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Summary: A very good read.
Review: After fifty years of dabbling in making pictures (starting with Size 116 and 127 Roll films), I have a library full of photographic textbooks, 'coffee table' books, and other specialist photographic publications. Most books I bought new. Some were already classics when I bought them secondhand. Some rate well enough to be used (read) again and again. Others languish - gathering dust- on the bottom shelf, often simply because I cannot throw any book away. Let's face it, there are some very ordinary books sold as 'the answer to a photographer's prayers'. I have my share of them. I think Barry Thornton's book,'Edge of Darkness', gets my 'top shelf' award for 2002, and may be on that top shelf for many years. This man writes common sense, in simple terms, and backs his words with recorded deeds. His pictures are nice. I like the way he explains the emotions behind the recording of the images, and the mechanics he employs to produce great negatives. These aspects are key. Once you have a fine negative, time is on your side to make a great picture. And how you approach the making of the negative image, emotionally and technically, will determine the final result. (Show me a printmaker who says he gets a perfect result first time and I'll show you someone who should be in politics.) If you want a very informative and readable book, well written, and illustrated with good examples of the Black and White craft, you should buy this book. If you heed Mr Thornton's words, you are bound to benefit in your craft. "Edge of Darkness" is a very good read.
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Summary: This is a great book
Review: Barry Thornton has come out with a really nice book on how to produce high quality black & white negatives and prints. The book is mainly concerned with 35mm and medium format negatives, although his approach is perfectly applicable to large format. I have prepared his two bath methol formula (shown in the book) and obtained really beautiful negatives, in terms of grain, sharpness and tonality, from a Leica and a Hasselblad. My next step will be to try Dixactol, a developer he has formulated and explains in the book, and which you can get, in the USA, from Photographers Formulary.
In my many years enjoying photography as an advanced amateur, I was unable to produce negatives and prints as good as those I am getting now, after reading Elements and Edge of Darkness, both books by Barry Thornton. His chemistry and technique really allows to see the power and beauty of high quality camera optics. THIS BOOK IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Summary: Edge of darkness
Review: Excellent book for the beginner or advance photographer looking to refresh their skills. Well written, great photographs. Plan on using it as a reference book in teaching my beginning photography classes.
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Summary: Makes B&W appealing
Review: Mr Thornton is a very good writer. His book is more than a "how-to" book. He describes the way he made each picture and does it in a way that makes you want to do the same thing.
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Summary: Terrific read...
Review: The photography I admit , is not brilliant or inspiring but the information contained in the text is excellent. This book is more for someone who already has a limited amount of knowledge og b&w photography. Excellent in depth information...one of only a few books on this subject worth reading.
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Summary: Good...but not great... IMHO
Review: The photos range in quality from very nice, to rather bland. The information is often interesting, sometimes quite useful, but occasionally he writes lots about a technical issues which are not important. Some of the text might have been better left out or put into an appendix. Thornton's commentary on the personal stories behind his photographs are sometimes sweet, but I have to admit that I occasionally felt like it was more information than I wanted. Every now and than I got the feeling he was trying to make a rather boring image seem more interesting by giving the story behind the photo.
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Summary: Very well written photography book
Review: This is a special book because of its literary elements and its ability to get you thinking. Each chapter is about an individual aspect of black and white photography such as format, grain, and enlargement. Each chapter begins with a rambling obtuse anecdote that somehow (and with great finesse) leads into the subject of the chapter. This book has a literary style that is sorely lacking in most "how to do photography" books (including my own). The key to reading the book is to take what is said in stride and enjoy the ride. I found it to be a fun book to read. The book reflects a fascinating "left-brain right-brain' mindset that is very much into quantified experimentation yet with an wholesome appreciation of aesthetics. Even if you don't agree with everything that is said, the book will probably motivate you to put a lot more reflection and thought in how you approach monochrome photography. Grainier is sharper? How can that be? Oh, I see. Sadly, Mr. Thornton passed away unexpectedly in October 2003. This is a great loss to those who like reading photography books since he had much more to say. In any case, Edge of Darkness is a great legacy to a very thoughtful man.
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