Edge of Darkness: The Art, Craft, and Power of the High-Definition Monochrome Photograph [Paperback]

Barry Thornton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

Illustrated with Barry Thornton's own stunning landscape pictures, each chapter is interlaced with technical detail and personal feelings.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

British photographer Barry Thornton has spent a lifetime devoted to black and white photography. He shares his warehouse of technical savvy in Edge of Darkness: The Art, Craft, and Power of the High-Definition Monochrome Photograph. If you have at least a working knowledge of basic photography, then you'll find this book to be full of helpful advice. Thornton has an immense amount of how-to wisdom and covers topics including focusing, lighting, tripods, printing, and much more. It is a precise book with incredible attention to detail.

The wealth of informative tips are illustrated with Thornton's photographs. Beautiful and rich landscapes so varied and full of depth that they create their own universe of monochromatic color. A stunning torrent of water crisp enough to be a cascade of crystal beads. Close-ups that feel like they were shot through a magnifying glass. Many students of photography see black and white pictures as a mere step on the way to the wonderful world of color. Thornton, on the other hand, reveres the traditions and possibilities of this medium and reveals monochromatic pictures to be a pinnacle of photography. This serious manual is a sure way to improve a burgeoning photographer's technical expertise. The book has 200 black-and-white illustrations. --J.P. Cohen

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Amphoto Books (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817438157
• ISBN-13: 978-0817438159
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good read., September 2, 2002

By 

Colin J. Clarke (Mount Pleasant, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Edge of Darkness: The Art, Craft, and Power of the High-Definition Monochrome Photograph (Paperback)

After fifty years of dabbling in making pictures (starting with Size 116 and 127 Roll films), I have a library full of photographic textbooks, 'coffee table' books, and other specialist photographic publications.

Most books I bought new. Some were already classics when I bought them secondhand. Some rate well enough to be used (read) again and again. Others languish - gathering dust- on the bottom shelf, often simply because I cannot throw any book away. Let's face it, there are some very ordinary books sold as 'the answer to a photographer's prayers'. I have my share of them.

I think Barry Thornton's book,'Edge of Darkness', gets my 'top shelf' award for 2002, and may be on that top shelf for many years. This man writes common sense, in simple terms, and backs his words with recorded deeds. His pictures are nice. I like the way he explains the emotions behind the recording of the images, and the mechanics he employs to produce great negatives. These aspects are key. Once you have a fine negative, time is on your side to make a great picture. And how you approach the making of the negative image, emotionally and technically, will determine the final result.

(Show me a printmaker who says he gets a perfect result first time and I'll show you someone who should be in politics.)

If you want a very informative and readable book, well written, and illustrated with good examples of the Black and White craft, you should buy this book. If you heed Mr Thornton's words, you are bound to benefit in your craft.

"Edge of Darkness" is a very good read.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well written photography book, January 16, 2004

By 

Bert Krages (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Edge of Darkness: The Art, Craft, and Power of the High-Definition Monochrome Photograph (Paperback)

This is a special book because of its literary elements and its ability to get you thinking. Each chapter is about an individual aspect of black and white photography such as format, grain, and enlargement. Each chapter begins with a rambling obtuse anecdote that somehow (and with great finesse) leads into the subject of the chapter. This book has a literary style that is sorely lacking in most "how to do photography" books (including my own). The key to reading the book is to take what is said in stride and enjoy the ride. I found it to be a fun book to read.

The book reflects a fascinating "left-brain right-brain' mindset that is very much into quantified experimentation yet with an wholesome appreciation of aesthetics. Even if you don't agree with everything that is said, the book will probably motivate you to put a lot more reflection and thought in how you approach monochrome photography. Grainier is sharper? How can that be? Oh, I see.

Sadly, Mr. Thornton passed away unexpectedly in October 2003. This is a great loss to those who like reading photography books since he had much more to say. In any case, Edge of Darkness is a great legacy to a very thoughtful man.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book, April 12, 2002

By 

Marcelo Guarini Herrmann (Santiago Chile) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Edge of Darkness: The Art, Craft, and Power of the High-Definition Monochrome Photograph (Paperback)

Barry Thornton has come out with a really nice book on how to produce high quality black & white negatives and prints. The book is mainly concerned with 35mm and medium format negatives, although his approach is perfectly applicable to large format. I have prepared his two bath methol formula (shown in the book) and obtained really beautiful negatives, in terms of grain, sharpness and tonality, from a Leica and a Hasselblad. My next step will be to try Dixactol, a developer he has formulated and explains in the book, and which you can get, in the USA, from Photographers Formulary.
In my many years enjoying photography as an advanced amateur, I was unable to produce negatives and prints as good as those I am getting now, after reading Elements and Edge of Darkness, both books by Barry Thornton. His chemistry and technique really allows to see the power and beauty of high quality camera optics.

THIS BOOK IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.