View Full Version : What Reference Books do you use?
Bill Kumpf
10-Jan-2018, 05:47
What reference books do you find most useful? As I continue to downsize and declutter I am looking at my library.
These books I use the most.
Way Beyond Monochrome by Lambrecht and Woodhouse
Beyond the Zone System by Phil Davis
The Darkroom Cookbook by Steve Anchell
The Ansel Adams Guide – Basic Techniques of Photography by John Schaefer
Using the View Camera by Steve Simmons
What other books would you add to the bookshelf?
Controls in Black & White Photography by Richard Henry.
He doesn't tell you what to do; he shows how to tell yourself what to do.
Jim Jones
10-Jan-2018, 06:44
The Camera Repairman's Handbook by National Camera Repair School.
An older edition of View Camera Technique by Leslie Stroebel.
A tattered copy of Lenses in Photography by Rudolph Kingslake, my first book on photography, bought new in 1952.
A World History of Photography by Naomi Rosenblum.
The New Nikon Compendium by Simon Stafford, Hillebrand & Hauschild.
Leica: A History Illustrating Every Model and Accessory by Paul-Henry van Hasbroeck.
---and many others.
Tin Can
10-Jan-2018, 07:42
All good reference books listed so far. My library is boxed up and includes most of them. Including the National Camera Repair School Manuals.
The US Navy Photographer's Mate Manual from any year is fascinating. Many very good tips on practical usage of Speed Graphic.
I have to include Google as it finds many great books and let's us read part of it, often the part I want! And often a very rare book.
I recently received a gift SPSE Handbook of Photographic Science and Engineering.1416 pages of real data. Thanks, Jac!
And in my move, i found my long lost Horseman catalog.
I doubt the Mckeowns will issue another, Hove International Blue Book: Price Guide & Handbook for Collectable Cameras. Amazing tome, with little LF as they didn't consider them collectible at last issue. They reasoned LF was a working professional machine. Times have changed.
bob carnie
10-Jan-2018, 08:04
Christina Anderson Book on Gum, William A Jolly document on Solarization, Stephen Livik Book on Gum, Tim Rudmans Books and Eddie Ephram's Books.
paulbarden
10-Jan-2018, 08:06
Treatise of Photography on Collodion (https://archive.org/details/treatiseofphotog00waldrich) by Waldack & Neff.
Pere Casals
10-Jan-2018, 08:46
Above cited books are essential
But let me add a gem:
http://www.blurb.com/b/6465389-the-light-farm
http://www.thelightfarm.com/
The Light Farm IMHO it is also an essential book. Yes, very technical books are very important... but TLF adds very fresh air to a learning process. I'm (sadly) very Lp/mm oriented, but TLF teached me how important can be the artisan process and directly handling the things, it not only describes the practice to DIY dry plates and film, but it also places the photographer in a pioneering context, this is beautiful. I feel that even in the case one is not to make a dry plate ever it is very interesting to know and feel how the basic process works.
In the tech side I'd add Post Exposure (Ctein) http://ctein.com/PostExposure2ndIllustrated.pdf and Film Development Cookbook (Anchell again)
Also IMHO Alan Ross has some pdfs than can be purchased, related to this http://phototechmag.com/selective-masking-part-iii-computer-techniques-for-the-traditional-darkroom/
This is a very serious way to go.
Tin Can
10-Jan-2018, 08:55
Pere, a great tip to Alan Ross. I quickly noticed Alan's plot from the link. "If I had only thought to replace the back sheet of glass in the negative carrier with a piece of opal-glass or diffusing plex, he could have taped a piece of mylar over the image, added a touch of pencil density and been master of his printing desires!"
I will buy the Alan Ross masking PDF as soon as i finish breakfast.
an old B&J Catalog
a couple of old Calumet catalogs from the 70's
the lens PDF deal
a spiral bound book on large format lenses I picked up in the 80's
Pere Casals
10-Jan-2018, 10:26
Pere, a great tip to Alan Ross. I quickly noticed Alan's plot from the link. "If I had only thought to replace the back sheet of glass in the negative carrier with a piece of opal-glass or diffusing plex, he could have taped a piece of mylar over the image, added a touch of pencil density and been master of his printing desires!"
