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From the Author: What's New in The Lincolns, Portrait of a Marriage?

During the years I was researching and writing this book I was asked again and again: Have you found anything new, in facts or perspective?

The answer is yes, and yes again. Everything is new in the sense that when one puts aside the stereotypes associated with the Lincolns, a rich and complex married life emerges. The stereotypes are: Mary was crazy, and Abraham was a saint. The most popular myth is that Lincoln married a madwoman, and suffered patiently and heroically through twenty-two miserable years of marriage.

After my research, I reached two conclusions that shaped my portrait of the marriage. First, these two people loved each other deeply, from the time they met in Springfield in 1839, until his assassination in 1865. The second is that Mary was extremely interested in Abraham's career and speeches; whenever they could, the two of them talked about these things. She was a strong political partner for him.

The rest of my work has been a careful gathering of details. Here again, there is a lot that is new. First, this is the only book about the marriage that recounts the Springfield years (16 years out of 22) in as much detail as the White House years. In Springfield the family achieved a delicate balance that was destabilized in wartime Washington. The story that began as a romance turns to tragedy.

The Lincolns' courtship was stormy; he broke off their engagement in 1840, and they were not reconciled until 1842. New evidence indicates that Lincoln believed he had syphilis, and would not resume the courtship until he believed he was cured.

I discovered letters from Mary's brother-in-law that shed light on the courtship, and the abrupt reconciliation and marriage in 1842.

This is the first book to connect Lincoln's reading of The Niles Register (a news magazine of the time) with his speeches against the Mexican War during his term of congress in 1847-48. In their Washington boarding house in 1848, the Lincolns witnessed the abduction of a black servant who was buying his freedom. Using newspaper accounts of the time I was able to detail this terrifying incident.

Mary's physical abuse of her husband has mostly been a matter of rumor. In 1857 she is supposed to have hit her husband with a stick of firewood, injuring his nose. I was able to find store receipts for a gelatin plaster that Lincoln purchased on the date witnesses saw him wearing the plaster cast, on his nose, in court.

Much has been written about the plot to assassinate Lincoln on his way through Baltimore for the inauguration. This book is the first to describe the danger to which Mary and her sons were exposed en route to Baltimore while Lincoln passed secretly from Harrisburg to Washington. The Presidential train with Mary aboard served as a decoy, and the journey through "mob city" was a nightmare.

One of the most exciting moments of my research was in discovering a poem of Albert Laighton's that the Lincolns read together. It shaped the last lines of Lincolns' first inaugural address. Another was the discovery of a letter from a Washington physician describing Mrs. Lincoln's handling of a medical crisis in the White House (when her children had measles) that disproves the received opinion she was too unstable to handle such emergencies.

There's a lot more that is new, but I don't want to spoil it here. I felt honored to be entrusted with these materials, and to tell the Lincolns' story.

--Daniel Mark Epstein

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Price: $17.32 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Time-tested lighting strategies that will improve the quality of a portrait are detailed in this book for beginning photographers. Terminology used by industry pros is explained, the equipment needed to create professional results is outlined, and the unique role that each element of the lighting setup plays in the studio is explored. Photographers learn how color, direction, form, and contrast affect the final portrait. The concise text, photo examples, and lighting diagrams enable photographers to easily achieve traditional lighting styles that have been the basis of good portraiture since the advent of the art..
Price: $18.55 [Notify me when price goes down.]

After 47 years behind the camera Walter Iooss Jr. can't quite put a number on the countless sports subjects he has photographed throughout his career. But whoever the portrait, whatever the setting, a common theme runs through his personal archive: All are athletes lured into the joy of sport. In a 256-page panoramic collection, Iooss handpicks more than 150 of his classic images--dozens never before published--to create a cinematic compilation of his work.

For Iooss--whose efforts have graced the cover of Sports Illustrated nearly 300 times--every picture really does tell a story. Here he highlights his favorites with behind-the-scenes anecdotes. For the famous "Blue Dunk" overhead shot of Michael Jordan taken in 1987, Iooss personally painted the parking lot, stationed himself in a cherry picker and waited for the shot. While shadowing Tiger Woods from hole to hole in Carlsbad in 2000, the photographer purposefully wore dark glasses the entire day so as to not look in the golfer's eyes. And in 2003, Iooss literally couldn't sleep the night before reuniting Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for their first photo together in 30 years. In a lyrical display, we witness a creative evolution as Iooss continually discovers new ways and approaches to capture the athletic spirit. Iooss's passion, power and perspective are clearly at play in this artful package..
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Like its predecessors, Once Upon a Time and A Place in the Sun, Poolside with Slim Aarons offers images of jet-setters and the wealthy, of beautiful, glittering people living the glamorous life. Yet this new collection of stunning photographs of the rich and well-connected “doing attractive things” in their favorite playgrounds has a new twist.

The main character is pools and everything that goes with them—magnificent, suntanned bodies; well-oiled skin; bikini-clad women; yachts; summer cocktails; sumptuous buffets; spectacular locations; and most of all: fun. Poolside is not so much a Who’s Who of society, aristocracy, and celebrity—although C. Z. Guest, Lilly Pulitzer, Cheryl Tiegs, Peter Beard, and many who have appeared in the previous books are here—as it is about leisure time and how the rich make use of it. This is a more intimate peek into very private lives, to which Slim Aarons was given unprecedented access in the fifties, sixties, seventies, and eighties.

From the Caribbean to Italy and Mexico to Monaco, Poolside with Slim Aarons whisks the reader away to an exclusive club where taste, style, luxury, and grandeur prevail..
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Whether you're interested in studio photographs, or "environmental" photos of individuals where they live, in Face to Face you'll learn the preparation and attention to detail required to make alluring people pictures.

