2006-06-09 A must for aspiring fine art photographers

I switched back to film this year. My first forays into the darkroom were a complete revelation, but I realised that I didn't really understand what the materials were doing and although good results were easy to obtain by just following Ilford's instructions, I wanted a better grasp of how I could control the results. I hope it doesn't sound too pretentious to say that I want to be a fine art photographer, so I went looking for guidance.

This book is a good place to start. On one level it is a very comprehensive technical guide to exposure and development, but at the same time you can dip into it for an overview of key topics. Gentle introductions to very technical concepts are developed later in more detail, building up to a complete guide to monochrome *film* techniques.

For example, the fundamental concept of how exposure affects negative density, and how the subject brightness range relates to the usable density range on the negative and then on the paper, are things that every photographer should know. The book covers techniques to manage real-world levels of contrast within the capability of the materials, so if you know that we expose for the shadows and develop for the highlights, but don't know why, or how to capture a scene with 11 stops of contrast on paper that covers only 7 stops, then it's all here, plus much, much more.

This is not a book of quick tips for beginners, although there are plenty of simple techniques presented for those who don't have the time or inclination for the whole Zone System testing regime. Neither can it be digested in one or two sittings, rather it is something that you need to take slowly and work through methodically. The case studies at the end of the book, based on photos taken by the authors, offer a practical illustration of how these techniques can improve your photographs and give a context to the technical material.

Film photography, and especially black & white film, is undergoing something of a revival at the moment. For those who are serious about pursuing the art and science of analogue photography, this book is essential.