Tim Rudman
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Complete, Well-Organized Lith Lesson. Stunning Examples. 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.
"The Master Photographer's Lith Printing Course" is a beautiful comprehensive guide to Lith printing. Not to be confused with ultra-contrasty lith film, Lith printing is a technique by which a print is overexposed and then partially developed in Lith developer to produce a print that is colored monochrome. Prints typically have black shadows, colored mid-tones and burned-out highlights. The photographs must be printed on lith or other suitable black-and-white paper, and the colors produced vary according to the paper and technique. Lith prints may also be toned for additional color effects. Lith printing can be done from color negatives, but normally black-and-white negatives are preferable.A photography book should be illustrated with example photographs that the reader can admire and would want to emulate. Author Tim Rudman must agree. "The Master Photographer's Lith Printing Course" contains about 125 example photographs, nicely reproduced, that are inspirational. The book is also very well organized. It starts with an introduction and FAQ. Chapter 1 provides an overview of lith printing which explains what effects lith printing produce, why, and to what subjects it might be suited. Chapter 2 talks about the equipment and materials you will need, including the qualities of each paper and developer that may be used in lith printing. Chapter 3 explains how to make a basic lith print. Chapter 4 goes into more detail about controlling printing and developing for various effects, including dodging, burning, and selective development. Chapter 5 talks about the whys and wherefores of pepper fogging, among other difficulties, and offers solutions. Chapter 6 is a short course in the chemistry behind lith printing, an understanding of which will help you prevent and solve problems. Chapter 7 is about controlling color in prints during development. Chapter 8 discusses toning lith prints, specifically with gold, selenium, and selenium plus gold toners for stunning effects. Chapter 9 talks about redeveloping conventional prints in lith developer. Chapter 10 introduces some "lith look-a-like effects" that can be achieved with sodium-hydroxide enriched developer, split-thiocarbamide toning, and various bleaching techniques. Some of these produce breathtaking results. Everything is generously illustrated. Tips and cautions are displayed in conspicuous colored boxes. The topics covered in each chapter are set out at the beginning of the chapter. The only fault I have with the book is minor: The captions that explain the photographs are quite good, but they are so small as to be difficult to read.
It should be noted that Tim Rudman is British, and he uses the British names for lith papers. UK/US/Australian paper equivalents are given in the excellent appendices in the back of the book. Also found in the appendices are: a troubleshooting guide, paper characteristics for 19 papers discussed in the book, a color guide that tells us which papers produce which colors under what circumstances, a paper speed reference table, an f-stop chart for printing, a glossary, and a list of US, UK, and Australian suppliers.
Some photographers might like to duplicate the style of lith prints in the digital darkroom. It would certainly be safer. If you're committed the digital darkroom, Tim Rudman's breathtaking prints can still serve as an inspiration. I generally prefer traditional prints for black-and-white photographs, as they convey a depth that is easily distinguished from digital prints when examined closely. And all lith prints will be one-of-a-kind, which could be a source of great pride or great frustration, depending on your mood. In any case, "The Master Photographer's Lith Printing Course" is a comprehensive, easy-to-follow, beautifully illustrated manual of Lith printing. I'm sure that wet darkroom printers of all levels will find this an interesting technique to try.
Editorial Review:
The intrinsic beauty and creative potential of the lith printing process is accessible to anyone who has access to a darkroom. This technique requires only special developers that are readily available and cost no more than conventional materials. This is the first step-by-step book on this exciting approach to print making. Written by Tim Rudman, the acknowledged master of this process, the book is aimed at all levels from first time lith printer to the advanced darkroom worker.
