Ted Felix: Photography Books

You just can't get everything you need to know online. The following books are highly recommended. They are some of the bibles of the field.

Horenstein, Henry: "Color Photography"

This is the book that explained why machine-made color prints are junk compared to what you can do yourself. I've heard there are also labs that actually know how to print different kinds of film properly.

Adams, Ansel: "The Camera"

Lots of info on view cameras and their adjustments. A real eye-opener for me.

Adams, Ansel: "The Negative"

The Zone System is an extremely useful device for getting a good exposure on film. I saw lots of parallels here with my previous hobby, audio recording.

Adams, Ansel: "The Print"

Boy does Photoshop make our lives easier. This book covers using an enlarger to make prints, and Ansel's mounting/framing techniques. Touches on archival issues. Once again, lots of parallels for me in audio recording. My audio recording technique has improved as a result of studying photography.

Adams, Ansel: "Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs"

Yes, even Ansel pulls film out of the camera without the dark slide in place. This book is the way all monographs should be. The photographer talks shop.

Blatner/Fraser: "Real World Photoshop 5"

Fantastic book. Covers color management almost enough to make it clear. It took a little thought on my part to make the final steps to complete understanding. Covers color correction techniques. Lots of other good stuff in here.

Haynes, Barry/Crumpler, Wendy: "Photoshop 5 Artistry"

A more informal book than Blatner/Fraser. Covers a lot of the same material with some interesting twists. Not as technical, more practical. Might be good as a first book for the less technical oriented reader.

Wilhelm, Henry/Brower, Carol: "The Permanence and Care of Color Photography"

A great Kodak bashing book. This book goes into excruciating detail on the topic of archival storage. Hopefully there will be a second edition at some point in the future to bring us up to date on the latest products and test results. It will probably be several thousand more pages, though.

Hicks, Roger/Schultz, Frances: "Learning to Light"

I really wanted to learn all the funky lighting terminology and a little bit about what sorts of things can be done with pro lighting equipment. This book does a great job of introducing you to all the equipment that is available. Covers snoots, honeycombs, flags, cookies, and all the other fun nomenclature of the field. It does have examples, but not so many that you get bored. It focuses on explaining the concepts, and using the examples to help (how unique in a lighting book).

Elgort, Arthur: "Camera Ready: How to Shoot Your Kids"

This is essentially Elgort's monograph of kid photography. I would recommend it for either total novices (with kids), or advanced photographers looking for a monograph on the topic. Lots of inspirational ideas. Little technical information.

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