Beginning Photography using the Stop System

The first part of this book does not deal with how to expose film in a camera, but rather, what to do with the film after exposure. It provides a step-by-step procedure for loading and developing film, and for printing the negatives. It assumes little or no experience in developing or printing. We have tried to make the book as friendly as possible and have deferred any detailed information to the appendix.

The second part of this book provides a simple, efficient and intelligent procedure for making test prints in the darkroom, and for test exposures in a studio or outdoors without the need for a light meter. The procedure is called the Stop System.

It was devised by Pierre-Yves Mahe and has been used extensively in teaching photography at Speos, the Paris Photographic Institute. It has been highly successful. Students on their first day in the darkroom are able to make excellent black and white prints.