Creative Black & White: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques

I've worked with computers for 25 years. I had no interest in digital photography. I've been through it all before - upgrades of both software and hardware, trying to keep current on new features you probably will never need, etc. I figured it would be the same with Photoshop and digicams...and it has been. Plus, I have a traditional darkroom and 40 years experience with film ...and all my film cameras are paid for! However, I started reading Mr. Davis' blog. He talked about the unique possibilities with digital B&W that are much different from traditional photography. I've corresponded with him several times. He's well aware that a lot of us cannot justify upgrading hardware and software every 18 months. Thus, in many ways, his book is a reference manual. It deals with new ways to apply core functions of Photoshop, and many techniques are cross referenced in the book. I have CS2, which is about the oldest version I would use, since Mr. Davis strongly advocates shooting in RAW and uses ACR extensively. I have been pleasantly surprised at how valuable this book has become to me in a short period of time. For example, the chart on page 68 was quite helpful to me. With anything digital, you can "process it" for days, trying for perfection. The chart indicates levels of digital B&W. Sometimes, you may want "gallery quality;" with other shots the "quick and dirty" approach is just fine. It's all in this book. It's the single best book on my type of digital photography I've found. It's a wonderful book, just to browse. The printing and layout are of the highest quality, and Mr. Davis' photos are stunning. The techniques Mr. Davis suggests are illustrated with complete step-by-step instructions. As long as film is manufactured, that is what I will shoot. However, scanning negatives and trying out some "Photoshop Magic" is starting to make photography fun again. If you are just beginning with Photoshop, this book will be somewhat intimidating. Still, it was all new to me, and I find it's now an essential reference after about six months. In summary - this has been a great book for an old film guy. If you are interested in producing wonderful digital B&W prints, this book is the one for you.

A well written and logically laid-out, the author takes you through practical examples of digital conversion to black and white (that you actually can follow) within both Photoshop and Silver Efex. He also offers great insight into how to see and compose in black and white vs. color. I am a new black and white shooter, but even though, I believe most photographers would benefit from this book at some level.

As I recently noted in my review of another Black and White digital book by Michael Freeman, I am not a huge fan of the "stars" method of review. I think this is a book that is worth the price for any photographer who (like I do) likes to learn by reading and likes to "get under the hood" a little bit, and wants to work with Black and White digital processing of their images.Much like the Freeman book, this book is divided into 3 major sections. Freeman goes into some detail about B&W photography history comparing film to digital capture. Davis, instead, uses his first section more as a "philosophy of B&W shooting" piece. Both are well done, but different. The second two sections in both books are similar, going first into the actual process of B&W conversion and processing, and then giving some creative advice, example and perhaps motivation.I thought the first section in Davis' book could be thinned by about 2/3. It just seems to repeat itself, and repeat itself. But then, maybe I just don't "get" it. He also has a tendency toward "flowery" language. At times it may be a bit overdone, and at least for me, I found myself noticing it, instead of the straightforward information it was trying to impart. But we all speak and write our own way - and to each his own. None of the criticism here should, in my opinion, deter a purchaser. This is a very good addition to my own library, and I learned (and will no doubt continue to learn) a lot from it.Once you get into the second section - which is really the meat of the book, the learning ramps up. Davis does a great job - almost in a "cookbook" formula, of illustrating a number of ways to handle B&W conversion, along with the whys and hows. He gives - in most instances - a step by step explanation of how he does the processing (mostly in Photoshop) with enough information to see and accomplish the result, without getting into an "in-the-weeds" tutorial on Photoshop. I like that. I will get, as he recommends, my Photoshop basics from other sources.I recommend this book and think it is well worth the price.

An outstanding book on B&W Photography for the digital photographer!I have been a photographer for years and I have wanted to expand into B&W photography, but honestly, I was unsure how to go about digital darkroom processing. This book has been an instant help to me in developing my photos into more attractive, as well as artistically pleasing compositions.Not only does this book cover how to steps on the digital darkroom process, but is also an outstanding book that explains how to compose your photos. Thus, for a beginner photographer, casual photographer, or really, any level of photographer; this book can help you to see things in a different way and guide you in composing and processing B&W photographic images.The only thing I would like to see is a revised edition covering the latest Photoshop (Currently CS5), as well as Lightroom, etc. However, even with the references being to older versions of these applications, the steps are still valid in these applications.Overall, an outstanding book for any photographer wanting to improve their B&W Photography!!

