Read any good Darkroom books lately?

[Taurus 8]

Hi all

I'm not new to photography, but I'm completely inexperienced on darkroom equipment, chemicals, etc. Instead of asking a lot of silly questions, I wonder if you could steer me to some good books I could buy or take out of my local library to get up to speed on the subject.

Around here, no one does Black & White processing anymore, and if they do, for a 26 shot roll, I was charged over $50 for double prints because they had to ship the roll out.

I will also be looking into local photography clubs to see if I can get tips on darkrooms, but I thought this would be the first logical step...to ask all of you.

I'm in the Lower Mainland of BC, Canada.

Thanks!

[doughowk]

There are alot of introductory books on B&W which you can find at most libraries, and will get you started on the journey. But two books I'd suggest eventually purchasing are "Way Beyond Monochrome" by Lambrecht & Woodhouse and "Creative Elements" by Eddie Ephraums.

[snallan]

I would add "The Photographer's Master Printing Course" by Tim Rudman, which starts from first principles, and goes on to provide a comprehensive guide to darkroom techniques.

[du a gwyn]

the all above mentioned books are very good but the one for me at the moments is 'the master printer's' by Steve Macleod.make sure you get the hard back version if you intend by buy.
hwyl am y tro!

[Christopher Walrath]

Kodak has a basic, run-of-the-mill, buy our stuff book, 'Into Your Darkroom Step by Step' b y Dennis P. Curtin. Not a Darkroom Bible by any stretch, but a good starter information book. I would also like to personnally recommend Ansel Adams' 'The Negative' for developing and 'The Print' for printing.

[PhotoJim]

I really think that Anchell & Troop's Darkroom Cookbook and Anchell's Film Development Cookbook are worth a read. While they are geared toward helping you to mix your own chemicals from scratch, they will also help you to learn a lot about how photochemistry works. I find that I read them every year or two to refresh my knowledge. Few photography books have been such good resources to me.

[Gary Holliday]

Forget the books and don't worry about silly questions, APUG is the best resource out there! Ask away.

I have a few books which make good reading;
Eddie Ephraums Darkroom techniques for landscape photography
Tim Rudman's collections....

[pauliej]

Check your library, section 770 is Photography. You should find plenty of stuff there, just avoid the Digital for Dummies book(s). Depending on your library, they may have a great selection, or a less than great selection, but start there and see what they have. You may also be able to borrow from other libraries locally. Check it out, so to speak.

I hope this helps you.

Paul

[PVia]

In additon to all the books listed above, I recommend Black & White Photographic Printing Workshop by Larry Bartlett...out of print but can be found used. Excellent, excellent, excellent!

[Trevor Crone]

Certainly any of the above mentioned books will get you well on the way to darkroom printing. But once you've taught yourself the basics then let the darkroom get into your very soul and get yourself a copy of "Darkroom", published by Lustrum Press and features the work of the likes of Wynn Bullock, Ralph Gibson, Eugene Smith, George Tice. This book is sadly out of print but can still be had second hand for a few $'s.

IMO one of the best darkroom related books you'll ever buy.

Regards,
Trevor.