How to get started understanding the chemistry involved

I haven’t seriously thought about chemistry in an academic way since high school some 20 odd years ago. If I wanted to pick up enough chemistry to understand what the heck a reduction oxidation reaction is and how that’s involved with iron in siderotypes (as an example). What are my best avenues?

I feel like there’s gotta be an “Introduction to photographic chemistry” from the 60s that’s floating around? Or should I just grab a chemistry 101 text book?

You could try these, but a Chemistry 101 book alongside would help too. Eaton's book is the simplest of the three -- 128 pages.

• Bunting, Roger. The Chemistry of Photography. Photoglass, 1987.
• Mason, L.F.A.. Photographic Processing Chemistry, The Focal Press, 1966.
• Eaton, George. Photographic Chemistry, Morgan & Morgan, 1957.

aconbere said:

If I wanted to pick up enough chemistry to understand what the heck a reduction oxidation reaction is

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The wikipedia entry on this is pretty good even in explaining the basics, really: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redox

aconbere said:

and how that’s involved with iron in siderotypes (as an example).

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For that part, I'd refer to the writings of @Mike Ware on the various iron-based processes. His writings are unrivaled in terms of (1) depth of the argumentation while (2) remaining accessible also to lay readers.

aconbere said:

“Introduction to photographic chemistry” from the 60s

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It's really just 'chemistry', without the photographic part. There's also an issue with fashion in the sense that in the 1960s, most of the academic attention in photographic chemistry would have been in silver-gelatin and dye (coupler, destruction) systems.

Maybe @nmp, @Raghu Kuvempunagar and @fgorga have some additional suggestions.

xkaes said:

Eaton, George. Photographic Chemistry

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Nicely, that book is available at Internet Archive.

Don_ih said:

Nicely, that book is available at Internet Archive.

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Yes, but it does have the limitation in scope I alluded to above: it doesn't deal with what we now consider the 'alternative processes'. In fact, the brief chapter on the history does not appear to as much as acknowledge the existence of alternative systems to photographic exposure than those involving silver-based chemistry.
In terms of the chemistry covered, the book does not appear to give an introduction into redox reactions in general, although the terms 'reduction' and 'oxidation' are mentioned in a few places.

Overall, the book seems very useful as a text that offers a little and fairly basic background to an amateur photographer who is curious about what is happening 'under the hood'. For the purpose of @aconbere, I don't think it has much to offer and I'd just skip it.

A brief summary of siderotype chemistry here:
Maybe could find an explanation of redox chemistry on the internet.

koraks said:

Yes, but it does have the limitation in scope I alluded to above: it doesn't deal with what we now consider the 'alternative processes'. In fact, the brief chapter on the history does not appear to as much as acknowledge the existence of alternative systems to photographic exposure than those involving silver-based chemistry.

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Yes, it explicitly states in the preface it's for people working in the industry (so only concerned with what was currently being done) who have little-to-no knowledge of chemistry.

I was simply pointing out it's available to read for anyone who is interested.

CHEMISTRY FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS By WILLIAM RUTHVEN FLINT, PH.D.
American Photographic Publishing Co. Boston, Mass. 1916

From the preface:
"The purpose of the following pages is two-fold. First, the chemical principles whose application forms the foundation of the photographic art are set forth in a manner which it is thought will prove both intelligible and interesting. In order to fix these principles in the reader's mind and at the same time to aid him in the acquisition of a better chemical technique, the subject matter has been so arranged as to permit the introduction of a series of illustrative experiments.
Second, without in any way interfering with the foregoing intent, it has been possible to add very materially to the practical value of the book by incorporating much useful chemical and photographic information in the way of solubilities, formulas, etc. This information has been so simplified and tabulated as to make it exceptionally convenient for reference purposes."

aconbere said:

I haven’t seriously thought about chemistry in an academic way since high school some 20 odd years ago. If I wanted to pick up enough chemistry to understand what the heck a reduction oxidation reaction is and how that’s involved with iron in siderotypes (as an example). What are my best avenues?

I feel like there’s gotta be an “Introduction to photographic chemistry” from the 60s that’s floating around? Or should I just grab a chemistry 101 text book?

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I Second Raghu's recommendation. It reads like a novel.

The other source I often end up using is LibreTexts Chemistry like, for example this one for various reactions involving iron:


You can search the site for any other topics.

And of course, as suggested, Mike Ware's many different papers and books that are freely available on his website.

:Niranjan.