eudemian Posted January 26, 2012 Share #1 Â Posted January 26, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Can anyone suggest useful and informative, up to date books about Black and White photography. I want to delve into this area which is new to me and would love some guidance about the aesthetic of BW (not so much about achieving it in Lightroom or Photoshop, although this may be useful as well). I have trawled Amazon but nothing catches my eye so suggestions and recommendations would be appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 Hi eudemian, Take a look here Suggestions for BW book(s). I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
250swb Posted January 26, 2012 Share #2 Â Posted January 26, 2012 A book covering the aesthetic side of B&W would be John Blakemore's 'Black and White Photography Workshop' , available cheaply as it appears in many remaindered book shops at the moment. Â Blakemore is a leading fine art photographer and educator and the book's title doesn't really do just to the subjects he covers. Its not so much a 'how to do it' book, but more a 'why to do it'. So using his own photographs he discusses the aesthetic decisions that need to be made for his landscape and still life work. Â Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted January 26, 2012 Share #3 Â Posted January 26, 2012 One of the best things you can do is look at lots of pics from b/w photographers whom you admire. There are loads of books available from photographers mentioned in this thread to give you some ideas. Attending shows, gallery and museum exhibits to look at real prints is even better. I'm not suggesting you imitate anyone; rather your eye is the best tool you have, and you can learn to 'see' better (in general and in b/w) if you invest the time. Â From the more technical side of things (but still with pointers regarding aesthetics), you might consider George DeWolfe's B&W Printing: Creating the Digital Master Print. Just ignore his 'soft sell' of software he developed and recommends; the rest of the information is still worthwhile. Â Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted January 26, 2012 Share #4  Posted January 26, 2012 Books  Way Beyond Monochrome, second edition by Ralph Lambrecht and Chris Woodhouse (First edition is good too, especially if you can get a hefty discount.)  Edge of Darkness by Barry Thornton Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted January 26, 2012 Share #5 Â Posted January 26, 2012 Another more about the aesthetic's of a photograph than a technical book is Ansel Adams 'Examples - The Making of Forty Photographs'. Â Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
atournas Posted January 26, 2012 Share #6  Posted January 26, 2012 - Black & White Landscape Photography, by John Collett and David Collett - How to Photograph the Outdoors in Black and White, by George Schaub - Black & White Photography, by Henry Horenstein - Creative Black & White, by Harold Davis - Creative Black & White Photography, by Bernhard J. Suess - 101 Quick and Easy Ideas Taken From the Master Photographers of the Twentieth Century, by Matthew Bamberg (mostly on B&W images) - The Photographic Eye, by Michael F. O'Brien & Norman Sibley (again, mostly on B&W images) - Street Photography for the Purist, by Chris Weeks - The Practical Zone System, by Chris Johnson - Advanced Digital Black & White Photography, by John Beardsworth - Black & White Photography Techniques, by Maurice Hamilton - Dramatic Black & White Photography, by J. D. Hayward - Zone System Photography, by Glenn Rand - Digital Black and White Printing, by George Schaub - Mastering Digital Black and White, by Amadou Diallo - Working in Black & White, by David Prakel  Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eudemian Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share #7 Â Posted January 26, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) That is great, good suggestions some of which I have already acted upon. As usaul this forum comes up with the goods, thanks for all who replied. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Messsucherkamera Posted January 27, 2012 Share #8 Â Posted January 27, 2012 Some of my black and white favorites are - Â A Greek Portfolio by Constantine Manos; Vivian Maier Street Photographer by John Maloof; Magnum Contact Sheets by Kristen Lubben; Covenant by Tyagan Miller; The Way of the Japanese Bath by Mark Edward Harris; The Way of the Tibetan Monk by Sheila Rock; Tir A' Mhurain by Paul Strand; Henri Cartier-Bresson The Modern Century by the Museum of Modern Art. Â Most or all of these should be available on Amazon or at your local bookseller, if you prefer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlatkob Posted January 27, 2012 Share #9  Posted January 27, 2012 Another more about the aesthetic's of a photograph than a technical book is Ansel Adams 'Examples - The Making of Forty Photographs'.  Steve  That is such a great book, ... love it! I saw someone on Amazon had criticized the book for not covering anything digital ; of course, it predates everything digital! It wouldn't meet the OP's request for something "up to date". But much of the writing is applicable to photography generally, and it's very insightful. The reader just has to know enough about photography to be able to think about the digital equivalents for what Adams was writing about ... that is, if the reader uses digital. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted January 27, 2012 Share #10 Â Posted January 27, 2012 It is a great book and a wonderful one to dip into because of the way it is laid out. I recommended it because when Adams talks of technique it is possible to see the connection between his initial insight and the end print. This visualisation translates between both film and digital, and a rough knowledge of the Zone System has never done anybody any harm, even a digital photographer should have the terms in his vocabulary! Â Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted January 27, 2012 Share #11 Â Posted January 27, 2012 ...a rough knowledge of the Zone System has never done anybody any harm, even a digital photographer should have the terms in his vocabulary! Â Agreed...Adams was a great teacher on b/w photography in general, irrespective of whether one likes his photographs. In the digital realm, though, one should also understand 'bit depth' to recognize that not all 'zones' are created equally. That helps to translate Adams' zone approach in a digital world. Â Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eudemian Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share #12 Â Posted January 27, 2012 That is a very interesting observation Jeff, could you expand on that. Are you referring to the fact that the dark end of the histogram has more flexibililty than the top end? If so how would this impact the traditional zone approach? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted January 27, 2012 Share #13 Â Posted January 27, 2012 That is a very interesting observation Jeff, could you expand on that. Are you referring to the fact that the dark end of the histogram has more flexibililty than the top end? If so how would this impact the traditional zone approach? Â In simple terms (although it's not really that simple), there are a lot more bits in the higher zones (highlights) than in the lower zones. Post processing might be able to 'save' lower end detail, but there are less bits down there to manipulate in the first place. This is the premise for often debated ETTR (expose to the right) approach (whether or not one agrees with that exposure philosophy). Â Leica apparently also uses a bit of 'reverse engineering' as explained in this article, specifically on the M8. Â Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eudemian Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share #14 Â Posted January 27, 2012 I obviously reverse engineered where the actual bits are but thanks for that link. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manolo Laguillo Posted January 29, 2012 Share #15 Â Posted January 29, 2012 May I suggest the following two books by the Robert Adams: Â Beauty in Photography. Essays in Defense of Traditional Values. Aperture 1981 Â Why People Photograph. Aperture 1994 Â Â Â Cheers, Â Manolo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoySmith Posted January 29, 2012 Share #16  Posted January 29, 2012 Thorsten Overgaard's most recent page has an informative video to watch on his B+W technique. You can see it here.  Like previous posters I learned from the book Advanced Digital Black & White Photography, by John Beardsworth  Roy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edmond_terakopian Posted January 29, 2012 Share #17 Â Posted January 29, 2012 I'd like to thoroughly recommend Workers by Sebastiao Salgado - a master b/w photographer. Â For technique, do look into Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro. If you search my blog for 'webinar' you can watch some recordings on how I use this in my workflow in all my b/w work. Â Edmond Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roguewave Posted January 29, 2012 Share #18 Â Posted January 29, 2012 Start looking at the Masters like W.Eugene Smith. Minamata may hold some of the most amazing & powerful B&W images ever made. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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