There are some excellent choices for books on converting color photos into B&W fine art images. John Beardsworth's Advanced Digital B&W Photography and Michael Freeman's Mastering Black and White Digital Photography are favorites of mine for B&W conversion tips and techniques.

Amadou Diallo's book, Mastering Digital Black and White, has less depth on B&W conversion techniqies and tips than some of thee others. That's not to say that it has nothing to say on those topics, but its strength is in another area: printing digital B&W prints with an inkjet printer. The book's coverage of B&W printing is very informative and thorough.

Regrettably, this book is not a thorough reference. If you are interested in printing duotones, you'll need to look elsewhere for helpful guidance. The printing discussion is squarely limited to inkjet printing. Even the printing of pseudo-duotones with an inkjet printer is missing. Same with toning and split toning recipes. No discussion, which is a big gap in a book that is clearly oriented towards intermediate to advanced digital photographers trying to craft fine art prints.

The format of the book was another nit. It's 9.1 x 7.3 images. There must be a reason for such a quirky format, but it made the book less comfortable to handle, and it fits strangely on the bookshelf, too.

Recommended with reservations

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