Fine Art Digital Nature Photography, by Tony Sweet

Claude Monet has always been an influence on my photography, especially, now that I'm beginning to create fine art. I love the dappled abstracts of Monet, and others of that style, and I try to duplicate the effect in my camera - usually by the use of multiple exposures or swipes/zooms during an exposure.

Tony Sweet (http://www.tonysweet.com) is a fellow nature photographer living in Maryland who has taken the art of abstracts even further in his new book, Fine Art Digital Nature Photography - Tips Techniques and Creative Options (2009). He uses filter plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop to enhance, even further, the creative exposure techniques mentioned above. Most of his examples use the suite of plug-ins by Nik Software (http://www.niksoftware.com) for color, contrast and texture adjustment (Viveza 2). He also uses a number of filters in the Color Efex Pro plug-in and a few others by manufacturers, such as Alien Skin (http://www.alienskin.com). Real filters come into play, as well - mostly from Singh-Ray (http://www.singh-ray.com/index.html). His step-by-step procedures for each example are very clear and well-illustrated. This new book would be a good first step for any photographer wishing to get into the fine art market. Recommended.