The Negative (Ansel Adams Photography, Book 2)

When I looked at the three books of this series, The Camera, The Negative and the Print, I waded into each wanting to choose only the best one from the series. I quickly realised that neither of the other two had what The Negative had and I have subsequently realised that this was by far the best choice for me. The negative deals with Visualization and image values, Light and Film, Exposure, The Zone System, Filters and Pre-Exposure, Natural Light, Artifical Light, Darkroom processes, Dark Room equiptment and procedures and value control in processing.

This book is an absolute must for intermediate photographers who have mastered the basics and want to take a step up into the world of greater control over their imaging with an eye to developing and processing their own film and prints. Everything you need to know about getting your images right before you even hit the shutter is in this book, all you need to do now is accentuate the positive by going and buying The NEGATIVE!


A Phenomenal Book that is meant to be both Read and Studied   September 27, 2004
Sam A. Mawn-Mahlau (Winchester, MA USA)
33 out of 34 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.


The Master speaks!   September 5, 1999
38 out of 41 found this review helpful

Ansel Adams expressed more with B&W then most can even DREAM of doing with color...

This is my second foray into learning the basics of exposure through the Zone System, and who better then The Master himself to lead. He has taken a fairly technical system and made it a breeze to grasp. No misleading sidebars or relationships here. Just the facts. Much better then my first indoctrination. No matter how deeply you wish to delve into his techniques, even a redimentary understanding of previsualization before exposure will improve ones photo making, even in color. An outstanding reference. The entire series, Book 1: The Camera, Book 2: The Negative, and Book 3: The Print are invaluable additions to a personal photography library.


THE ONLY deep & comprehensive guide to excellent photography   November 29, 1998
22 out of 24 found this review helpful

Ansel Adams' experience, talent and visualization come together in this book to describe (with relative ease) even the most complex aspects of photography. His comprehension of the matter is wildly beyond most (if not all) other authors. I would especially recommend this book to intermediate photographers who have had fairly enough experience in the field. Amateurs will no doubt find it useful yet a bit complex in some technical issues. This book is a must for the serious photographer as it enlightens doubts.


The best of the three book series   November 29, 2001
Sebastiao Barata (Lisbon Portugal)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful

The book were Ansel Adams explains his well known zone system.

It is the best book of the three books of the series "the camera", "the negative", "the print". The camera book is more interesting to someone using a view camera. The print is more interesting for someone doing a lot of photography printing. But the negative I found it interesting for someone interested in advance photography and that wants to learn how to better control exposure. In that area this book is a classic.

It is not a simple book for a beginner, so if you are picking a camera for the first time and just want to know how to load the film there are better books in the market to fulfill with that purpose.