Zen and the Magic of Photography is a new book geared toward helping photographers develop their visual awareness, sensitivity, and intuition. Topics covered include the relationship between Zen and photography, the two essential elements in every photograph, the art of photographic analysis, experiencing Zen through photography and photography through Zen, experiencing the creative process and photographic examples of the points of intersection and merging between photography and Zen. Priced at $24.95, Zen and the Magic of Photography is a 112-page book written by Wayne Rowe.

Sixty-nine endangered North American animal and plant species are poignantly profiled in a new book from National Geographic, RARE: Portraits of America’s Endangered Species, photographed by Joel Sartore. His arresting photographs tell a sad tale of a harsh reality: For many species, it’s already too late. One of the featured animals, the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit (see photo above), actually went extinct while the book was being made. An exhibition of 40 images from the book will be held March 18-Oct. 11 at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C. At a National Geographic Live event at headquarters on April 20 at 7:30 p.m., Sartore will share stories about living things that may soon disappear from the world.

PhotoShelter have released Social Media for Photographers, a free 55-page e-book that provides essential internet marketing guidance for professionals looking to grow their photography business online. The new e-book includes tips on: the ground rules for social media, choosing where to participate, smart strategies to stand out, generating social sharing and quality links, suggestions for measuring progress, and a listing of tools to save time and make participation more effective. The guide is designed to benefit photographers new to social media as well as those who wish to generate more results from their current efforts. “Many photographers already have a website, photo blog, a Twitter account and a Facebook page, but we don’t see many using these tools to effectively market and grow their photography business. By giving photographers the information they need to grow their social media presence, set goals, and measure their efforts, we are providing them with new strategies to promote their work and ultimately generate more revenue from their photography,” said PhotoShelter CEO Allen Murabayashi.

Website: Social Guide for Photographers

Wedding Photography - A Guide to Posing is a new title from Oliver Cameron Publishing. Designed for professional and amateur photographers who cover weddings, this pocket-sized, 7x5”  book contains 300+ images over 200 pages from some of the world’s finest wedding photographers. Topics covered include basic poses, bride and groom formals, group shots inside and outside the church, posing the couple in the church after the service, cutting the cake, using off-camera flash, posing mistakes to avoid and more. The book is claimed to be especially useful for those who have “blanks” when posing brides and grooms or find themselves recreating the same pose at every wedding. Going on sale in April 2010, Wedding Photography - A Guide to Posing is priced (including shipping) at £10. Anyone who pre-orders from the UK will also receive a set of discount vouchers from some of the industry’s leading suppliers. Those pre-ordering the book from the USA or any other country outside the UK before 1 February will receive half price postage and packing. The discounted price is $18.95 in the USA and £12 in the rest of the world.

Website: Oliver Cameron Publishing

Several photographers, including photojournalists, have donated photos to help create Haiti: Onè Respe, a collection of captivating images to benefit the people of Haiti. All proceeds from the sale of this publication go to the American Red Cross International Response Fund for Haiti earthquake relief. The photographers who have donated their work include Chet Gordon, Kari Hartmann, Mary Ellen Mark, Peter Pereira and Lindsay Stark. The purchase price of Haiti: Onè Respe is $12.

Website: Onè Respe

Via 1001 Noisy Cameras

Dr. Pierre A. Kandorfer’s newest work, the Digital Video Production Handbook, is a new kind of “how-to” book targeted at photographers who would like to know more about videography. “Most photographers are not just still-photographers anymore. Journalists, reporters, editors, camera operators, photo journalists depend on digital video knowledge,” Kandorfer says. The book takes a didactically new, learning-focused approach presenting all basic “standard knowledge” you need in order to professionally write, produce, shoot and direct digital video. The Digital Video Production Handbook is available through your local bookstore’s order desk and online retailers such as Amazon.com, BarnesandNobel.com, Borders.com and Exlibris.com. It comes in a choice of hardcover, soft-cover or e-book.

