Neil Van Niekerk

[rpcrowe]

I don't buy a lot of books lately, preferring to use the Internet for my information. However, I have been using Neil Van Niekirk's website for many years now and when he contacted me at Linkedin announcing his new book, I decided to purchase it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160..._detailpages00

[inkista]

Yeah, I bought the first edition when it came out, just to say thank you for the website, since it taught me so much. The 2nd edition (the one you linked to), he says, has been updated and expanded with newer material and he's added exercises, to practice on-camera flash techniques.

Oh, and it's Neikerk, not Niekirk--just swap the 'i's and 'e's. I was misspelling it for years...

[Dave Humphries]

Oh, and it's Neikerk, not Niekirk--just swap the 'i's and 'e's. I was misspelling it for years...

Actually Kathy - on the cover of the books (I checked two) - it is spelt "Niekerk"

I have corrected the thread title.

[rpcrowe]

Kathy,
"Yeah, I bought the first edition when it came out, just to say thank you for the website, since it taught me so much."
That is kind-of why I purchased the book also...

[inkista]

Actually Kathy - on the cover of the books (I checked two) - it is spelt "Niekerk" ...

And this is why one should never be a spelling/grammar nazi online.

I always screw up like this when I do it.

[William W]

^ I am bleeding for ya!

[george013]

Van Niekerk, it's a Dutch name. Van means from or off, kerk means church. Nie could be a denying so no or it could mean new. So translated "from/off no/new church" . I assume it's new.

George

[IzzieK]

And so this thread moved on to the etymology of a word, in this case, a surname. Wait till we hear from the Grammar police...then the fun will begin. Unfortunately, I am the worse of all in grammar.

[george013]

Unfortunately, I am the worse of all in grammar.

Wait a minute. You forget me.

I don't care how you write it. It's just an explanation of this name.
Names have a historical background. Surnames became obligatory since Napoleon Bonaparte. People had to choice a fixed surname that followed a patriarchal line. When you married, the woman adapted the man's name. Names often expressed a profession or a religious attitude. Former slaves in the colonies often a name related to their work, not being a profession. Many choosed their existing, temporary, surname and where called Johnson, Robertson meaning son of John or Robert.

Back to the topic. Van Niekerk has a great site.

George

[rpcrowe]

Since I am an amateur genealogist, I enjoy etymology of names. And... since I speak a few words of German (which is at times close to Dutch); I pretty well guessed that Van Niekerk meant From New Church or from the New Church. In German that would be Von Neue Kirche

However we translate it, he has a great website!

[george013]

Since I am an amateur genealogist, I enjoy etymology of names. And... since I speak a few words of German (which is at times close to Dutch); I pretty well guessed that Van Niekerk meant From New Church or from the New Church. In German that would be Von Neue Kirche

However we translate it, he has a great website!

I just googled. Niekerk and Oldekerk are 2 villages in the province Groningen in the Netherlands. Meaning new church and old church. Both forming one community.

George

[inkista]

^ I am bleeding for ya!

Yes, it's humiliating. But the poetic justice is undeniably amusing.

BTW, to quote from van Niekerk's website:

Based on the best-selling 1st edition, this is more than just a cosmetic overhaul. Combining older material which have been polished and streamlined, with lots of new material and trawling the Tangents blog for the best material.

At 35,000 words (the maximum the publisher would allow me), this is a concise introduction to on-camera flash photography, with the accent on demystifying flash. I concentrated on bounce flash photography for the latter half of the book, since I strongly believe that is where the magic lies with using on-camera flash.

One way in which this book has been radically changed from the first edition, is that it is now more of a work-book. There are several examples where you have to have your camera (and flash) in your hands, to step through the instruction. All the better to make sense of flash photography, and become confident in the use of flash photography.

That last paragraph to me is key in why a lot of folks are gonna want the 2nd edition. The first one was more like the blog--explaining principles and theory. The 2nd edition is going to be more like a workshop or "how to"--hands on exercises and actually doing lighting to learn.

[William W]

. . . That last paragraph to me is key in why a lot of folks are gonna want the 2nd edition. The first one was more like the blog--explaining principles and theory. The 2nd edition is going to be more like a workshop or "how to"--hands on exercises and actually doing lighting to learn.

I agree.

I was also thinking: nowadays it is a very broad meaning to the phrase 'word of mouth advertising' - my two 2015 Students just ordered the book, because at the moment, we three are all reading this thread.

*

Yes, it's humiliating. But the poetic justice is undeniably amusing.

Indeed. What perfect juxtaposition in the picture that you painted.

I am now bleeding and giggling . . . simultaneously.

Now, I gotta get back to work... my Students begin the session of final high school exams tomorrow.

WW

[IzzieK]

Actually, I have the Off-Camera Flash book...

[rpcrowe]

I just received the book and it is quite interesting and well done.