Black and White Photography, Third Revised Edition (Paperback)

by Henry Horenstein (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This all-new edition of BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY has been totally redesigned and updated to encompass the latest photographic techniques, materials, and processes. It includes information on new and improved films and printing papers, automation, digital photography, and monochromatic and hand-colored images, as well as a portfolio section of images by notable contemporary photographers. Offering a uniquely clear, concise, thorough introduction to one of America's most popular avocations, BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY has for nearly 30 years set the standard against which other photographic how-to manuals are measured. It will continue, in this new edition, to be a vital resource for beginning and experienced photographer alike.

About the Author
Henry Horenstein is a widely published and exhibited professional photographer and the author of more than two dozen books, including the classic texts Black & White Photography, Beyond Basic Photography, and Color Photography. His work has appeared in Life, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, and Town & Country. He lives in Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 3 edition (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316373052
• ISBN-13: 978-0316373050
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,967 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A requirement for beginners!, January 12, 2006

By	I. Momcheva - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I picked this book on recommendation by my darkroom teacher and I loved it!
Henry Horenstein covers everything you need to know in order to make good quality black and white pictures from start to finish and well beyond just pressing the button. He discusses how to use different cameras and films that you might come across as well as different types of lenses and their pro's and con's. His discussion of exposures and appertures is very informative and beautifully illustrated with lots of examples. The sections on film and print developping are filled with numerous practical tips and step-by-step guides I found enormously useful - so much that after reading them I was able to set up a darkroom by myself on a minimum budget (and avoided buying a separate darkroom book altogether). The section on using multigrade filters was particularly good. The last few sections deal with toning and some creative effect and are just opening the door to unconventional photographic methods. (The goal of the author was deffinitely not to review all creative movements in photography which is another book by itself.)

The book is printed on heavy paper and all illustations (black and white of course) are of excellent quality. There are numerous examples of beautiful photographs with a short explanation of how they were made.

Overall, I was enormously satisfied with the book and find it to be an excellent B&W photography textbook. The book is very complete and full of important facts and tips of the "wish someone told me that" type. It is very exhaustive in covering the basics but goes well beyond the bare minimum. Despite my previous experience, I learned an awful lot by this book and now I am even more inspired by B&W photography and more confident in the darkroom.

I would recommend this book to every beginner and slightly experienced aficionado of B&W photography.

PS: This book does not address digital photography in any way. There are tons of other very good book which do that.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book for beginners, but film only, December 29, 2005

By	Richard Drdul (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're interested in black-and-white *film* photography, this is a good book, particularly for beginners. It is focused primarily on equipment and technique, including developing and printing. There is a lot of discussion of basic principles, which will be of little interest to intermediate or advanced photographers who already know this stuff. There isn't really much discussion of the creative side of photography, but there are several very good example photographs throughout the book (I discovered a couple of photographers that I had never heard about before).

Despite what the description on amazon.com says, there is almost no mention of digital photography in the 3rd edition, even though the copyright date of the 3rd edition is 2005. The discussion of digital photography is limited to a couple of pages, and doesn't say much more than "digital cameras and digital backs exist, and you also need a computer with Photoshop."

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource, March 7, 2007

By	William R. Croninger "bill_croninger" (Alfred, Maine USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A Basic Manual, 3rd Edit Revised is an excellent resource for the new (film) photographer. I'd also argue its not a half-bad general resource for the more experienced photographer. I used his previous version in an introductory course in black and white photography that I taught for a number of years. Of late I have been using Mastering Black and White Photography by Bernhard Suess but will now switch back to this text. Student response to both texts has been overwhelmingly positive however I feel Horenstein's writing style is easier for them to follow. The sequence, illustrations and figures of the Horenstein book seem both logical as well as well done. Particularly useful are the illustrations of common negative faults, something I had missed after moving to the Suess text. Highly recommended but please note that this is a book heavily weighted to using film cameras as well as processes and procedures in the darkroom. There are other works more suited for digital photography and for those who are looking for a reference on the "art" of photography.