Photographer, Writer, Contemporary petapixel guest authorand photography teacher at Dakota College in Bottineau, Todd Vorenkamp Wrote an adorable and educational book about photography for children, A is for Aperture: The ABCs of Photography,
Arriving just in time for the holidays, Vorenkamp’s new book is illustrated by Jordana Shapiro, a freelance creative art director and graphic designer who is also versed in photography. Shapiro teaches photography to adults with disabilities, helping them find their creativity and individual voice.
A is for aperture Basically, it’s an ABC book for kids, but it’s designed to delight even experienced photographers. Many of Shapiro’s illustrations and Vorenkamp’s descriptions discuss photographic concepts, common camera gear, and various photo styles. The book includes photographic terms and call-outs to historically significant film and camera makers.
For example, spoiler alert, A is “aperture” and B is “bokeh”. Below each letter are other relevant words, companies and people. For A, it says Adobe Photoshop, ASA, Astrophotography, Autofocus, Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, and Richard Avedon. Ahead, there are hand-drawn illustrations of the lens apertures, including f/2, f/8, and f/16, each getting increasingly smaller, just like in real life.
“As a photo writer, I’d always toyed with the idea of creating some kind of photography book based on the educational articles I wrote for B&H, but never came up with a good catalyst to launch the idea. Couldn’t come,” explains Vorenkamp. “A few years ago my cousin came to visit and we were looking through my son’s bookshelf in his room. He made an offhand comment in one conversation, ‘You should write a children’s photo book for Finn (my son) and name it: A is for Aperture.’ The wheels started turning. Shortly thereafter I hired illustrator and former B&H colleague, Jordana Shapiro, and we began the project.
Vorenkamp says he has long been passionate about photography, writing, and teaching, and this book combines all three.
“I love watching our students develop their photography skills as they progress through the Dakota College program. Sharing my love of photography with people who are passionate about the art brings me great joy and this book is another way I can share that joy with photographers both new and old.
Vorenkamp says there are many excellent educational ‘how-to’ books about photography, but very few of them are for children and contain general conceptual knowledge about the art.
“I hope this book will fill that void and help young readers discover the art of photography,” he says, adding that he hopes experienced photographers will also enjoy the book and recommend it to their families, especially children. Can share with.
“And finally, I hope that readers will find a new photographic term inside the book or the name of a photographer they’ve never heard of on the page and take the next step to explore those topics a little more deeply,” Vorenkamp concluded.
A is for Aperture: The ABCs of Photography Is now available $14.99 in paperback and $4.99 for the Kindle edition.
Image Credit: ,A is for Aperture: The ABCs of Photography for Kids‘ is written by Todd Vorenkamp and illustrated by Jordana Shapiro. Images here provided courtesy of Todd Vorenkamp.
