Crash Course Book in "Top 10" Amazon Photo Books

I'm not sure what caused the sudden surge in sales, but the book that I wrote that is based on this blog Jeff Wignall's Digital Photography Crash Course: 2 Minute Tips for Better Photos (Lark Photography Book) made it to the top 3,000 books (among all books) on Amazon today. And it landed in the "Top 10" of all photo books. In other words, it's a bestseller. As I said, the book grew out of this blog and it features roughly 150 or so tips that each began as a posting on this blog. The tips were expanded in most cases and I added extra illustrations, but the real genesis of the idea was this blog. What's really amazing to me is that the book is selling even better than my flagship book, The NEW Joy of Digital Photography (Lark Photography Book). Go figure! The Crash Course book was reviewed this week on a few blogs--including a major photo blog in Australia--so perhaps that is helping. In any case, I love having another bestseller! I'm sure you can find it at the local Barnes & Noble if you are looking for a last minute gift (and who isn't?).

It's a blog, it's a book: It's Jeff Wignall's Digital Photography Crash Course Book!

I have a new book out:  Jeff Wignall's Digital Photography Crash Course! And here's the really fun thing about it: the book is based on and was inspired by this blog. When I started this blog about three years ago, I had an idea that someday I'd like to gather the "best of" the tips from it, expand them and then publish a book of them--and that's exactly what I did. The book, published by Lark Books, was just released today and it features around 150 expanded and illustrated tips--most of them inspired by postings in this blog. One nice aspect of the book is that there is no beginning and no end--you can just flip through it and stop wherever the spirit moves you or the topic interests you. And most of the tips are just two-pages long, so there's no heavy-duty reading--just a lot of fun, quick tips that you can use immediately to improve your photos. The book covers everything from how to photograph carnival rides at night to taking great close-ups to meditating your way to a deeper understanding of your subjects. The book is so new that I haven't even opened the case of them that arrived today from the publisher, but in the next few days I'll give you more of a run down on the table of contents. Or you can just go ahead and order it from Amazon immediately!

Jeff Wignall's Digital Photography Crash Course--New Book Just Finished!

 

On Thursday I finished another new book: Jeff Wignall's Digital Photography Crash Course to be published by Lark Books in October--and here's the cool news: the book is based entirely on this blog! I've taken the top 150 or so tips from this blog and expanded them, added a few new twists and lots of new photos, and I think it's going to be a beautiful book. Lark did a great job and I'm psyched to see it being published  (hopefully one of several if I can keep the blog energy going). 

Finishing a book is always a huge relief and it brings with it a mixture of extreme exhaustion, the inescapable feeling of restlessness that comes from being tied to one project for many months and, thankfully, a sense of accomplishment. (The downside is that I'm already working on another book, so there is absolutely no rest for the wicked.) I'll write more about the Crash Course book when I've rested and reflected for a few days. Writing books is incredibly draining, both physically and mentally (and emotionally too, I guess): I just couldn't be more tired. Writing 75,000 words and coming up with 200 photos really grinds you down. And then, of course, after working on it for 12 hours a day (minimum) there is this feeling of "What do I do now?" I'm too wired to sleep and to exhausted to do much else.

In the meantime: I shot the final photos for the book at around 6 a.m. on Thursday morning after having been awake for 18 hours and nearly hallucinating from fatigue. The photos were made under black light (all those old enough to remember having a black light in your bedroom, raise your hands) and in the next posting I'll tell you how I made them. It's a very cool trick and it's really easy. The shot here is a mason jar full of artist's brushes that I was using to paint props with black-light reactive paint. Is that cool looking or what? I shot with a pair of fluorescent black-light fixtures and my Nikon D90 and the only tough part was not having someone there to help me hold the light fixtures in place. Anyway, next time I'll give you the whole inside scoop on black-light photography.