Sean Arbabi, a 20-year commercial travel pro out of California recently wrote a book on photographic exposure. The BetterPhoto Guide to Exposure, published through Amphoto, a division of Random House, is a 224-page full colour how-to, with over 50,000 words and 250+ images, discussing the various aspects of exposure. Sean follows a step-by-step approach with chapter assignments to help the reader truly understand one of the most important aspects of photography. The book is on sale now around the globe and on Amazon. You can also buy a signed copy directly from Sean via his website.

Website: Sean Arbabi

Yvon Bourque, editor of the Pentax DSLRs blog, has recently published his e-book on the Pentax K-x digital SLR. Bourque, who has written a number of e-books on a range of Pentax DSLR cameras, says he believes this is the most complete e-book he has published so far. Full of high-resolution colour photographs and illustrations, the Pentax K-x e-book can be downloaded from his site after paying $11 via PayPal. You can also print the new e-book for your own use.

Website: Pentax DSLRs
Review: Read our in-depth review of the Pentax K-x

Three Songs, No Flash! is a new book from Rocky Nook, written by concert photographer Loe Beerens. From punk to classical and everything in between, Loe covers how the music industry is organized, how to get access, the right people to befriend, and the proper etiquette of concert photography, the publisher says. Equipment selection and shooting techniques for each of the major musical instruments are covered, as well as capturing the peak action, post-production techniques, shooting in low light, and marketing your images. The 152-page book retails for $24.95.

Website: Three Songs, No Flash!

Practical Digital Photomicrography is a new book about digital photography through the microscope. Readers will learn about the three camera types used in photomicrography and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Detailed discussions on microscope illuminators and lighting systems are also included. Practical Digital Photomicrography costs $69.95.

Rocky Nook have just announced a new title, Mastering the Nikon D5000 by Darrell Young. Darrell’s approach in teaching the reader to master this camera avoids the purely instructional technique, favouring a more friendly and advisory tone, the publisher says. He blends his decades of Nikon camera experience with an intuitive understanding of the readers’ most likely questions regarding specific camera functions and features. Rather than just list all options for the myriad of camera settings and adjustments, he explains the background behind each setting and shares his personal recommendations. Mastering the Nikon D5000 is available now, priced at $34.95.

Website: Mastering the Nikon D5000
Review: Read our in-depth review of the Nikon D5000

A new digital photography eBook, HDSLR: The Billion Things You Need To Know To Make Your Camera Shoot Movies, has been released by GM Books. “HDSLR” is author Peter iNova’s coined term for interchangeable lens DSLR cameras that can capture HD movies. Author iNova’s decades of experience with still photography, high definition video and 35mm motion picture cinematography plus more than a year with “HDSLR” cameras have been distilled into this highly interactive eBook, the publisher says. Topics cover history, technology, the five essentials, the five repair options, sequence planning as you shoot, editing after you shoot, vital camera accessories, a huge chapter on techniques, special effects and problem solving, plus a run-down comparing all current HDSLR models. The eBook comes as a printable PDF on a DVD for Windows and Mac, complete with Actions for Photoshop Extended. The DVD costs $34.95.

Website: GM Books

Rocky Nook have announced the release of a new photography book, entitled The Portrait by Glenn Rand and Tim Meyer. The two authors “have avoided the single-style viewpoint common to so many books on portraiture and have crafted a definitive resource for professionals, as well as students and avid amateurs,” the publisher says. Topics covered include, among others, the mastering of lighting ratios, the quality of light, lighting patterns on the human face the importance and selection of backgrounds, composition in portraiture, eliciting the appropriate expression and more; including extensive coverage of lighting setups. The 170-page book sells for $34.95 / £26.99.

Website: The Portrait

Former creative head of Getty Images Lewis Blackwell is the author of a new book, Photowisdom: Master Photographers on Their Art. Blackwell will deliver a lecture in the School of Visual Arts Theatre at 333 West 23rd Street, New York, on 14 December 2009. The lecture and slide presentation will be followed by a Q + A with the audience and a book signing. The book itself is a 216-page, full-colour publication featuring outstanding images and “revelatory” interviews, the publisher says. The interviewed photographers share their visions, their challenges, their motivations and their methods as they discuss the purpose and the technique of photography with the author. Photowisdom: Master Photographers on Their Art is available for $50.