I was keen to further my knowledge on the subject of black and white photography and was looking for some inspiration. The reviews seemed very good for this book so I bought it and I am so glad I did. Harold Davis has written a real winner with this book, there are some great photos and fantastic ideas to help you think outside the box. I was particularly interested in the jpeg vs raw section and found it most helpful especially as I have limited knowledge of this format. There are a number other photos which require a double take in this book and so it makes for a fascinating read, next day delivery from amazon prime so I received this gem of a book on time.

E' una bibbia per la fotografia, in particolar modo per la fotografia in bianco e nero, di cui sono un adoratore. Excursus sul bianco e nero fino ai mezzi piu' moderni. Ottimo!!!

Great work. Mostly general knowledge, but covers a few things in between that I've not focused on before.

デジタルフォトグラフィーにおけるモノクロ写真制作について、撮影の基本から後処理のプロセスまでを、具体的かつ詳細に記した実用書。そう書くとよくあるハウトゥ本だが、本書には他の類書（特に和書）にない魅力が一杯に詰まっている。著者のハロルド・デイヴィスは米国NYCを拠点に活動する職業写真家。キャリア初期の80年代には、バスキアやキース・ヘリングのような新世代アーティストたちとも交流があったという。現在は写真制作の傍ら、フォトテクニックに関する書籍を多数著わしている。デジタルフォトについては、特にHDR（ハイダイナミックレンジ）合成に造詣が深いようだが、彼の技術と感性がフィルムで培われたことは、本書を観るとよく分かる。内容は前半（全体の約1/4）がモノクロ写真全般に関する概説で、フィルム時代から営々と培われてきた数々の技法について、簡潔かつ明快に述べている。「モノクロとは何か」に始まり、「フォルムの捉え方」や「ハイキー／ローキー表現」などなど。知識としては基本中の基本というところだが、解説文はきわめて論理的であり、また意外な発見も多い。残る部分は本書の「キモ」になるパートで、デジタル機材（カメラおよびパソコン）を駆使したモノクロ処理の具体例が紹介される。ここで用いられるソフトウェアはAdobe PhotoshopおよびLightroom。当然どちらも米国版だが、ヴァージョンの差異が多少あっても（少なくともPhotoshopに習熟したユーザーであれば）理解は容易と思う。ただしソフトウェア上よりもテキストの部分に、日米の慣用表現と捉え方の差が多く（特に写真用語）、ちょっと戸惑うこともある。紹介される技法はどれも有用かつ実用的なもので、著者がフィルムからデジタルへの移行期に積み重ねた知識が惜しみなく開陳される。ソフトフォーカスや疑似赤外線写真などの「お遊び」についても大真面目に記述されているのは、職業柄というよりお国柄というべきか。ただし本書の本当の価値は、個々の技術解説ではなく作例写真の質の高さにある。露出や画面構成そしてモチーフの捉え方といった基本に加え、写真を写真たらしめている「撮影者の主観」が、きわめて明快に伝わる作品が並んでいるのだ（詳しくは「なか見検索」を参照されたい）。このことはアートとしての写真を扱う書籍であれば、まあ当然ではあるのだが、日本の書籍ではその部分がごっそり欠落していると言わざるを得ない。毒にも薬にもならない作例を並べる日本の写真誌の編集者には、ぜひ本書の姿勢を見習って欲しい。掲載写真については、いかにも米国流のモノクロ表現に基づいているため、日本の写真愛好家には参考になりづらい面もあるはずだ。その一方で、本書にはページを捲って「写真のつくり方」を読み取る愉しみがある。単なる実用書の次元を超え、エンタテインメントとしても上質な書籍である。ほぼ唯一の不満としては、モノクロ写真を完成させる最後のプロセスである「プリントテクニック」が欠落している点。これはMoab（米国の写真用紙ブランド）とも密接な関係を持つ筆者のことゆえ、続編が用意されているのかもしれない。その部分を差し引いても、多くの写真愛好家、特にフィルム派のモノクロ好きに推薦できる良書と思う。

well written