Photography Beyond Technique: Essays from F295 on the Informed Use of Alternative and Historical Photographic Processes from Focal Press is a book edited by Tom Persinger, a photographer and writer who is also the founder of F295. It is a compelling selection of essays and images that reveal the thoughts and methods of some of today's most exciting contemporary photographers. These artists employ alternative, historical, or handmade processes and techniques, and they share a comprehensive view of the medium, believing that the choice of photographic process is just as important as the selection of subjects. While other books concentrate solely on process, or theory, or artistic intent, this one focuses on photography in which these decisions are considered inseparable.

The photographers featured in this volume recognize that photography is not dying and has not died. It has been an ever-changing medium since its earliest days, and while near-obsession with the technology of the day may have defined photography over the course of its existence, the craft is so much more than hardware and software. It is communication, whether chemical or digital, tangible or ephemeral in form.

These 20 essays, originally presented at the annual F295 symposium and seminar series, provide a thought-provoking read for anyone interested in photography as an art form and as a medium through which to view the world.