which to capture a few.

I know that in our home in the middle of North Carolina, this was a favorite past time of our children. Of course, we couldn't linger too long because those famous North Carolina mosquitoes would be in abundance, too. But capturing the glowing fireflies was a joy, a marvel, an experience to revel in as a child and remember as an adult.

Among A Thousand Fireflies takes us in the backyard and introduces us in a gentle and beautiful way to the stunning firefly.

"In a summer meadow near the river, as night's first stars blink on, a firefly steps into a flower."

At the end of A Thousand Fireflies there is a page dedicated to teaching the reader some interesting facts about these insects. They are not flies, they are beetles and when they glow in the larval stage they are called "glowworms."

See entry form below for opportunity to have your own copy of Among A Thousand Fireflies.

Step Gently Out - published in 2012

If you've ever quietly watched an insect or "bug" you have probably noticed how they seem to move with practiced or deliberate ease and gentleness. So in Step Gently Out the author and photographer show us their beauty....


Frost and Lieder take us through the day - morning sunshine, evening shadows and dark, and then the dew of morning. This is a lovely trek through the day as ......

"In song and dance and stillness, they share the world with you."

A gentle reminder that we're not alone in this world, we share it with the insects, the birds, the critters.

"A spider spins a silken thread and steps across the air."
"A praying mantis looks at you - do you know she's there?"

At the end of the book, Step Gently Out, there are two pages for the reader to learn more about each of the insects pictured in the book. Another great opportunity to educate with a beautiful book.

Sweep Up the Sun - published in 2015

About the book: Illuminated by exquisite photographs of eleven species of birds, a spare and elegant poem inspires readers to open their wings and soar.

Baby robins, open-beaked in their nest. Mallards winging to a new clime. Whether chickadees or cardinals, sparrows or starlings, here are commonly seen birds in their natural settings, captured in photographs of rare beauty and grace.

In perfect synchrony, a lyrical narrative evokes images of play and flight, perseverance and trust. At the end, readers will find profiles of the featured species. This stunning book is an ideal gift for bird lovers of all ages, graduates, or anyone embarking on an adventure.

My thoughts: Rick Lieder's photography is stunning. You will be tempted to sit and look at these pictures for long periods of time because they capture the grace and beauty of the birds and at the most exquisite moment as their wings sweep through the air.

Helen Frost's words capture the true essence that is these lovely birds putting into words their grace.

"Rise into the air on the strength of your wings--
go out to play in the sky,
trusting it to hold you
as you learn to fly."

I have always been enthralled by the beauty and magnificence that is designed into these winged creatures we call birds. This little book is more than a "birding" book, it takes you to their moments of grace and strength.

At the end of this book are a couple of pages dedicated to imparting factual information about the birds pictured in the book. Super nice information.

I heartily recommend all three of these books!

GIVEAWAY

A copy of Among A Thousand Fireflies

Begins June 11

Ends June 30 @ 12:01 a.m. EDT

Open to USA & CANADA addresses only

a Rafflecopter giveaway
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of each of these books from Candlewick Press to facilitate this review. I was not compensated for my review. Opinions are my own. Winner's copy is provided by Candlewick and shipped directly to them by Candlewick.