Ibarionex Perello is an American photographer and writer. This is the sort of book that you can read at bedtime and then go back to and dip into again and again as a reference book; the language is quite American but easy to read none the less. I bought this book because it was one of the very few photography books which really focuses on light but is not about landscape photography and I was not disappointed. There is a section on landscape but it also covers every other photographic subject. This is a book primarily aimed at helping you improve your photography; there are chapters on exposure and colour as well as photographing people and the urban landscape but the thing that underpins it all is understanding and using the available light.
Perello argues that pointing your camera at people, places and things usually results in disappointing images unless you first learn how to feel the light and understand what is happening to it. Only then can you take full advantage of it and produce really stunning images.
I don’t always like the composition of the pictures in the book however, for example the cover picture shows an image taken in the early morning light of a mannequin on a Los Angeles street and for me there is too much wasted space on the left on the image. For the picture in question, Perello talks about how he went out early because of the wonderful light but with no idea what he might take pictures of but he came across the mannequin on the pavement and was struck by the way that the light picked up the fabulous colours and textures in the dress. I have really enjoyed this book and am sure that I will returnto it again and again. http://perellophoto.com/-/perellophoto/default.asp
