Historical December 1989 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
The holiday season brings out shutterbugs everywhere whether they own an instamatic, a Brownie, a Nikon, or a Polaroid.
There are all those pictures just waiting to be taken: the family group; the new baby crawling; brother Bill and his girl in from Cincinnati; those special places where you’re traveling. And, don’t forget that unforgettable picture of Fido the dog, or Marmaduke the cat for the 1990 Kiosk pet photo contest.
The St. Louis Public Library Kiosk is here to help you with all sorts of material on the subject.
From a technical viewpoint there is The Single Lens Reflex Handbook by Michael Langford, a basic “how to” guide to that kind of camera. Ansel Adams Photography is a set in three volumes titled The Print, The Negative, and The Camera.
These books contain text about the mechanics of photography and are profusely illustrated with his prints.
There also are videocassettes available, The Art of Ansel Adams, and Photographing People by Kodak as well as a new book for video camera enthusiasts, The Complete Guide To Making Home Video Movies.
We asked several of our neighborhood professionals for recommendations from the Kiosk collection. King Schoenfield, of King Schoenfield Photography and Graphic Design, and the photographer for The Times of Skinker DeBaliviere, felt that More Joys Of Photography by the editors of Eastman Kodak appealed most to him.
The book describes many creative techniques as well as offering essays by noted photographers and beautiful color illustrations. Marlon Fields of Spot Photography offered the following advice: “Probably the best thing an amateur photographer can read (or re-read) is the owner’s manual of his or her camera. That will explain its particular capabilities and probably recap the basic rules for taking good photos (avoid cluttered backgrounds; come in close to your subject, etc.).
After that, read whatever interests you.
The Eastman Kodak Joy Of Photography is fun and full of ideas:’ Jack Frasure, photographer with the St. Louis public schools, says that for a small library, the Kiosk collection is diverse, offering a substantial number of books about different aspects of photography.
It is excellent for people interested in the basics.
For inspiration, this librarian recommends a life-long favorite, The Family Of Man, a collection of photographs by artists from all over the world which was first exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The Kiosk will soon be receiving the 30th Anniversary’ edition. Whether shutterbugs or not, we wish a happy holiday to all Kiosk patrons and urge you to remember our party for all ages on Saturday, December 16th, from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
It will be held at the Skinker Debaliviere office with live entertainment by Rose Flynn.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, December 1989.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Source spells King Schoenfield in article, while photograph credits elsewhere say Schoenfeld. Printed article form retained for review.
Original source: SD_Times1989_12.pdf, printed page(s) 7; PDF page(s) 7.
