Best book for digital B&W

[Chris13]

Hello

What is the best book for digital B&W?
One also for Photoshop or Lightroom if any.

Thank you

[Ken Rahaim]

Hello

What is the best book for digital B&W?
One also for Photoshop or Lightroom if any.

I've been searching for something like this for ages and haven't found anything. Not being a B&W photographer myself, what I've done is to just study B&W photographs from acclaimed b&w photographers. I've also read about their photography technique and darkroom technique and tried to apply those methods to my digital conversions. I've also subscribed to B&W Magazine (http://www.bandwmag.com/) to expose myself to as much B&W photography as I can. My copies of the magazine are dog eared at pages with my favorite B&W images. From there, I discovered a particular style of B&W seem to resonate with me and I tried mimicking that style in my B&W conversions (using CS3's new B&W adjustment layer).

[Richowens]

Amadou Diallo

 For me this is one of the easiest to understand and absorb.

 Highly recommended.


 Rich

[DarkPenguin]

That's the book I have.  Es nice.  I'd have to page through it to see if it is dated or not.

[Geoff Wittig]

Hello

What is the best book for digital B&W?
One also for Photoshop or Lightroom if any.

Thank you
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Amadou Diallo's book is the most thorough by far, and it's still pretty current. It discusses HP's Z3100 and Epson's 7800. It goes into detail from capture to printing. Diallo also provides a pretty good review of Photoshop basics. (There are links provided to on-line audio interviews with a number of digital pioneers, from Henry Wilhelm to Roy Harrington, that I found fascinating). There are quite a few other books about digital black & white, but most of them are very superficial.

I'd also suggest a look at the classic Ansel Adams book The Print. Yes it's about darkroom-era printing, but it goes into great detail about the aesthetic logic behind tonal manipulations- why you'd want to dodge or burn, rather than how.