Books about photography can be placed across a very wide spectrum. Some focus almost entirely on the mechanics of capturing and producing images in a pleasing but essentially documentary fashion. Others approach the making of photographs from a largely aesthetic point of view emphasizing the physiology of human vision, emotion, creativity, and the artistic elements of light, color, composition, style, and social discrimination. A few attempt the difficult task of trying to cover all the bases, usually coming up short due to limited time and space, or by fostering exceedingly narrow points of view.
In this book, Bruce Barnbaum covers a great deal of territory, including theory, mechanics, philosophy, psychology, and the expression of a strong personal viewpoint along with over 100 images illustrating specific points, all wrapped in a nicely produced square format with a fairly elegant feel for a paperback. For the photographer who is a serious student of the art and craft of imaging it's a wealth of information, and certainly an excellent learning tool and reference piece. It is not, however, without limitations.
First is the fact that the views expressed are quite narrow in perspective. There's no question that the author is exceedingly bright, highly experienced, and duly lauded within the tight-knit community of well-known fine-art photographers. But photography as a medium deserves freedom from too much pigeonholing. The strong emphasis in this piece is on artistically created large-format black & white images processed in a wet darkroom and delivered in the form of silver prints. Yes, there is a nod toward color, and to digital capture and processing, but large chunks of space are devoted to elaborate film-related discussions of Zone System exposure followed by contrast-controlling development and printing methods using chemicals and other materials that are increasingly expensive and hard to get. These methods are not obsolete, but are practiced by an ever-diminishing percentage of image-makers. There certainly are valuable principles buried in this discussion that apply to photography in general, but for a great many readers the arcane specifics of wet darkroom procedures won't be of much value. Another limitation is the mixed nature of an "updated" book. With so much of the material referencing film and chemical-based processes, the added sections on digital have a distinctly "tacked-on" feel...hard to avoid without a very time-consuming total re-write.
Of most value from my perspective are the discussions regarding photography as a communication tool, personal integrity, creativity, and working toward a personal philosophy of imaging. Even though the book represents a fairly narrow emphasis on landscapes and architecture, the author strongly recommends maintaining flexibility in every aspect of photography. After all, creating images is in the final analysis a very personal endeavor.
Who might benefit most from this book? Really serious photographers who already have considerable experience in the craft and are seeking to learn as much as possible about the philosophical and artistic side of imaging. For those just starting out it's likely to be a pretty heavy lift. I'd like to see a full rewrite with less focus on specific craft and more thoughtful discussion on aesthetics with a view to visual communication in the 21st century.