Must-Have Darkroom Books and References

[Alex Benjamin]

The rest of the darkroom and/or technically oriented books are easily dispensed with.

Strongly agree.

A lot of them probably do more harm than good.

Strongly disagree.

 

[snusmumriken]

I mostly use two films, each has its dedicated developer, and when I opt for a different developer, it's one I know. I'm happy with my negs — they may sometimes be off by 1/3 stop, but they give me what I need to make a good print.

More importantly, at 63 (and I would have said the same 10 years ago), I don't have time for all the film and paper testing, or graph making and analysing, this, just to correct that 1/3 stop that I may be off by. Life's too short, and looking at the world trying to figure out what may possibily become an interesting photograph takes time enough.

I have exactly the same outlook nowadays. My experimenting happened back in history, and I will only take it up again if forced to switch to different materials. I wish I was never more than 1/3 stop out though.

 

[xkaes]

I have exactly the same outlook nowadays. My experimenting happened back in history, and I will only take it up again if forced to switch to different materials. I wish I was never more than 1/3 stop out though.

There is a difference between "experimenting" and "testing". I recently received a new roll of film that is new to me. It came with recommendations on ISO and developing -- like most films, as one would expect -- and other people have posted information on how they expose and develop it. I took that all under consideration before I started my tests -- with my gear & processes. I'm not experimenting with it. I'm testing it, and I'm glad I did. The first roll was pretty much a waste -- but I know how to set it right, thanks in part to Henry's book.

 

[xkaes]

In the end if you want to be at the top of the game technically, all you really need are a few basics

Sounds like a recipe for success, for sure.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Way Beyond Monochrome is one of the most useful photograph books for both inside and outside the darkroom that I have had the pleasure of owning.

that's wonderful to hear.GLAD IF it helps any!

 

[Peter Schrager]

I still believe fred pickers little zone VI book is great for a beginner. Follow the tests and find your true asa for YOUR equipment.
Also helps in understanding print variables
I just wing it now after doing this for over 60 years...i do appreciate a good negative as it hellps makes making prints but ive returned to mostly contact printing on homemade printing out paper. My materials and i control the variables

 

[xkaes]

Follow the tests and find your true asa for YOUR equipment.

There's that nasty word again!

 

[EricTheReddish]

The Amateur Photographer’s Handbook, Aaron Sussman, 8th edition 1979

I have sitting next to me the "Revised and Enlarged" 7th edition, 1965, which I bought over 50 years ago when I was just a young'un getting into photography. I rescued it from my dad's attic mostly for nostalgic reasons.

 

[naaldvoerder]

Mine are;

Rudman's The Photographer's Master Printing Course. It is solely responsible for rekindling my interest in pursuing the art of printing, at a time my prints were disappointingly stale, and I was more than ready to give it up altogether.

Lambrecht and Woodhouse's Way Beyond Monochrome. It finally helped me to understand what I was doing. Everything needed to get a good, printable negative seems to be in there. Woodhouse's comical struggle with digital printing reaffirmed my decision that digital was definitely not for me. (I own the first edition. Maybe things changed in the second edition)

Rudman's The Master Photographer’s Lith Printing Course. The obvious and only Lith bible.

Rudman's The Master Photographer’s Toning Book. A labour of love.

 

[bernard_L]

One upvote for : The Craft of Photography by David Vestal. Simple facts, basic advice. And he's actually made the tests before stating recommendations. As a bonus, a factual answer to those who post (in CAPITALS) "Help!! I've shot Tri-X at 100ISO how should I develop?"

One upvote for : Controls in Black and White Photography by Richard Henry. Sure, you should probably not repeat all those tests. Because this guy did them for you. Anything he states, he personally tested. Not all posters here can say the same.

One downvote for : Creative Elements: Darkroom Techniques for Landscape Photography by Eddie Ephraums. Too manipulative for my taste. Gave it away.

One downvote for : The New Zone System Manual by White · Zakia · Lorenz. So, OK, scene has high contrast and you choose not to let the shadows "fall where they may", then expose for shadows and dev for highlights. Fine, but a whole book, with those subtler-than-thou diagrams of contraction, expansion, etc... Gave it away.