I will buy the Alan Ross masking PDF as soon as i finish breakfast.
Randy, I'm only started testing the selective masking as described in that article/pdf, but I feel this is a very serious way to get consistent local contrast control, what is surprising to me is that this technique has not seen universal usage, IMHO this is the technique that can make people return to darkroom, not a purist technique, but providing great control while still allowing manual burning/dodging, and this makes every print unique.
I like the classic author/editors like Mees, Cleric, Neblette, Evans, Crawley, Morgan & Morgan etc...
I always like getting back to the roots... ;-)
Steve K
Tin Can
10-Jan-2018, 10:35
Randy, I'm only started testing the selective masking as described in that article/pdf, but I feel this is a very serious way to get consistent local contrast control, what is surprising to me is that this technique has not seen universal usage, IMHO this is the technique that can make people return to darkroom, not a purist technique, but providing great control while still allowing manual burning/dodging, and this makes every print unique.
It should have been obvious to me. I have made a couple enlarger center filters with pencil when I wanted to use the lamp for more even contact prints. No lens. Just a hole,
Spot meter, mylar and pencil.
Bill Kumpf
10-Jan-2018, 11:16
This is NOT helping me thin out my reference books. I may be adding some titles.
Let's expand this.
What books to get find helpful when you are looking for inspiration or need help starting the creative flow?
ic-racer
10-Jan-2018, 11:18
When I think of 'reference book' I think of a book in which I'm not going to memorize everything in it, so I need to come back to it to refresh the memory. In addition to those indicated in the first post, I refer to these two books:
https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~ILIM/courses/vision-sensors/readings/FVC16.pdf
and
http://www.trenholm.org/hmmerk/TIAOOFe.pdf
Though, not a book, my most active source of reference is my folder of scientific papers. Too bad it is all protected by Copyright, otherwise I'd post it all. Most of it is available from a library, however.
173563
bob carnie
10-Jan-2018, 11:22
Brassai - any of his books stir inspiration in me.
This is NOT helping me thin out my reference books. I may be adding some titles.
Let's expand this.
What books to get find helpful when you are looking for inspiration or need help starting the creative flow?
Jump into the deep end of the pool, and get shooting... You will teach yourself as you go, and the scene will teach you...
No better teacher than experience!!!
Steve K
It should have been obvious to me. I have made a couple enlarger center filters with pencil when I wanted to use the lamp for more even contact prints. No lens. Just a hole,
Spot meter, mylar and pencil.
There's ways to expose a center filter on film, where the falloff replicates what is needed... Been a long time ago for me, but can be thought through to process...
Steve K
AuditorOne
10-Jan-2018, 11:46
A reference for me is something I pull off the shelf to refer to information I do not have stored in my mind.
The first, and most valuable for me, is my own binder full of manufacturer data sheets on film, developers, jobo tank capacities and my own frequently used formulas. Included with that is the Film Developers Cookbook and Digital Truth's Developing website.
Next are my camera owner manuals. With those I also include several extended owner manuals such as the Pentax Manual, the Leica Manual, the Contax, the Contaflex, the Contarex, Graphic Graflex Photography and The View Camera.
After that comes Ron Mowery's Photographic Emulsion Making, Coating and Testing. Also Denise Ross's The Light Farm. I am currently studying both of these as I prepare to make my own sheet film.
I am also diligently working my way through Tim Rudman's Master Printing Course in an attempt to improve my printing skills (my main goal for 2018.)
Finally there are dozens of books I consider to be inspirational that contain photographs to review. They are far too many to really do justice to here and there are also great sources on line from various museums and galleries. I don't think of these as reference books per se but I do refer to them an awful lot.
AuditorOne
10-Jan-2018, 11:54
A reference for me is something I pull off the shelf to refer to information I do not have stored in my mind.
The first, and most valuable for me, is my own binder full of manufacturer data sheets on film, developers, jobo tank capacities and my own frequently used formulas. Included with that is the Film Developers Cookbook and Digital Truth's Developing website.
Next are my camera owner manuals. With those I also include several extended owner manuals such as the Pentax Manual, the Leica Manual, the Contax, the Contaflex, the Contarex, Graphic Graflex Photography and The View Camera.