Lifephoto.com, an online digital photo gift store and photo sharing site, has introduced a range ofe new book-building features that enable customers to upload digital photos and build a photo book in minutes. Lifephoto’s photo book selections include photo cover, hardcover and softcover with the option of a photo jacket for a hardcover book. Another book choice is the “lay flat” book with additional quality options. Many page designs and themed background choices are available, but customers can also elect to use one of their own photos as a background in the opacity they prefer. Photo book prices start at $6.95 for a 20-page book.

Panasonic has announced that its Lumix cameras have been used to capture 109 images for The Caravan Gallery’s latest book, Is Britain Great? 2. The Caravan Gallery is a mobile exhibition and visual arts project run by artists Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale who are on a mission to record the ordinary and extraordinary details of life in 21st century Britain.Looking carefully at cultural trends and paying attention to juxtapositions, the pair take a detailed glance at today’s society asking the question is Britain really that great? Panasonic’s relationship with Williams and Teasdale began with the purchase of the DMC-FZ30 camera. The pair now use the Lumix DMC-G1.

If you have any interesting photos taken with a Lensbaby, now’s your chance to get published! Your shot might become one of a dozen photographs that will illustrate a new book by Lensbaby guru Corey Hilz, due out from Focal Press in the Summer of 2010.  “The book will feature ‘how to’ and inspirational content, along with galleries of Lensbaby photos by some of the foremost Lensbaby photographers in the world,” Lensbaby says. “At least 12 of the submitted images will be featured in the Lensbaby book. Popular voting on the Lensbaby forum will be used to help decide one of the chosen images. Corey Hilz and Craig Strong will pick the remaining images”. You have until the end of the year to submit up to two photos for consideration. Voting will take place from 1 to 7 January 2010 and the selected images will be announced on 15 January.

Website: Lensbaby

Chronicle Books has just released a new rock and roll photograph book - Taking Aim: Unforgettable Rock & Roll Photographs Selected by Graham Nash. Spanning more than fifty years of music-making as seen through the eyes of 40 photographers, Taking Aim is Graham’s personal take, through photography, on the evolution of rock ‘n’ roll music. Some personalities, like Bob Marley and Emmylou Harris, are represented in a single, iconic image. Others, like Johnny Cash and The Beatles, are documented by multiple photographers and throughout various stages in their lives and careers. Accompanying the book is an audio CD with Nash’s insights and reflections on each photograph. The 128-page book, which has 80 duotone and full-colour photos, is priced at $50. The exhibition of Taking Aim, organized by Experience Music Project | Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (EMP | SFM) in Seattle, Washington, opens there in 2010 and will tour thereafter.

Website: Chronicle Books

Build a Better Photograph, a new book by Rocky Nook, is an excursion into the creative process of an experienced professional photographer. Author Michael Stern demystifies the creative process he has successfully employed for over two decades in the fields of environmental portraiture, product photography, 3D scanning, and compositing techniques. How do artists conceptualize? Where do they get their ideas? How do they incorporate those ideas into their work? These questions and others are explored during actual assignments, along with discussions about the technical and business skills needed to succeed in commercial photography. Build a Better Photograph is available for $34.95 / £22.99.

Photographer’s Guide to the Leica D-Lux 4: Getting the Most from Leica’s Compact Digital Camera is a new book by Alexander White. The book is a trade-sized paperback, 227 pages long, with more than 100 colour photographs or illustrations. It includes clearly written explanations of all of the camera’s features, controls, and menus. It also covers topics such as the use of flash (both built-in and external), infrared photography, macro photography, and accessories. The book also may be of interest to owners of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 camera, because the D-Lux 4 is very similar to the LX3, and the operations of the two cameras are almost identical. Published by White Knight Press, Photographer’s Guide to the Leica D-Lux 4 is available for $19.95 plus shipping.

Website White Knight Press