The Last Layer: New methods in digital printing for photography, fine art, and mixed media (Voices That Matter)

The Last Layer: New methods in digital printing for photography, fine art, and mixed media (Voices That Matter) Overview

In The Last Layer–the follow-up to Digital Alchemy, her successful book on alternative printmaking techniques–Bonny Lhotka teaches how to make prints that take their inspiration from early printmaking processes. In this book, Lhotka shows readers step-by-step how to create modern-day versions of anthotypes, cyanotypes, tintypes, and daguerreotypes as well as platinum and carbon prints. She also reinvents the photogravure and Polaroid transfer processes and explores and explains groundbreaking techniques for combining digital images with traditional monotype, collograph, and etching press prints. By applying these classic techniques to modern images, readers will be able to recreate the look of historical printmaking techniques and explore the limits of their creative voice. Best of all, the only equipment required is a desktop inkjet printer that uses pigment inks, and a handful of readily available materials and supplies–not the toxic chemicals once required to perform these very same processes.
 
Leveraging her training as a traditional painter and printmaker, Bonny Lhotka brings new innovations and inventions that combine the best of centuries of printmaking technique with modern technology to create unique works of art and photography. After years of experimentation and development, these new processes allow alternative photographers, traditional printer makers, and 21st century digital artists to express their creative voice in ways never before possible. 

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The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing

The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing Overview

Following on the release of The Digital Negative: Raw Image Processing in Lightroom, Camera Raw, and Photoshop, the definitive and bestselling guide to integrated raw image processing, renowned photographer, educator, and author Jeff Schewe presents a targeted book on digital printing in Lightroom and Photoshop, which teaches expert techniques for optimal output and fine-art reproduction using today’s technologies. The Digital Print picks up where first book leaves off, taking the already perfected images from The Digital Negative and preparing them for printing and other forms of output. Readers will learn techniques for fine-art printing in house or sending out to a photo lab, as well as preparing images for multimedia and mobile destinations and Print on Demand (POD) books. This is the second in a two-book series that pays homage to Ansel Adams’ seminal book series The Camera, The Negative, and The Print. Each book stands alone, but the combination of the two tells the entire story from camera to print. These books are not version-specific and, thus, evergreen.

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Way Beyond Monochrome 2e: Advanced Techniques for Traditional Black & White Photography including digital negatives and hybrid printing

Way Beyond Monochrome 2e: Advanced Techniques for Traditional Black & White Photography including digital negatives and hybrid printing Overview

Photo Techniques Magazine stated: "All our readers need to know about this very useful book." Indeed, there is no other compendium that is as in-depth as this for the beauty and magic of fine-art black-and-white photography. With 560 pages and over 1,000 illustrations, Way Beyond Monochrome starts with conceptual lessons of composition and takes you through image capture, exposure, controlling tonality, variable-contrast paper, archival printing, mounting, framing and presentation with simple concepts to an advanced level. This new edition has been completely revised and heavily expanded, adding over 250 pages to the original edition with new chapters on print mounting, spotting, framing, digital negatives, utilizing digital technologies for alternative processes, and fabulous do-it-yourself projects. Overall, the authors have created a thoroughly researched, technologically sound yet aesthetically pleasing, inspirational bible for monochrome photography.

New to this edition:

• almost double the content








• a new section discussing the path from visualization to print, illustrating the interaction between eye and brain, explaining the rules of composition and when to break them to produce photographs with impact








• a new section on presentation including hands-on mounting, matting, spotting, and framing








• image capture has a more in-depth focus, now covering pinhole photography and digital capture








• now includes making and printing with digital negatives








• a new section discussing the pros and cons of typical image-taking and image-making equipment








• plus new do-it-yourself projects, including many darkroom tools and an electronic shutter tester








• a useful collection of templates, to copy, cut-out and take with you in your camera bag or use in the darkroom








• an appendix with all the recipes to make your own darkroom chemicals from scratch








• all illustrations improved and updated








• improved index with 1,400 references

Detailed explanations and lessons of everything monochrome related

Inspirational black and white photos packed into the book for visual inspiration

Tons of full-color illustrations and graphs to demonstrate visually to a visual audience

Now with a new glossary for quick reference

Customer Reviews

Disclaimer: I am casually acquainted with one of the authors (R.L.) via a photography forum, and one of my images is included in this book. However, I feel that neither of these issues preclude me from offering an honest critique.

