Photographic Possibilities: The Expressive Use of Equipment, Ideas, Materials, and Processes [Paperback]

Robert Hirsch's Photographic Possibilities, Third Edition, is absolutely fantastic and takes its place as the frontrunner among texts concerned with experimental photography. This new book is wonderfully updated with current information and most importantly; it's a visual and creative feast. The turn of each page is a delight for the eyes, as well as incredible inspiration for trying new techniques, exploring, playing, and taking chances with clear and precise guidance from an expert and venerable writer (See Hirsch's other books: Light and Lens: Photography in the Digital Age--the benchmark of excellence in the new hybrid world of traditional and digital imaging; Seizing the Light: A Social History of Photography- the standard of excellence in the history of photography; and Exploring Color Photography: From the Darkroom to the Digital Studio- the standout book in its field as well).

Photographic Possibilities is the most beautifully illustrated text on experimental photography available today, profusely filled with numerous wonderful images and examples of the many techniques presented in clear chapters; from elegant, antique 19th century contact printing methods like platinum and gum printing, to 21st century step-by-sep procedures using computers and inkjet printers for experimental purposes and creating enlarged negatives. The publisher obviously spent the significant funds required for reproducing every photograph in its required color and spot varnishing each image, producing a truly stunning book of beautiful pictures.

Beyond the inspiring illustrations, another strength of Photographic Possibilities is the quality of the writing. Hirsch has proven his skills in research over many years, regarding practically every facet of photography's technique, aesthetic, and history. This latest edition, vastly updated, is the compilation of all this knowledge, as well as extensive interviews with artists and experts around the world sharing their discoveries with a highly accomplished, respected fellow artist and author. No other text on this subject can match Photographic Possibilities for the clarity of its text, its concise writing, or the beauty of the reproductions.

In the spirit of disclosure, Robert Hirsch has kindly included some of my artwork in this book, but as a university professor who has taught alternative processes in colleges and workshops for over 30 years, I would rave about this innovative book anyway! Photographic Possibilities is the clearest, most inspiring, most concisely written, and most beautifully illustrated book in the field, and is a valuable resource for everyone. All photographers, ranging from enthusiasts to deadly serious fine art professionals will have enough information, and most importantly, enough inspiration to last a long lifetime- if you wear gloves.

I teach alternative processes and was looking for a smaller, and cheaper, version of Christopher James "The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes". While I love James' book, the cost has always made it a difficult choice to require my students to purchase, I would rather they had a bit more money for supplies to actually use some of the processes described in the book instead of just reading about them. This is where "Photographic Possibilities" comes to the rescue. Hirsch does a good job of summarizing photographic history as it relates to the use of processes in the first chapter of the book, and he keeps it interesting so even the shortest attention spans should be captivated. The rest of the book includes valuable information on classic B/W film and paper processes (face it, these are now alternative processes too), as well as discussing many of the more popular hand-coated processes like Cyanotype and Platinum/Palladium. The chapter on digital negatives is a good primer for a beginner to use, but like any textbook that includes current software and hardware, it is doomed to be out of date soon by no fault of Hirsch. The most valuable part of this textbook in my opinion is the chapter on how to actually incorporate the various processes and concepts into a work-flow that makes the best use of your materials and processes. I recommend this to any photographer wanting to expand their image making vocabulary, and instructors of alternative photography.

Hirsch does a great job of covering the ins and outs of alternative photography. This book is a great resource for doing everything from acrylic lifts to palladium/platinum printing to high speed developing times.

Great, great, thorough book.