I would include the owners manuals for the Beseler and Leica Enlargers including their power sources and color heads. If I am printing a lot I don't always need them but there are still times when I am doing something different where I have to pull them off the shelf.
After that comes Ron Mowery's Photographic Emulsion Making, Coating and Testing. Also Denise Ross's The Light Farm. I am currently studying both of these as I prepare to make my own sheet film.
I am also diligently working my way through Tim Rudman's Master Printing Course in an attempt to improve my printing skills (my main goal for 2018.)
Finally there are dozens of books I consider to be inspirational that contain photographs to review. They are far too many to really do justice to here and there are also great sources on line from various museums and galleries. I don't think of these as reference books per se but I do refer to them an awful lot.
Back to the question, I guess that reference books that you will refer to (thanks IC), would be a keeper, plenty of dated 70/80/90's magazine publisher paperback-like books like "how to photograph models" can go, stuff that you won't get back to like maybe hand coloring etc, getting rid of old stacks of magazines like Shutterbug, PDN, Pop or Modern Photography, Peter Lik books (burn), other larger coffee table books of other people's work you won't look at again (you just missed the window of gifting these away to curse friends, relatives, etc for Xmas), etc...
A donation to a good local or school library will make you feel good, and others can enjoy/learn...
Happy editing!!!
Steve K
Tin Can
10-Jan-2018, 12:16
There's ways to expose a center filter on film, where the falloff replicates what is needed... Been a long time ago for me, but can be thought through to process...
Steve K
Yes there is and I could print one on my MFC, but it was way faster and more fun to doodle one. I still use it.
Tin Can
10-Jan-2018, 12:26
Back to the question, I guess that reference books that you will refer to (thanks IC), would be a keeper, plenty of dated 70/80/90's magazine publisher paperback-like books like "how to photograph models" can go, stuff that you won't get back to like maybe hand coloring etc, getting rid of old stacks of magazines like Shutterbug, PDN, Pop or Modern Photography, Peter Lik books (burn), other larger coffee table books of other people's work you won't look at again (you just missed the window of gifting these away to curse friends, relatives, etc for Xmas), etc...
A donation to a good local or school library will make you feel good, and others can enjoy/learn...
Happy editing!!!
Steve K
Nobody wants them or any books. Try it sometime. Bookstores used to buy books by the pound, now they cannot buy any or stay in business.
I recycle in the next town over as my village doesn't recycle anything. I wait until the pickup truck is 1/2 full... I fear they will stop as China no longer wants our cardboard or paper.
morecfm
10-Jan-2018, 12:29
I'm sure some people use Mac Book for reference.
Nobody wants them or any books. Try it sometime. Bookstores used to buy books by the pound, now they cannot buy any or stay in business.
I recycle in the next town over as my village doesn't recycle anything. I wait until the pickup truck is 1/2 full... I fear they will stop as China no longer wants our cardboard or paper.
Fer sure!!! Currently in the process of editing over a 100 file size boxes of art/design/photo books, and even books that were worth $100's of $$$ can have trouble selling now... Downward trend now, but maybe later??? But nothing like a good book!!!
Great stuff, though!!!
Steve K
Jac@stafford.net
10-Jan-2018, 16:06
[...]I recently received a gift SPSE Handbook of Photographic Science and Engineering.1416 pages of real data. Thanks, Jac!
You are welcome, and Dan Fromm recently purchased one. Purchased! We got one up on Dan! Yours was free!
Enjoy, my brother.
Jac
(I have a case of 38mm Biogons next to the recycle bin ready to toss.)
Tin Can
10-Jan-2018, 16:20
LOL Where is that bin????
It's very hard to get one up on Dan.
btw, I respect Dan Fromm, Jac Stafford and nearly everyone on this forum.
My only regret is finding LF late in life...:)
You are welcome, and Dan Fromm recently purchased one. Purchased! We got one up on Dan! Yours was free!
Enjoy, my brother.
Jac
(I have a case of 38mm Biogons next to the recycle bin ready to toss.)
My chief technical reference material is the data sheets from the manufacturers of film, paper and chemistry.
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