Beyond Basic Photography a Technical Manual

Rating:
Summary: A clear guide to B&W photography technique
Review: This is an ideal text for a photographer who wishes to advance his/her understanding of black & white photography methods. Without excessive detail, the steps that go into the making of a print, and the reasons that justify these steps, are clearly discussed. As the author points out from the start (in the subtitle), this is a technical manual. Those who are looking for a book on the "creative" and "inspirational" aspects of photography should look elsewhere. However, a prerequisite to "creativity" is a solid technical background, and you probably cannot learn "creativity" from a book if you haven't got it to begin with. If you think the techniques of photography are "dull", do not try this book. But for a photographer who wishes to understand them, rather than merely follow them as a cookbook recipe, this is a superb intermediate textbook.

Rating:
Summary: A clear guide to B&W photography technique
Review: This is an ideal text for a photographer who wishes to advance his/her understanding of black & white photography methods. Without excessive detail, the steps that go into the making of a print, and the reasons that justify these steps, are clearly discussed. As the author points out from the start (in the subtitle), this is a technical manual. Those who are looking for a book on the "creative" and "inspirational" aspects of photography should look elsewhere. However, a prerequisite to "creativity" is a solid technical background, and you probably cannot learn "creativity" from a book if you haven't got it to begin with. If you think the techniques of photography are "dull", do not try this book. But for a photographer who wishes to understand them, rather than merely follow them as a cookbook recipe, this is a superb intermediate textbook.

Rating:
Summary: very good
Review: When I did my BFA some 15 years ago this was the standard book then. When I did my MFA ten years ago this was still the standard textbook. If you study photography today it is THE textbook. All textbooks by Mr. Horenstein are SUPERB books to teach and to learn from. All four books are excellent, complete, straight to the point, and cheap!