From the Introduction
The Camera Looks Both Ways
"In picturing the subject, we are also picturing a part of ourselves."
When it comes to photographing people, that is, no doubt, the most important photo tip I can share with you. "Every picture is a self portrait" is another way of conveying that point. Let me explain. When you are looking through your camera's viewfinder, viewing and framing a subject, if you realize that the feeling, the emotion, the attitude and the energy that you project will be reflected in your subject's face--and eyes--you'll get a higher percentage of pictures that you like. That's because by your actions, you are subconsciously "directing" the subject to mirror the way you feel. So in looking at the opening photograph in this introduction, I am sure that you know exactly how I was feeling when I took the picture outside a school in Lombok, Indonesia. That's right! I was having a blast. For all the photographs in this book, I will provide their locations for those of you who may want to know where the pictures were taken. Some of you may find that photographing strangers in strange lands is the ultimate photography experience. For me, getting people to like, or at least accept me, in a matter of seconds in far-away places is my prime goal as a travel photographer. After achieving that goal, taking the pictures is relatively easy--if you follow the tips in this book. Even if you are not a world traveler, however, you'll find that my tips and techniques for photographing people, for the most part, are the same, no matter where you go. In this book, the one that I've dreamed about writing for years, I'll also share some behind-the-scenes stories. For my Lombok picture, for example, I had just finished doing magic tricks for about an hour in one of the school's classrooms. I love doing magic tricks when I travel, and it's also a great technique for "breaking the ice" and getting people to let me into their lives for a few moments. That effort resulted in one of my favorite group shots--a shot that captures the enthusiasm of the school kids. Of course, I'll also get into the technical aspects of photographing people on the following pages. You'll learn how to photograph people in low light and in bright light, with a flash and without a flash. You'll see how reflectors and diffusers can turn a snapshot into a great shot. You'll understand the difference between an environmental portrait and a portrait--and the difference between taking and making a picture. Camera settings and lenses will also be covered. You'll find sections on Outdoor Photography and Indoor Photography. In some cases, you'll be able to use the techniques interchangeably, such as when it comes to posing a group or creating a sense of depth in a photograph. In fact, I will share everything I know about photographing people with you--all while trying to make the learning process fun and enjoyable. Before moving on, I'd like to share three more pictures with you that illustrate my "Camera Looks Both Ways" philosophy.

Check out my pictures of a young woman whom I photographed in Cuba, a Buddhist monk whom I photographed in Cambodia, and a man with face piercing whom I photographed in Cuba. While photographing one subject, I was beaming with joy. For another, I was trying to show an honest feeling of respect. And for another, I was expressing the feeling of, "Man, you look totally awesome." I don't have to match the photos with the feeling for you. See! The camera does, indeed, look both ways. Speaking of photo philosophies, if you check out the table of contents, you'll see that Photo Philosophies is the longest section in this book. That's because getting a good picture of a person goes way beyond technique. When it comes to photographing a person, you really need to think before you shoot, and that section offers a lot of food for thought. So what about Photoshop? Well, all of the pictures in this book have been enhanced to some degree, even it was only in sharpening, cropping and/or adjusting the brightness, contrast and color of an image. This is not a Photoshop book. However, because Photoshop can help you get a more dramatic, dynamic and artistic images, I've included a section at the end of this book that features my favorite Photoshop enhancements when it comes to people pictures.

For now, this before-and-after pair of images of a horse and rider at sunset, photographed at the Ponderosa Ranch in Oregon, shows how simple cropping and a bit of color, contrast and brightness enhancement can turn a snapshot into a great shot.
Ready to get going with some solid tips and techniques? I am. In fact, I can't wait for you to read the rest of this book--because I truly enjoy teaching and sharing my photographic experiences. Naturally, I also like "revisiting," so to speak, some of my favorite subjects. Those of you who have attended my workshops and seminars, or have seen my Web TV shows, also know that I enjoy meeting people. For those of you who are joining me for the first time, I hope you enjoy "meeting" me here. Before you go, however, I'd like to share two of my all-time people pictures with you.





Let's look at a portrait of a young girl whom I photographed in Bhutan and a picture of three girls that I photographed in Costa Rica. What I like about these pictures is the direct eye contact the subjects are making with my camera--and me. Connect with your subjects, and your pictures will connect with those who view them.
Understand your subject, and you'll gain some insight into the soul of the photographer--your soul.








--Rick Sammon
Croton-on-Hudson, NY
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All artists are tired of persuading their nearest and dearest to look sad…look glad…look mad…madder…no, even madder…okay, hold it. For those artists (and their long-suffering friends), here is the best book ever. Facial Expressions includes more than 2,500 photographs of 50 faces—men and women of a variety of ages, shapes, sizes, and ethnicities—each demonstrating a wide range of emotions and shown from multiple angles. Who can use this book? Oh, only every artist on the planet, including art students, illustrators, fine artists, animators, storyboarders, and comic book artists. But wait, there's more! Additional photos focus on people wearing hats and couples kissing, while illustrations show skull anatomy and facial musculature. Still not enough? How about a one-of-a-kind series of photos of lips pronouncing the phonemes used in human speech? Animators will swoon—and artists will show a range of facial expressions from happy to happiest to ecstatic..
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Creative ideas on how to take frame-worthy photographs of children and family

Presenting a fresh approach to photographing children in portraits as well as candid situations, these project-oriented chapters teach readers core photographic techniques by using helpful examples and instructions. Readers learn how to photograph in natural environments, with natural light, elegance, and sensitivity..
Price: $16.10 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A serial killer takes his dead victims' portraits and sends them to the media. Lieutenant Eve Dallas counts on her husband's help to crack the case, but he's just learned a devastating truth about his past..
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