 

[xkaes]

One upvote for : Controls in Black and White Photography by Richard Henry. Sure, you should probably not repeat all those tests. Because this guy did them for you. Anything he states, he personally tested. Not all posters here can say the same.

Sure, Henry tested his stuff, but the entire point of the book is not to simply believe what he (or anyone else) did. He is advising people to test for themselves because everyone's materials, gear, and methods are different. And the tests can be as rigorous or as simple as the photographer wants them to be. In no way is his book saying, "I tested XYZ, so you don't have to". Exactly the opposite.

 

[bernard_L]

In no way is his book saying, "I tested XYZ, so you don't have to". Exactly the opposite.

This applies to determining film speed; a recurrent topic (in exquisite detail) in technical discussions. 1/3 EV more or less won't make me lose sleep;

On the other hand, I'm grateful to Henry that he actually tested the (non-)decrease of {contrast|Dmax} when Dektol is sitting in an open tray: longer than the conservative manufacturer's prescription; I would never have invested the time to perform the detailed test (page 66).

Figure 4-21, p.51, debunks the claim by Fred Picker of special properties of cold light sources (or was it condenser? whatever). So many claims by "experts" who equate the top of their head with empirical evidence;

Figure 4-34, p. 64 debunks the idea that one can increase the paper contrast by using undiluted developer; 10 yrs back, I was advised on this forum to use Dokumol, and found (Stouffer+densitometer) no difference.

 

[Milpool]

Richard Henry’s book is not about advising people to test their own materials. It’s about whether or not much of the conventional wisdom and/or general nonsense promulgated or sold holds water, and about the work one would need to do in order to make such claims - work which zero people outside the major manufacturing companies have done.

Some parts of the book are better than others, but overall a good book - though certainly not indispensable to an aspiring darkroom worker trying to make great prints.

 

[Craig]

I found a copy of Henry's book and have been reading it since it was mentioned here. It is very interesting, I appreciate his scientific rigor in his testing.

 

[xkaes]

Richard Henry’s book is not about advising people to test their own materials.

We must have read different books. Here's one example from my copy:

"The preferred and more accurate approach is for the individual photographer to determine the effective speed (ES) for the film to be used with his or her camera and routine development procedure."

 

[MTGseattle]

I too found a copy of the Henry book. I'm a sucker for used photography books with titles that lean a bit more "scientific" in nature. I agree too that I would not put it on the reading list for an intro class.

As an aside and with an eye towards the somewhat silly resale prices, why has there not been a reprint of 2 of the more specialized Tim Rudman books? Do we all need to flood Focal press with emails?

 

[Peter Schrager]

I too found a copy of the Henry book. I'm a sucker for used photography books with titles that lean a bit more "scientific" in nature. I agree too that I would not put it on the reading list for an intro class.

As an aside and with an eye towards the somewhat silly resale prices, why has there not been a reprint of 2 of the more specialized Tim Rudman books? Do we all need to flood Focal press with emails?

probably because the materials have changed and the info might not be relevant now...harder to find papers that with well today versus the past

 

[Milpool]

We must have read different books. Here's one example from my copy:

"The preferred and more accurate approach is for the individual photographer to determine the effective speed (ES) for the film to be used with his or her camera and routine development procedure."

Yup, and the film exposure/ES portion is the weak part of the book. He oddly falls into Zone System system stuff.

 

[relistan]

If you're into the chemistry side of things, the following are the best I have read so far, in recommended order:

• Photographic Processing Chemisty, L.F.A. Mason -- former head of Ilford Labs (Borrowable here)
• Modern Photographic Processing Volumes 1-2, Grant Haist -- long time researcher at Kodak

Mason's book is easier to read and covers a lot of ground in a few hundred pages. There were two editions, but either is fine. Haist's books are more exhaustive with a lot more specific detail. They are hard to find, and expensive in print. Mason's book is available online as linked.