Here is a chronological record of the books I’ve read recently. Quite a few of them this time are older, out-of-print books acquired for collection purposes.

First, a few photo collections by Mitsuo Shibata, who sadly passed away earlier this year. I introduced the author in these previous posts: Mitsuo Shibata: The Chinese Navy Intercepting the Soviet Nuclear-Powered Heavy Missile Cruiser – Part 1 and Part 2.

Drift Front This is a photo collection shot by Shibata when he traveled to the Soviet Union and the US for military exercises during the Cold War. It focuses on weaponry largely unknown at the time—fighters, warships, tanks, and armored vehicles. Actually, my main purpose in buying this was to collect the specific photos he took of the Chinese Navy intercepting the Frunze.

Stratosphere Legend This book was shot by Shibata to commemorate the 30th anniversary of All Nippon Airways (ANA). It can be described as a textbook for airliner photography; the bold composition and long exposure shots are very useful for reference. As a professional photographer, he was able to access internal areas normally off-limits to the general public. The environment for close-up shooting is certainly different.

Days of Fire

Space Lab

The above two books are photo collections from Shibata’s coverage of NASA space shuttle launches. The primary shooting location was the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. I visited there 10 years ago, but due to the passage of time, I have forgotten many details. Through these photo books, I was able to recall some of the scenes from those years. Furthermore, through his in-depth coverage, I learned about every aspect of the launch preparation process.

Clouds: The True Face of 10,000 Meters The author of this book is Captain Hideo Ishizaki. I have several of his books on popularizing aviation, but I haven’t introduced them on the blog before. The book I bought this time is quite special; it is a beautiful photo collection.

Using hundreds of photos taken from the aircraft, the author explains the various types of clouds and the formation principles of each. It is an excellent popular science reader for meteorological knowledge. At the same time, from the perspective of an experienced pilot, he analyzes the impact of each type of cloud on aviation safety. I benefited immensely; no wonder the preface of this book was written by the Director-General of the Japan Meteorological Agency.

This book is very rare and is basically unavailable for purchase online. I was quite lucky to find it in the secondhand book district of Kanda.

Light Plane Flying: Introductory Edition This book is hailed as the bible for learning to fly small planes. After reading it, I feel it truly lives up to its reputation and is worth every penny.

The author, Ichiro Naito, has loved flying since his student days, winning first place in the National High School Glider Competition. He studied aviation in college, then became an associate professor at a university teaching flight, and later worked at the Japan Air Self-Defense Force research institute. He holds a pilot’s license and is a general aviation pilot with decades of flight experience.

Just looking at his background, you can see he has abundant flight experience, a solid theoretical foundation, and experience in both pilot instruction and research. A book written by such an author naturally stands out. I think it is one of the top two best aviation books I have ever read. From aviation theory to flying small propeller aircraft, the explanations are very clear and easy to understand. Especially regarding various control details, the narrative is gentle and meticulous, perfectly reflecting the meticulous character of the Japanese.

Published in 1971, this book has been out of print for many years, but the content feels completely outdated—wait, I mean completely timeless. I am 100% satisfied.

Finally, two new books.

How Pros Use It: Canon EOS 7D Mark II

As the name suggests, this book was co-written by several professional photographers. It covers three subjects: railway photography, animal photography, and aircraft photography, introducing how professionals use the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. I bought this book while attending the CP+ 2015 Camera & Photo Imaging Show. Since the book had just been released, the publisher was promoting it in the exhibition hall. Not only was there a 10% discount, but the authors also signed copies personally, so I bought the last copy they had on promotion.

Aircraft Photo Bible

This book specializes in aviation photography and is also co-written by several professional photographers. It introduces shooting techniques for airliners, fighter jets, and helicopters respectively. It is a new book released just three weeks ago.

There is a photo of the J-31 stealth fighter taken at the Zhuhai Airshow in the book. In pursuit of front lighting, the photographer did not go to the airshow site but climbed onto an abandoned hotel to capture the moment the J-31 just took off. I had previously seen photos of the J-31 from that airshow online and in magazines, including works by master photographer Katsuhiko Tokunaga, which were all backlit and didn’t turn out very well. But seeing the photo in this book was shocking—it can be shot so clearly? That’s amazing.

What I learned from this book is the professionals’ persistence, lighting usage, and focus techniques. For photos that look so perfect, seeing how they were shot is of great reference value. Now when I look at my own photos, I have to zoom in to 100% and check bit by bit to see if the focus is accurate. For example, checking the small text near the passenger door. This is almost like an obsession—perhaps influenced by this book.

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