LFI Contributor new BW Photography Book

[Guest joewehry]

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Leica Fotografie International contributing writer, Torsten Andreas Hoffmann, has recently released The Art of Black and White Photography, Techniques for Creating Superb Images in a Digital Workflow (and readers may recognize some of the content, published in previous LFI articles.)

 

Leicaheads might be disppointed by the lack of red-dottedness in the book. Leave the brand at the door. This is about photography, not the camera.

 

Two quibbles about the book. First is my concern that the inclusion of model names in the section on choosing a good digital camera will needlessly date the book as newer models are introduced. I feel that Mr Hoffmann's text would have been better served by more generic terms like Canon DSLR or Leica Rangefinder and an appendix or resource section at the end of the book with model suggestions would allow for easier updates in future editions. (In other words, I hope this text lasts a long time.)

 

Second annoyance is the inconsistency with which photos are credited to a lens and camera. Although I find these factoids superfluous unless it adds to the explanation (ie this lens chosen because this composition was desired), the tendency to be specific about digital cameras and more vague about analog cameras left me wondering why include it at all since the focus is on the images, and not the camera, and barely touches on digital photography through scanned film.

 

Such minor points for a quality work! We should all be so lucky. Now my favorite points:

 

His writing is concise as are his photographic examples. You will not see page after page after page after page of photos padding poorly written text. Instead he makes his point and moves on.

 

This book is well organized. Sections such as Tools and Fundamentals, Photographic Genres and Concepts, Rules of Composition and The Digital Darkroom provide a broad foundation of readily useful information.

 

His photographs are beautifully crafted but still "available". I was never left feeling "I could never do that, why bother?", but instead began thinking, "How can I apply this to my own work?"

 

His writing is intelligent and assumes the readers are also. Thankfully missing are the ubiquitous explanations of ISO, shutter speed and aperture that every other author feels he must include in a book on photography, no matter what target audience. Although I felt at times his reading of an image were gilding the lily, they frequently gave me food for thought with regards to content and meaning and how it applies to my snaps. And it was often just fun to read what an author thinks of his/her work.

 

Like a good teacher, Mr. Hoffmann cites other artists and photographers to help readers deepen their knowledge. It is not common in today's market to see an author set aside self-promotion for the benefit of their students. We are lucky to share in his expertise. TIP: Keep a notepad handy while reading the book to jot down other works / photographers / sites to visit for further study.

 

Kudos to Mr. Hoffman for a mature, but very accessible book.

 

(If history repeats itself, and current LFI articles are any indication, may we expect a book on color photography? Until then, the excellent Harald Mante's The Photograph, Composition and Color Design.)