Resources - any level from beginner up

[Michael R 1974]

Unless this has already been done, I'd suggest some kind of "sticky". I wasn't sure where it would fit best - either B&W film, chemistry etc. or Enlarging. Perhaps it should be in both.

In the old days, before the internet, people would often read publications by Kodak, Ilford etc on how to develop film, how to print etc. In many cases, particularly for the beginner, these publications can serve as excellent starting points before venturing into discussions with other photographers about how to do things.

Ilford and Kodak have a variety of resources online. I think they are great not only for beginners but for photographers at any skill level. Unfortunately, Kodak's publications are not nearly as easy to get to as Ilford's. They are buried pretty deep in Kodak's website. So I thought it might be of value to compile a series of links in one place where people can easily find and access them. This is not a comprehensive list of all the available current publications, but I tried to include the most broadly useful material. People can then explore at will.

Processing film - basics

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/200629163442455.pdf

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe...bs/aj3/aj3.pdf

Processing - any level

Pathways to Black and White
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe...Pubs/f2/f2.pdf

Black-and-White Tips and Techniques for Darkroom Enthusiasts
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe...Pubs/o3/o3.pdf

Processing Kodak films
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe...dbwf/edbwf.pdf

Darkroom design

Darkroom design for beginners
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe...bs/ak3/ak3.pdf

Safelights and testing

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/...7111757603.pdf

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe...845/ti0845.pdf

How safe is your safelight
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consu.../k4Facts.shtml

Printing - basics/beginner

Making Your First Black and White Print
http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/...1321242292.pdf

Printing - any level

Contrast Control
http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/...8932591755.pdf

Black-and-White Tips and Techniques for Darkroom Enthusiasts
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe...Pubs/o3/o3.pdf

Storage and care of materials before/after processing

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consu...fo/e30/e30.pdf

Characteristics of films

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/page.asp?n=66

X-ray fog

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe...is98/cis98.pdf

Other and/or more advanced topics

ISO and Exposure Index
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe...185/cis185.pdf

Basic Sensitometry Workbook
http://motion.kodak.com/motion/uploa...y_workbook.pdf

Specific Gravity and pH of Kodak Chemistry
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe...s61/cis-61.pdf

Other

Fuji tech data
For all films. Includes additional info. such as simplified definitions/explanations of MTF, RMS Granularity, Resolving Power.

http://www.fujifilmusa.com/shared/bi...mDataGuide.pdf

[kbrede]

A nice set of links. I've seen a few of these, but not all. Thanks for posting Michael.

[polyglot]

Thanks; I'll link them from my FAQ.

[David Brown]

In the old days, before the internet, people would often read publications by Kodak, Ilford etc on how to develop film, how to print etc. In many cases, particularly for the beginner, these publications can serve as excellent starting points before venturing into discussions with other photographers about how to do things.

I would add books to the list. In November, I hosted a basic b&w workshop and gave the participants a CD ROM with links to, and pdf's, of a very similar list to yours. In addition, I gave them a bibliography of actual books that are still available. All of these (and more) were available on Amazon as of 60 days ago, and I would bet most of them still are. In fact, most of these are even available at a local used book store.


Way Beyond Monochrome, Ralph W. Lambrecht and Chris Woodhouse 2nd edition 2011
The Amateur Photographer’s Handbook, Aaron Sussman, 8th edition 1979
Black & White Photography - Basic Manual, Henry Horenstein, 2nd edition 1983
Black and White Photography: A Basic Manual, Henry Horenstein, 3rd edition, 2004
Creative Black and White Photography, Les McLean, 2002
The Camera; The Negative; The Print, Ansel Adams, 1995
The Darkroom Cookbook, Stephen Anchell, 3rd edition 2008
Basic Developing, Printing, Enlarging in Black-and-White, Kodak, 1982

I do wish new photographers would read, rather than depending on instant answers from the internet. All of the information is out there.

[Michael R 1974]

I sort of agree, but part of the idea here was to also eliminate the biases and conflicting, unsubstantiated, or plain bad info in most books written by photographers concerning the topics in the links I posted. Not trying to start any wars here. I'm just very hard on technical books written by photographers.