Photography resources
web sites and books  

My main photographic interests are in the equipment and techniques for macro photography and photomacrography, especially for use with Nikon DSLRs (including equipment not made or suggested by Nikon). On this page are some books and web sites I can recommend as sources of information on these subjects. Since I am mostly technically (rather than artistically) inclined, these sources concentrate on technical aspects. Several of these resources deal with equipment no longer produced, which is primarily of interest to collectors and/or advanced technical users. You will not find on this page any sources that deal specifically with basic information on photography, or beginner's information on macro photography. However, the first of the web sites listed below can be a good source of information also for beginners.

I do not exchange links with other web sites, and I am not sponsored in any way by the sources listed below. This gives me the freedom to say what I think about them. The sites listed below are on this page for the only reason that I regard them as the best and most useful. There are several other useful sites, and plenty of less useful sites, but I prefer to keep this list short.

Web sites

Nikonians - A bulletin board for and by users of Nikon cameras and lenses. Contains also information on shooting techniques in a variety of fields. If you are looking for a bulletin board with plenty of useful, factual information on current equipment and techniques, and little hype, boasting and mysticism about equipment of a particular brand, this is the only bulletin board I recommend. In my experience, it is far better than any other in these respects.

The Nikon historical society online - Articles, bulletin board and links about the history of Nippon Kogaku and Nikon, and their equipment. The bulletin board is not very active, but still a useful reference.

The macrolenses collection database - An online database of almost every existing photomacrographic lens (especially older ones), with pictures of lenses, technical data and often also scanned data sheets. Also a large assortment of special-purpose lenses, especially those designed for UV and IR photography. It concentrates especially on old equipment no longer in production. It contains little or no information about "normal" macro lenses (i.e., those mounted in barrels that focus between infinity and 1:1). It contains virtually no text besides technical data, so you must know what you are looking for. If you do, this is the best reference, period. Warning: this is a slow server, so be patient.

Red Book Nikkor Aid International - A web site by a Japanese collector specializing on unusual lenses made by Nippon Kogaku and Nikon. Includes much information not found elsewhere, especially on exotic lenses hardly ever mentioned elsewhere.

Nikon resources - Information and pictures of virtually every camera lens made by Nippon Kogaku and Nikon, including Micro Nikkor lenses (but not the models with mounts other than the Nikon F bayonet). It does not include special and photomacrographic lenses.

Rolands Nikon Pages - Another site with concise technical data and pictures of Nippon Kogaku and Nikon lenses. For most of these lenses, it also lists the range of serial numbers actually seen by or communicated to the author (very useful if you are trying to date an old lens).

Books

	Blaker, A.A. 1976. Field photography; beginning and advanced techniques. Freeman, 451 pp. + field booklet. This book is entirely about scientific and nature photography, and deals in great part with macro photography. The chapters on film and darkroom techniques are obviously outdated, but the book as a whole is still quite useful. Not extremely technical, but contains many suggestions for building or improving equipment.
	Blaker, A.A. 1977. Handbook for scientific photography. Freeman, 319 pp. + field booklet. More technical than the preceding book, also partly outdated, but less so than the preceding one. A must-have source for photography in a scientific laboratory/technical studio. It does not mention much of the more expensive equipment that a photographic studio in a scientific research institute is likely to possess, and instead concentrates largely on using equipment and lenses not originally designed for photomacrography.
	Papert J. 1971. Photomacrography: art and technique. Amphoto, 118 pp. Despite the title, this book concentrates largely on artistic aspects, and the technical aspects are not dealt with in much detail. This book might possibly be used as a complement to more technical ones, but definitely it is the least useful among the books listed here.
	White, W. 1987. Photomacrography; an introduction. Butterworth, 221 pp. A rather detailed and technical review of theory, techniques and studio/laboratory equipment, including specialized equipment. It is much more than just an introduction.
	Anonymous, 1969. Photomacrography. Kodak Technical Publication N-12B, 95 pp. The oldest and technically most outdated of the publications in this list, it is still useful for an extensive discussion of illumination techniques and their effects on contrast. It is sometimes bound together with another Kodak Technical Publication, and entitled Close-up Photography and Photomacrography.
	Bracegirdle, B. 1995. Scientific photomacrography. Bios, 105 pp. The most recent and less outdated of these books. Relatively similar to White (1987) in scope, but somewhat less detailed. Still very useful.
	Lefkowitz, L. 1979. The manual of close-up photography. Amphoto, 272 pp. A technical handbook covering both theoretical and practical aspects of close-up photography, macro photography and photomacrography.Unusually comprehensive, it covers both beginner and advanced techniques, but is principally targeted to advanced users and scientific photography.
	Stafford, S., Hillebrand, R. and Hauschild, H.J. 2003. The new Nikon compendium. Hove, 411 pp. A discussion and illustrations of most cameras, camera lenses and accessories made by Nikon for the 35 mm and digital formats (except for specialty lenses with other mounts than the Nikon F bayonet - you wont't find anything about them in this book).