Long-time columnist and lifelong photographer Shawn M. Tomlinson writers about the art and technique of photography with wit and humor. He focuses in his Photo Curmudgeon columns on getting started in as well as moving into advanced photography. Instead of concentrating upon the newest, shiniest photographic equipment, Tomlinson works with all levels of older equipment, makes recommendations and recounts his own "Voyages of Photography." He helps the novice get started with higher end, older cameras and lenses, and helps with photo editing suggestions and techniques.

The author takes a look at the reasons to buy a second digital single-lens reflex camera body and gives some advice about what the 2nd DSLR should be. This expanded edition goes more in-depth about the reasons to own a 2nd DSLR body and includes film SLR cameras and a handy backup system.

In 'Getting Started in Photography," Photographer and writer Shawn M. Tomlinson creates a quick guide to help budding photographers. The book includes equipment advice, exercises for becoming better, photo processing basics and more. From the book: "What anyone starting out needs is, well, a starting point. Some basic information about equipment and technique to get everything moving. And, hey, I'm here to help." In part two, 'Great Starter DSLR: Revisiting the Sony A100, ' he takes an in-depth look at the camera and continues his series devoted to helping budding photographers get started without breaking the bank. In this case, Tomlinson considers the first Sony DSLR, the A100. From the book: "After waiting the proper mourning time for Minolta - about a year - Sony took the black armband off and unveiled its first DSLR, the A100. And why is this important now? It's vitally important if you are a beginning photographer and want to get a great DSLR and great lenses that won't mortgage your house."

A while back, I wrote a guide to the first truly professional and practical DSLR camera, the Nikon D1, titled: Photography: Going Pro for $200: Revisiting the Nikon D1. That volume proved popular and I hope it helped some photographers to get started with their first pro DSLRs. The aged D1 may not have the megapixels of modern cameras, and it certainly has some frustrating menu items, but it is a fun and inexpensive way to get your hands on a pro DSLR without spending a lot of money. This book recently was expanded for print and adds details about the Nikon D1x and D1H. The thing is that, if you are like me, once you've shot with a pro DSLR, it makes you hungry for more. But those current models - the Canon EOS 1Dx and Nikon D4s (the latest as of this writing) - still have huge price tags that can bring tears. The best thing is that, used, you can put your hands on a D2x for less than $400 and get one of the best lenses Nikon makes - the Nikon AF D 50mm f/1.8 - for another $100.

Photographer and writer Shawn M. Tomlinson, author of the Photo Curmudgeon column and books, gives the budding photographer an inexpensive way to move into serious photography with good equipment. Tomlinson considers the financial restrictions of novice photographers in this how-to book that gives detailed, step-by-step help. He illustrates his points with many photographs shot with the cameras he recommends. As a bonus, this book also contains Volume 2 of the Shawn M. Tomlinson's Guide to Photography series, How to Pack a Camera Gadget Bag.

Everybody gives out tips for better photography. Well, maybe not your boss or the guy who fixes your furnace (although mine does), but most photography websites, forums and magazines fill their pages with tips for becoming a better photographer. There's a reason there are so many tips out there: photographers want them. On the other hand, we who have some little knowledge like to give them, too. Most people like to pass on what they've learned. I've been a photographer for nearly four decades. I've published thousands of photographs. I write a photography column (Photo Curmudgeon). I love photography. I read tips from other photographers often. Sometimes, I read something new, or at least put in a new way so that it sparks an idea. No one can tell you how to develop your photographer's eye. Only you can figure that out. What I can do is give you some pointers about how to develop your own photographer's eye, and how to get better as a photographer.

It has been a long, strange road, and probably has no end clearly in sight. Many more books are in the works as I write this in early December 2018. For example, I have published nine novels to date, and am writing nine more, with plans for some beyond that. The Shawn M. Tomlinson's Guide to Photography series has 29 titles in print, with another five or six nearly complete, and plans for 30 to 40 more. I'm also trying to rework and rearrange those books into omnibus editions by chronology and by theme.I never will get every book done I want to do, but it keeps me busy.I always planned on putting out a catalog of all the Zirlinson Books, but kept getting waylaid for one reason or another until now. This catalog is available as a print book in color. The color print book will be cost prohibitive for many people, so there likely will be a black and white version available, too.

I have been somewhat reluctant to write about the absolute best digital single-lens reflex camera I have ever used, the Nikon D800E. The reason is that I like to write about older cameras that have become cheaper to buy and use for the frugal photographer. Although some of the cameras I have written about were terribly expensive when first released, by now they are reasonably cheap. For example, IÍve written books about the Canon EOS 1DS/1DS Mark II, the Nikon D1 and the Nikon D2X. These all are pro DSLRs and as such were released at prices ranging from $6,000 to $8,000. By now, however, the most you will pay is around $400 for any of them. In a few years, the Nikon D800E, too, will be much cheaper and an obvious choice for the frugal photographer. No matter the price, the D800 and D800E are two of the best DSLRs ever made. Either will change you as a photographer in fantastic ways.

Photographer and writer Shawn M. Tomlinson, author of the Photo Curmudgeon column and books, makes creating black and white and toned photos simple with this how-to guide. "In a world dominated by colorful images, black and white and toned photographs can stand out as something different, something somehow more beautiful," Tomlinson writes. "To really work in the 21st century, a black and white or toned image must be special. It must express something not there in color. There must be a reason to change the reality of the image by turning it grayscale, not just that you can. All that said, there is absolutely nothing like a truly great black and white image." The author covers the basics of B&W and toned photos including processing techniques, printing, presentation in eBooks, and much more. This is an expanded and revised edition of the original eBook and trade paperback editions.

In the Realm of the King is volume four of my complete shorter fiction collection. It contains some finished stories, but largely it contains a collection of unfinished pieces. Either I got stuck at certain points of the pieces or just stopped writing them. I first collected some unfinished tales in my chapbook titled 'Tales Without End Vol. 1' way back in 1995. It was, in fact, one of the last few chapbooks I published. This volume is an attempt to get most of my unfinished tales into one book. Who knows? I may complete some or all of them one day, or I may not. In any event, they are here for what theyÕre worth.