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| The Negative (Ansel Adams Photography, Book 2) | 
| Author: Ansel Adams
Creator: Robert Baker
Publisher: Bulfinch
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $15.01 (60%)
New (29) from $9.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  34 reviews
Sales Rank: 6374
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 7.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 0821221868
Dewey Decimal Number: 771
EAN: 9780821221860
ASIN: 0821221868
Publication Date: June 1, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new book may have a remainder mark BACK COVER SLIGHTLY BENT
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| Customer Reviews:
A good solution to give out the best from your camera November 12, 2004
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
We're actually not too far from the end of digital/analog war. Adams' book bought something back from the golden age of home labs and help us to realise our own dreams and ideas without the help (and destruction) of consumer labs. This book is much more than just a guide how to measure light for the best exposure, how to navigate through zones or how get out of the best from your papers and chemicals, but an ode to black and white photography.
May be also useful to digital-negative enthusiasts.
A Phenomenal Book that is meant to be both Read and Studied September 27, 2004
26 out of 27 found this review helpful
There are a number of good reviews here, and I recommend to you especially the one by S. White. This is a great book, a classic that is important both historically, because it defines the zone system as no other work can, and practically, because it gives you the best combination of practice and theory available in print (at least that I have found). For the uninitiated, in the "zone system" you stop thinking about "the" one correct exposure for a photograph (which is usually the correct exposure for a single subject in the photograph) and instead think about the range of exposures needed across a scene with a variety of subjects with different colors, textures, and light characteristics. This approach is made possible by the observation that a one-stop shifts in exposure, in black and white photography, ultimately create 10 "zones" for aesthetic purposes - that is, the full range of grays between black and white can be associated with 10 stops of exposure.
I don't want to make this review just an echo of the praise offered by others, so let me point out several things about this book that may be helpful if you haven't yet decided to purchase it:
First, the zone system advocated by Ansel Adams is the most influential approach to taking black and white photographs out there. There are advocates and detractors, and this book is inspired in part by Adam's advocacy of this technical and painstaking technique. Because he is an advocate, he works very hard to make the system comprehendable, while retaining fidelity to its technical and intellectual side. He also does not give you the full story on the criticism of his method.
Second, even if you are not going to "follow" the system, this book will give you an understanding of the process by which light becomes a photograph, and insight into how meters (whether built into the camera or not) and film interact with objects that are colorful and textured. This insight is indispensible, and better explained that anywhere else I have read. Whatever you think of the zone system as a method for taking photographs, it is a fantastic educational method.
Third, some have commented that the information is most useful to those using view cameras and not working with 35 mm roll film. I disagree. While view cameras can give you the ability to deal with each negative separately in a darkroom, today's automatic and, yes, digital cameras can give remarkable flexibility once you understand the ins and outs of the zone system and how exposures work. With today's camera's capable of giving you a honeycomb display of exposures over the entire photograph, taking multiple exposures on one roll can get you much the same impact as manipulating exposures in the darkroom. Today's cameras also allow you to re-roll and switch films mid-roll, so it is now possible to do astonishing things in the darkroom using Adams methods and a 35 mm camera.
Digital SLR cameras can be even more readily adapted to these methods than View cameras, since they give instantaneous displays as well as the ability to make a detailed analysis of an exposure. Because Ansel Adams fully explains his method and its technical underpinnings, it is possible to really apply his teachnings to modern technology. At some point, we need to revisit Adams' contributions in the modern world, but I suspect we will discover when we do so that he was well ahead of his time.
Great June 25, 2004
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
After read this book,my B&W photograph expose have imporve dramatically,before that,I just using average meter to optain exposure.good book
Excellent Book for any Serious B&W Photographer December 25, 2003
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Ansel Adams reviews the characteristics and limitations of the B&W negative. It is very comprehensive and describes both exposure and processing techniques. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about B&W photography.
Lessons from the Master in Technique December 17, 2002
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Simply put: The best out there.Make sure of a few things:
a)you are an advanced amateur
b)you love B&W
and it woundn't hurt if
c)you can do your own B&W work. Wonderfully written, if you have the talent this book could make the difference
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