Good books for b&w photography.

Does anyone have any suggestions on good b&w photography books? I've been teaching myself a lot

lately, but I just can't seem to learn enough. Every books I read has something new in it. I know

somebody's going to suggest the Ansel Adams series, but I've real all those (and they're wonderful). I've

also read a lot of other books, but I wont list them all. So any book suggestions you've got on techniques,

history, zone system, and so on, let me know. Thanks!

i'm just curious as to what it is "specifically" you didn't get from all those other books?

 

the 3 adams books alone should get you at least competent in shooting b&w. from their it's all your own style and artistic interpretations.

 

there are lengthy compilations devoted to photographic history, but they are just going to show examples in the context of their time frame.

If I knew what I didn't get from the other books then I'd already have gotten it...you know

what I mean. I enjoy reading new books on the subject. Seeing different techniques from

different photographers inspires me and get me more excited about my own work.

 

I'd just like to know what everyone's favorite books are on b&w, maybe there's something in

one of them that'll inspire me.

The single book I found most useful is The Craft Of Photography by David Vestal (my copy is 1974, don't know if it's been reprinted lately). Harper annd Row. ISBN 0-06-014497-1 (hardbound). ISBN 0-06-090622-7 pbk. I like the no-nonsense, hands-on approach. Especially like Section 3 "Photographic Control". Enough technical stuff to start creative work, no time wasted on exotic processes (time for that later).

You want to bend your mind a little and fill in some of those conceptual holes maybe? Two books I highly recommend. Neither is about B&W photography, but both will help you understand B&W photography as well as color photography and other arts.

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First, Richard Zakia's <i>Perception and Imaging.</i> Then, Margaret Livingstone's <i>Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing.</i>

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I certainly learned a lot from both, and they both fit in rather interestingly with the Zone System books and other technical B&W photography specific books.

Way Beyond Monochrome by Lambrecht and Woodhouse is outstanding but a little pricey. It is definitely weighted more towards printing and geared for the more advanced amateur. It's worth every cent for those who wish to consistently take their photograpic efforts up a notch!

I second David Vestal's book.

I like the stuff by Vestal, and there's also a book -- neither the title nor the author come to mind, but it was something like "The Ansel Adams Printing Workshop" -- written in the 90s by one of Adams' former assistants. It's a great book. Perhaps someone can fill in the details.

Someone recommended to me the 2 Vestal books last year. You can get them on Amazon

through some of the used merchants. Totally worth it in my opinion.

I'd like to add 3 other books:

 

1) "Darkroom" and "Darkrrom 2" - both published by Lustrum Press in the late 1970's - they should still be available through used book dealers.

 

2) Ansel Adams' "Examples - the making of 40 photographs".

 

Once you have a good feeling for the craft these books do a great job of explaining how photographers applied the craft to bring out the art in specific images.

 

Ron Gratz

An interesting book is John Blakemore's Black and White Photography Workshop.

"Elements of Black & White Photography

The Making of Twenty Images."

 

by, George Todd

I suggest the Film Developing Cookbook. A good print is dependent on good negatives. Both of Vestal's books are getting dated but worth reading just for his pearls of photographic wisdom. What shouts out in both The Craft of Photography and The Art of Black and White Enlarging is to lower the EI of Tri-X from 400 to 200/100. Your prints will be much improved vs shooting Tri-X at 400 or 320.

Another vote for Vestal's book - bought it new in the early '70's and still refer to it on occasion. If you're shooting 35mm, a good book on the zone system is "The Zone System for 35mm Photographers" by Carson Graves.

For a hardcore textbook on most aspects of photography, you can't beat "Photographic Materials and Processes" By Strobel, Compton, Current, and Zakia. Focal Press. This is written as a text book for RIT photo students and as such is quite technical. Not much "how to" but a lot of what it is and how it works.

Kim

Matthew, I'm also largely "self-taught," and I think, when I began, I feel a bit like you do now. Ansel Adams's series is fine, but I actually think it's a little dry and dated; sure, it's a classic, but I believe there's better material out there. I like Henry Horenstein's book (now in its third edition), good for everything B&W, as well as a book the name of which I can't remember right now... it has a picture of a camera lens on the cover (I'm sure that helps you a lot). You might consider going by Barnes & Noble and taking advantage of the atmosphere they happily foster: take a book, take a sit, and knock yourself out. Just find a comfortable spot near the "photography technique" section; you'll get more than your fill (it might be hard to pick a starting point; maybe just go down the line), and it won't cost you anything.

 

All this said, you can't really learn photography by going over the same details again and again. Technique is necessary to have in the back of your mind (even if you're using a helpful new camera that offers much in the way of automation) if you wish to take good pictures ("hmmm... how do I get that background to be less distracting?"), but getting out there into the world ? cursing the sheer size and weight of all the $h!t you decided to lug around ? is the only way to actually begin taking great photographs.