Black & White: Photographic Printing Workshop

How outstanding it is that the authors have shared their extensive knowledge of darkroom printing techniques with the masses, especially since one of them died in 1995. It is rather rare that extremely erudite photographers are willing to share what they know based on years of experience as well as trial and error. This is an exquisite tome on how to use dodging and burning with variable contrast papers to get the utmost in quality in one's enlargements. True, one has to master dodging and burning to the extent the authors have to achieve the same or similar results, but learning and practicing are two of photography's most wonderful aspects and there is a wealth of examples herein to get you on your way to achieving astoundingly better results in your darkroom. Bravo to both authors!!

i have a lot of book on B & W photography. everyone who shoots B & W knows that at least half (often MORE) of the work, skill, art and effort is in the darkroom. In this book you have VERY specific instructions, details, data on how other artists printed their work. very well done, very well documented. concise yet useful. highly recommended.

This book is not only a collection of great photographs. It is also a book that explains in detail how the printer evaluates the straight print and then proceeds to make the fine print. At the beginning many general aspects of printing with multigrade paper are discussed. Some advice for HW is also given. After this short introduction comes the main part: The printing process of many photojournalistic/glamour/still life photographs (really good ones!) is explained. First comes the straight print. Then comes a sketch of the burn-in/dodging procedure. The subjective opinion/reason of the printer for each step is also stated. Finally comes the fine print. One main idea that pervades the whole book is the idea of local contrast. This alone can improve the craft of many newcomers to B & W printing. Reading this book has opened my mind as to what good printing is capable of and I believe that my printing has improved since then.

This book gives you an idea of what can be achieved with a little imagination and effort. Larry was renowned for his printing style and passion, also he was rather forthright in his belief that printing is an extension of the photographic art, not merely an effort to reproduce the tones apparent on a negative, but a way of emphasising the photographer's original impressions and perceptions.Even if you have been printing for twenty or thirty years, you may want to read this simply to take pleasure in the interpretation of the negatives. A note, this book was published posthumously, this is the last tribute to his life's work.

Bartlett's book is a great course in black and white printing for anyone at any level. The way that he sees a straight print, and how to improve it, is a sure sign of his years of experience in the darkroom. Bartlett's heavier printing style may not appeal to every printer or every subject matter, but he caused me to question my printing more indepth, and by applying his ideas ,I did see immediate improvements. The book should not be seen as how to print other people's so called problemaatic negatives, as another reviewer alludes to. You can have full control of the photo process, lighting, film, etc, and get a perfect negative, but there is always room for reinterpretation in the darkroom. Bartlett gives the reader these tools with ample examples of his work which include straight prints and then finished prints. I would highly recommend this book to every black and white printer to help expand their own vision. There is a reason why Bartlett was so highly sough! t out to make prints for so many photographers. You can see it in his work.