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Author Topic: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?  (Read 9621 times)

Brookie

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Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« on: January 11, 2017, 11:57:17 pm »

Looking for a good book or two on digital black and white - covering capture as well as post processing. What have you read that really helped you with these topics?  I used do do a lot of traditional film work, but am now finally getting back into it but with digital. Any suggestions are appreciated,
Dave
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dasuess

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #1 on: January 12, 2017, 12:41:33 am »

Black and White Artistry by Chuck Kimmerle, available from Amazon


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Brookie

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2017, 08:09:47 pm »

Thanks dasuess.
Bump to the top for more suggestions.
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richardboutwell

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2017, 03:55:33 am »

Mastering Digital Black and White by Amadou Diallo has everything you need to know. yes, it is 10 years old, but aside from a few updates in software, it will give you the basis for developing your technique and aesthetic. I would stay away from anything that has "stunning" in the title...
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VincentR

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2017, 06:17:48 pm »

Depends how much you already know about photo. This is what I have in my collection:

Black and White, David Präkel
Advanced Digital Black & White Photography, John Beardsworth
Creative Black and White: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques, Harold Davis
Creative Black and White Photography: Advanced Camera and Darkroom Techniques, Bernhard Suess
Black and White Digital Photography Photo Workshop, Chris Bucher

I also have a bunch of B&W magazines... in PDF


... man, that's a lot of captcha verifications just to post on this forum!
« Last Edit: January 16, 2017, 07:30:43 pm by VincentR »
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dasuess

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2017, 07:43:08 pm »

Advanced Camera and Darkroom Techniques, Bernhard Suess

With an author by that name, it's gotta be a keeper.


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Brookie

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2017, 08:55:34 pm »

Thanks for the suggestions! 

I used to do a lot of 4x5 b+w landscape photography, so I have a pretty good base knowledge. That said I have only been trying to get serious about digital in the last year.

I've seen where Harold Davis has a new book coming out. Vincent, I'd like to know how you view his technical writing versus the others as I've been thinking the new book may be a good one.

Is that the same Beardsworth that is on LL? 
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Wolfman

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2017, 02:13:27 am »

This might be helpful.....John Paul Caponigro: http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/creativity/technique/black-and-white/

john beardsworth

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2017, 04:49:03 am »

Is that the same Beardsworth that is on LL?

As far as I can tell, yes.
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Brookie

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #9 on: January 16, 2017, 08:42:55 am »

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VincentR

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #10 on: January 16, 2017, 07:13:51 pm »

As far as I can tell, yes.

Sorry, I'm not sure what's available on LuLa, I just joined this site a few months ago.

The book I have is paperback. It's available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.ca/Advanced-Digital-Black-White-Photography/dp/1600592104
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VincentR

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #11 on: January 16, 2017, 07:26:14 pm »

Thanks for the suggestions! 

I used to do a lot of 4x5 b+w landscape photography, so I have a pretty good base knowledge. That said I have only been trying to get serious about digital in the last year.

I've seen where Harold Davis has a new book coming out. Vincent, I'd like to know how you view his technical writing versus the others as I've been thinking the new book may be a good one.

Is that the same Beardsworth that is on LL?


Re: Harold Davis - I'm not sure you'll get very excited, but it's fairly step-by-step technical-ish. Creative oriented on processing, rather than seeing the world differently. In all fairness, it's one of the first book that thought me why I should shoot in RAW. The author shows a few ways to convert RAW to B&W, using HSL sliders (Lightroom), export copies to Photoshop as virtual layers (for masking), etc. The expectation is that you work on a Mac, but I've figured things up quickly on PC nonetheless.

You can preview some pages of the book on Google Books (hope the link works)


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Brookie

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #12 on: January 16, 2017, 09:04:03 pm »

Thanks Vincent
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john beardsworth

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #13 on: January 17, 2017, 03:58:09 am »

Re: Harold Davis .... using HSL sliders (Lightroom)

A method which was only a workaround for a noise reduction bug in Lr1 - not how one should use Lightroom for B&W.
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Alan Goldhammer

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #14 on: January 17, 2017, 09:27:52 am »

I like "Black and White In Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop Lightroom" by Alsheimer & Hughes.  I'm not sure if it's in print as Amazon lists it as out of stock but you can pick up used copies for a modest price.  Lots of good discussion and examples.  Also, Vincent Versace's "From Oz to Kansas:  Almost Every Bland and White Conversion Technique Known to Man" is a good resources.
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StoryinPictures

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #15 on: June 18, 2017, 06:13:01 pm »

Almost Every Bland and White Conversion Technique Known to Man"

LOL

I know it was probably just a typo....
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patjoja

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Re: Digital B+W technical books worth reading?
« Reply #16 on: January 26, 2018, 11:38:21 pm »

Looking for a good book or two on digital black and white - covering capture as well as post processing. What have you read that really helped you with these topics?  I used do do a lot of traditional film work, but am now finally getting back into it but with digital. Any suggestions are appreciated,
Dave

Here are the three books I've purchased and read recently.  All three have given me ideas and encouragement in developing my skills as a B&W photographer. 
These are all recent books as well, published in 2016 and 2017.  With the changing nature of the technology I think that's kind of important.  However, one of my other favorite books, The Print, by Ansel Adams has nothing to do with "digital", but everything to do with Black and White. 

Michael Freeman's Black and White Photography.

Harold Davis' The Photographer's Black and White Handbook: Making and Processing Stunning Digital Black and White Photos.

John Walmsley's Mastering Black and White Photography

Regards,

Patrick
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texshooter

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« Last Edit: February 11, 2018, 03:14:08 am by texshooter »
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