Help this neophyte

[Kekhotep]

Greetings,

I like people portraiture. I want to learn how to print for myself in a darkroom. Any advice (books, Web sites, etc.) will be appreciated. I am saving to get a Tachihara 45GF to explore architectural photography. I love buildings.

I'm glad to have found this Web site, thanks to Lenswork.com. I've been saying to myself, in spite of the digital suggesters, I might never buy a digital camera. It's great to see so many simpatico photographers.

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

Welcome to APUG. This is about the best place to learn how to print in a darkroom. Just search and you will find.

 

[jim appleyard]

If you can, take a course in b/w photography at your local community college.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Kekhotep,

You may find the Photo School at www.rogerandfrances.com of interest. Despite the fact that some people here on APUG apparently have a problem with the idea that some parts are paid for, there's an awful lot there that's free, and the vast majority of it deals with film photography, in many formats. If it were all free, there would be a lot less incentive to me to do any of it.

In fact, I've often thought of knocking the whole damn' thing on the head, because it earns very little money; certainly, nowhere near a realistic return on the work I put in. The thing is, I don't like the idea of being funded solely by advertising -- I'd rather retain complete editorial independence. The people who do like it, like it very much; and I'd hate to let them down.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[dferrie]

Hi and welcome to APUG. A book I would recommend is Michael Langford's "Basic Photography", I bought this book 10+ years ago and found it to be a very good reference, even though I had previous darkroom experience. There is also the Darkroom Handbook from the same author (which I have not read) but understand to be good.

David

 

[kaygee]

If you can, take a course in b/w photography at your local community college.

I whole-heartedly second that. A 10 week course probably won't be over $200 and will be a great investment. Once you learn the basics, you're off .

As for books, I'm a big fan of Ansel Adams' "The Camera", "The Negative", and "The Print. Takes you through the whole process and is very technical (I mean, it IS Ansel Adams after all), but indespensible in my opinion for any photographer.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I'll toss out a couple more useful books for beginners -

Henry Horenstein's Basic Black and White Photography, and Beyond Basic Black and White Photography.

John Schaefer's Ansel Adams Guide to Photography. I taught myself developing film and basic printing using the John Schaefer book, and in the first classes I took, the Henry Horenstein books were the standard texts.

 

[John Kasaian]

A class at a community college or adult school is great for learning darkroom stuff. Hey, gear is so cheap you can set up a 4x5 dark room for practically zilch and find your own way. It is easy to get good results but it is another thing to get great results---and that only comes with time and experience so the sooner you get started the better!

 

[tac]

For someone new to analog B/W photography/darkroom, I'll second the recommendation of Langford's books.