I was at first struck by the size of this book: with 500+ pages, it is an encyclopedia! But the volume of this book is appropriate for its broad, technical scope. The book addresses the physiological aspects of seeing, and the refinement of print tonality... and everything in between. Consistent with the modern context, the reader will also find a thorough treatment of all the digital, hybrid, and traditional tools. With a strong emphasis on clarifying techniques, this book is *very* thoroughly illustrated. Hardly a page is without an example, an illustration or a graph. In addition, numerous tables and templates are found in an appendix. It's literally impossible for me to locate a technical topic that wasn't appropriately described. Yes, MTF, dry down, transmittance etc. are all given full schrift!

The risk that the authors take with this book is to overwhelm the reader with the technical scope, with insufficient treatment of the creative aspects that must always drive the successful craft. Indeed the book contains ~90% technical content. There is a small section on visualization, and a larger "On Assignment" section with narrated examples, but the reader will not find much discussion of fundamental issues such as: what distinguishes black and white photography as an art form; why black and white is effective in some cases for which color photography is not; and the special role of certain abstract graphical elements in the black and white craft.

For my own taste, there could and probably should be more weight given to these qualitative aspects, and for that reason my rating of this book is not perfect. That said, I realize that most readers expect and appreciate the technical guidance... and abstract statements about the unique effectiveness of black and white photography are probably best made with photographs rather than words!

Overall, this book is a real achievement- an authoritative reference that will be widely cited for many years to come. I recommend it very highly, and note that the low price is a very pleasant surprise, given the volume of very useful information. I am certain that this book will be at least as successful as the first edition, which is also very highly regarded.

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Elements of Black and White Printing, Second Edition

Elements of Black and White Printing, Second Edition Overview

Whether you are a novice or an expert in the darkroom, the second edition of The Elements of Black-and-White Printing will give you the tools necessary to control your print making. You will learn the proper techniques for exposing a print, how to choose the correct paper contrast, and ways to find the best combination of paper and developer for your images. In addition to explaining the procedures, this unique book contains exercises that help you calibrate these procedures with your own equipment with the materials you prefer. Photographers will find this book an essential resource in the darkroom.

Elements of Black-and-White Printing will help you learn how to choose the right exposure and contrast for your negative; select papers, developers, and toners that complement each other; print negatives with extreme contrast ranges; salvage seemingly hopeless negatives and prints; print, develop, and store negatives and prints for maximun life; display your photographs in a way that enhances their message; properly align your enlarger; and more.

New material on darkroom safety and working with chemicals
Addresses practical concerns of photographers who are using complex mixtures
Safe disposal methods for darkroom chemicals and wastes

Customer Reviews

Although this is a basic book, it covers several topics that advanced darkroom printers will find useful. For example it discusses making test strips by exposing for the HIGHLIGHTS. I've used the method and have adopted it. I'm also experimenting with split-filter exposures which it discusses very completely and it has been very helpful. Worth the money -- I've learned several new techniques.

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Fine Art Printing for Photographers: Exhibition Quality Prints with Inkjet Printers, 2nd Edition

Fine Art Printing for Photographers: Exhibition Quality Prints with Inkjet Printers, 2nd Edition Feature

• ISBN13: 9781933952314
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Fine Art Printing for Photographers: Exhibition Quality Prints with Inkjet Printers, 2nd Edition Overview

Today's digital cameras provide image data files allowing large-format output at high resolution. At the same time, printing technology has moved forward at an equally fast pace bringing us new inkjet systems capable of printing in high precision at a very fine resolution, providing an amazing tonality range and longtime stability of inks.

Moreover, these systems are now affordable to the serious photographer. In the hands of knowledgeable and experienced photographers, these new inkjet printers can help create prints comparable to the highest quality darkroom prints on photographic paper.

This book provides the necessary foundation for fine art printing: The understanding of color management, profiling, paper and inks. It demonstrates how to set up the printing workflow as it guides the reader step-by-step through this process from an image file to an outstanding fine art print.

Customer Reviews

I bought this book (1) because I'm planning on buying a new printer capable of making fairly large prints and I want to get the best out of it and (2) because I've read other things Uwe Steinmueller has written and have admired his HDR photographs. The book combines information about color management, which you get in almost any moderately advanced text, with information that's specific to printing, notably on paper selection and workflow. It's a useful combination of topics. the text is well written and the illustrations are printed very well and are useful.

You do have to have familiarity with Photoshop CS 2 or later. Befroe you print, take the author's advice about calibrating your monitor, and especially about setting the brightness.

There's a logical progression from calibrating your printer up through printing and presenting the work. Although there is a lot of detail, it's presented well enough so that you don't drown in it.

The only criticism I have is that the first 55-60 pages seem to have been written or perhaps revised without good editing, so there's some annoying duplication of information about paper weight and thickness, among other things. Apart from that, it's an excellent manual for making prints suitable for display.

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