John Upton

This is a textbook so it has fairly shallow coverage of many topics related to photography. Having picked up photography in bits and pieces throughout the last few years, some parts were really useful and other parts more review. You could probably get a lot of the same information without reading a full textbook, but if you enjoy reading textbooks, getting the wide perspective this book gives is useful.

The one thing I have mixed feelings about is that, since this is an older edition of this text, it covered both digital and film photography. The sections on film photography were interesting, but I mostly skimmed them because, realistically, I'm never actually going to do it.… (mer)

It's amazing the revolution in photography in the last 15 years. This is one of the best textbooks on the subject and is used as the basis for teaching in colleges and institutes across the country; and in 1998 there was only a single chapter about digital photography. What's fascinating is that the principles and practices espoused in this book are still so relevant despite the major shift in the technology. I think this might be changing, though, as an entirely new aesthetic is starting to emerge based on the unique properties of digital.… (mer)

Review by Samuel Johnson in his Preface to Shakespeare, 1756: Before Dr. Warburton’s edition, Critical observations on Shakespeare had been published by Mr. Upton, a man skilled in languages, and acquainted with books, but who seems to have had no great vigour of genius or nicety of taste. Many of his explanations are curious and useful, but he likewise, though he professed to oppose the licentious confidence of editors, and adhere to the old copies, is unable to restrain the rage of emendation, though his ardour is ill seconded by his skill. Every cold empirick, when his heart is expanded by a successful experiment, swells into a theorist, and the laborious collator at some unlucky moment frolicks in conjecture.… (mer)