Let's share our knowledge about good photography literature.
Many technical questions will be answered in the
Digital Photography Tutorials of the fantastic cambridgeincolour website. The information is detailed, precise and wonderfully presented.
I've just read the book "Photos with IMPACT" by Tom Mackie. I enjoyed it because he shares quite a lot of his approach and the book is full of stunning pictures.
He really showcases the possibilities one has with a view camera (Wista Field, 4 x 5) and the highly saturated colours possible with Fuji Velvia film. He also uses a Fuji GX617 panoramic camera and -- Pentaxians take note -- a Pentax MkII 6 x 7.
In terms of equipment I learned that a polarising filter can be very useful. He uses it on almost every shot to enhance the saturation of the sky / foliage and remove reflections.
In terms of composition he emphasises the need to remove clutter from the frame, look for interesting lines, exploit reflections, including people to provide a human scale, etc. There is nothing that goes beyond the ABC of composition but I found it interesting to read a successful photographer's thoughts about seeing the world and taking pictures. For instance, w.r.t. buildings he doesn't try to capture them in their entirety but always picks out interesting features.
He is a commercial photographer so a number of tips, like the suggestion to obtain height maps of the shooting location, charts for sunrise/sunset, tides, etc. do not really apply to people who shoot what they see and will not visit the same location over and over again to get the best picture out of several seasons and weather conditions.
Here are the contents:
Introduction
Seeing the picture
Light
Designing the image
Colour and form
Enhancing the image
Equipment
Index
I found it entertaining to read, mostly because of the excellent pictures.
The next book I'm going to borrow from the library is entitled "Composition".
Let's hear from you what books/literature you can recommend. Photography courses (online or not) also count.