Mary Allen Bücher

Exploring themes of childhood, spirituality, and personal growth, this memoir captures the author's journey through a disrupted upbringing and her evolving wisdom. The narrative intertwines poignant memories, from the tender bond with an elderly friend to the complexities of family dynamics, including a mother's rejection and a sister's childbirth crisis. With a blend of humor and heartache, the prose reflects on meditation, love, and the beauty of everyday life, inviting readers to experience the author's unique voice and insights.

"Portrait Photography in Practice" is an updated and expanded version of Mary Allen's highly individual and successful book originally entitled "Portrait Photography: How and Why".Now re-designed and re-illustrated in the style of the "Photography in Practice" series, it provides a more direct demonstration of techniques than was possible in the earlier book.All good portraiture depends on the effective cooperation between two people. Mary Allen's book shows how the ability of any photographer to "see into" the subject can be greatly extended and developed, resulting in pictures that provide an insight into the character of the sitter - the essential property absent from so much portrait work.The author's honest approach to the psychology of portraiture and the problems of age, differences in complexion, handling child subjects and the scope and challenges of lighting effects are followed by a description of the process through to the printing and presentation stages, with advice based upon a lifetime's experience of photographing people.