"An excellent resource for the nature photographer who'd like to expand into black and white, George Schaub's book packs a solid one-two punch of inspirational photos and educational text."--Peter Kolonia, senior editor, Popular Photography

This practical guide, the ninth in Stackpole's popular How to Photograph series, shows in clear text and a wealth of photos how to "see" in black and white, select film and accessories, and use your equipment to master the classic medium of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and Minor White.

George Schaub teaches at the New School/Parsons School of Design in New York. He has written many books on photography and is a frequent contributor to Shutterbug's Outdoor & Nature Photography. He lives on Long Island.

Part 1: An appreciation of the Medium - a very quick summary of the field. Covers lots of territory with little depth

Part 2: Seeing Pictures - portion of the book I would like to see expanded, only 8 pages long. This covers composition and how to see pictures.

Part 3: Film - obvious. Covers grain, types, use a tripod, etc.

Part 4: Techniques - Light metering. Be aware of how your meter can fool you. Also filters.

Part 5: Completing the Vision - How to Print. Contact sheets, variable contrast papers, toning.

Part 6: Photo Diary - Artist's statement.

I think where the book fails is that it covers everything with such little depth. The Zone System gets maybe a paragraph. The one area where it does spend time is in using the light meter. If you aren't familiar with how white or black objects can fool a meter looking for middle gray, then maybe you could benefit from this book. I think it is more designed for the beginner/intermediate photographer. I think a book in this series which covers landscape composition a bit better is "How to Photograph Landscapes" by Joe Lange.

Most of the information presented in this book is not specific to landscape. The author makes clear that one of his favorite types of photographs is to find faces in cliffs and rocks. Not really my cup of tea. Again not terrible for basics but there are many books which cover the same material. I wish the book would have focused more on a few areas, particular to outdoors, and added more depth. Also note there is no index.


for those passionate about black & white   May 24, 2000
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

I picked up this book as an amateur wanting to learn more about black and white photography.

The book clearly elucidates the joy and sorrow (more joy than sorrow) of where the passion of black and white photography will take you.

Layer by layer, George Schaub peels the moods and experiences, sharing his tactics and finesse of observation with the reader.

You get to feel how much of an art AND science black and white photography really is. And you learn to learn from the kind of mistakes you make.

The book is as much a joy to read as to think about in your free time or while you're out there in the outdoors with a camera dying to be used.

George Schaub's book is packed with insight about his craft. The world we begin to see from behind the camera lens and the moments we so capture are given a timeless rendition in this book.

An absolute must for those who care!