Post exposure - The book

[gth]

Any of you experienced dark room mavens looked at the "Post Exposure" book by Ctein(?!) - Published by Focal Press?

It's copyright 2011, 2nd edition but I don't know if the information in it is current.

What's the scoop on the author and this book..... value and quality of the information in your (expert) opinion?

[Daniel Stone]

for anyone who's interested in reading the "book", here's a link to the free download from Ctein's website:

http://ctein.com/PostExposure2ndIllustrated.pdf

-Dan

[cyrus]

Ctein is a highly-respected author on things photography-related, and I made a point of purchasing his older book. Especially if you're interested in the science of it all. However as a practical matter you won't find anything in his book that is not in many other books, especially when it comes to the fundamentals. You can download the older edition for free I think

[Oren Grad]

However as a practical matter you won't find anything in his book that is not in many other books, especially when it comes to the fundamentals.

The material on RC print stability is based on Ctein's own research, and is unique to him. Several other sections are also either unique or reflect his particular twist on things. It's not a textbook - it's a collection of observations on a range of darkroom topics. Think of it as a supplement to standard how-to references.

[David Karp]

I think it is an excellent book. The information on enlarging lenses is also interesting and something that I never saw in another book.

[Brian Ellis]

I have the first edition, it's excellent. I don't think everything in it can be found somewhere else.

[cyrus]

I think it is an excellent book. The information on enlarging lenses is also interesting and something that I never saw in another book.

Yes as I said if you're interested in the science-y stuff, it is quite interesting. But if you want to just learn how to take a photo and make an enlargement etc, not much there. In fact I'd recommend Vestal's book over Ctein's if you're trying to learn darkroom work.

[Michael Clark]

cyrus,is that David Vestal? I remember reading a lot of what he wrote in the popular photo mags, what book are you referring to ?

Mike

[Oren Grad]

David has published two books - The Craft of Photography (~1975) and The Art of Black and White Enlarging (1984). Both are wonderful. "Craft" has a broader scope - not just darkroom - while "Art" feels much more up to date, even though there was less than a decade between them.

"Art" draws heavily on material that he published as articles in Popular Photography. I'm not sure about "Craft" in that respect - my own photo magazine reading goes back only to the mid-'70s.

[cyrus]

cyrus,is that David Vestal? I remember reading a lot of what he wrote in the popular photo mags, what book are you referring to ?

Mike

Yup - David Vestal. And there's Andreas Feininger too - "Darkroom Techniques" for example.