Heritage of Roses

Realizing that artistic vision can't be taught, Gibbons and Wilson nevertheless hint at how to cultivate it, while focusing on photographic technique and the rules of composition. This is the British duo's third book on photography, and though they concentrate here on the concerns of landscape photographya world of low ASAs, tripods and long hikesthe beginner will find tips on lighting, filtration, point of view and metering applicable to almost any natural light photography. Still, the ``serious amateur'' this book is intended for may consider reiteration of the ``rule of thirds'' and treatment of depth of field too basic, while familiarity with relatively complex matterse.g., upgrading film ratingsis assumed. The book is amply illustrated with competent, if generally uninspiring, photographs, and instructive captions capably reinforce the text. A few Briticisms intrude in terminology, and an English bias is evident in the authors' preference for hedgerows and stone circles as subjectsbut nearly every outdoor situation is covered, the principles are universal, the advice is solid and the tone encouraging. (Dec.)