Film Photography and Darkroom

F I L M . P H O T O G R A P H Y

The first photograph was an image produced in 1826 by Nicéphore Niépce on a
polished pewter plate covered with a petroleum derivative called bitumen of Judea.
Produced with a camera, this image required an eight-hour exposure in bright sunshine. Niépce later switched from pewter to copper plates and from bitumen to silver chloride. French painter Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre continued Niépce’s pioneering work and in 1839, after Niépce's death, announced an improved version of the process, which he called the daguerreotype.

Early photography in the form of daguerreotypes did not use film at all. Eastman Kodak developed the first flexible photographic film in 1885, which was coated on paper and the first transparent plastic film was produced in 1889. The first photographic film was made from highly flammable nitrocellulose with camphor as a plasticizer (celluloid). Beginning in the 1920s, nitrate film was replaced with cellulose acetate or "safety film".

The Gelatin-silver process was introduced in 1871. This is the photographic process used with currently available black and white films and printing papers.
Almost all black & white photography is now taken on negative film to produce prints. Black and white films can be processed specially to produce slides, but most films contain dyes in the film base that reduce its transparency and may leave a slight color.

Black and white films are, in the main panchromatic, which means that they are equally sensitive to light across the spectrum. Orthochromatic film is sensitive to the blue end of the spectrum, Infrared film it’s a panchromatic film which has sensitivity skewed to the red end of the spectrum.

The first fully practical color film, Autochrome, did not reach the market until 1907. It was based on a screen-plate method, that lets filtered red, green or blue light through each grain to a photographic film in contact with it. Color films are generally sensitive to the whole of the range of visible light, however some films are balanced for specific lighting conditions (daylight film/ tungsten film).

The earliest practical method using a 'subtractive' method was the Kodachrome process, which produced much brighter color transparencies. Kodachrome, Ektachrome, Fujichrome, and Agfachrome are examples of films that produce 35-millimeter slides and larger transparencies. Both daylight and tungsten versions of these films are generally available.

Instant film is a photographic film that is designed to be used in an instant camera. The film pack contains the chemicals needed for developing, and the instant camera automatically initiates the developing process after a photograph has been taken.

<sub>[See also POLAROID :New Film: SX70 Blend, POLA-VORITES: Endangered Species & Film, Still Viable?].



BLACK AND WHITE FILM

     
     
     
    
     



COLOR FILM</sub>

        
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_{COLOR REVERSAL / SLIDE FILM}

     
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_{INSTANT FILM}

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D A R K R O O M

The darkroom is the workspace where photographers use light-sensitive materials to develop film and paper to make photographic prints. Darkrooms have been used since the late 19th century for black and white photography but due to the complexity of processing colour film, and to the rise, first of Polaroid and later digital photography, darkrooms are decreasing in popularity.

_{[See also The Golden Mean: Saving Darkroom *concerning deviantART darkroom category].}



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_{CONTACT PRINTS, SABATTIER & PHOTOGRAMS*}

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_{*Photograms are photographic images made without film [or cameras], y placing objects directly onto the surface of a photo-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light.}


Ansel Adams once wrote "[…] In my mind’s eye I saw [with reasonable completeness] the final image as made with the red filter. I can still recall the excitement of seeing the visualization 'come true' when I removed the plate from the fixing bath for examination. The desired values were all there in their beautiful negative interpretation. This was one of the most exciting moments of my photographic career."

How will we able to experience that excitement or have the ability to visualize a photograph that’s still not visible to our eyes if films and darkrooms cease to exist?



<sub>LINKS OF INTEREST

• The Darkroom Project . Instructions for setting up a darkroom in your home.
• How to Develop Black and White Film . Black & white film processing: The twelve-step program. By Mason Resnick.
• Daguerreotype to Digital . A brief history of the photographic process.
• Alternative Processes . Historical photographic methods in use today.
• Solarization Demystified . Historical, artistic and technical aspects of the Sabattier Effect. By William L. Jolly.
• Zone System . A simplified Zone System. By Norman Koren.
• Infrared Photography . Popular myths on Infrared Photography.
• PaperCams . Handmade Pinhole Paper Cameras. By Thomas Hudson Reeve.
• ILFORD Products | KODAK Professional Films | FUJIFILM Professional Film | FUJIFILM Consumer Film | AGFA Products | Polaroid | Zenit | <a href=www.pictureline.com/category.p…>HOYA Lenses</a> . Cameras, film and paper products.
• Photography Timeline . The history of photography, sorted by date.
• Why? [ We photograph ] | Thwaap... an ode to the Leica | Seeing . Articles by Chris Weeks.
• Analog Photography Users Group . An international community devoted to traditional photographic processes.
• Photography Forums . at DevART.



BOOKS

• The Camera | The Negative | The Print . By Ansel Adams.
• Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs . By Ansel Adams.
• Zone System for 35mm Photographers: A Basic Guide to Exposure Control . By Carson Graves.
• The Darkroom Cookbook . By Steve Anchell.
• Historic Photographic Processes: A Guide to Creating Handmade Photographic Images . By Richard Farber.
• The Art of Infrared Photography . By Joseph Paduano.
• Photographer's Guide to Polaroid Transfer: Step-By-Step . By Christopher Grey.



DevART RELATED CLUBS :

AnalogPhotographers | film-photography | Film-Negatives | HASSELBLADclub | GoPolaroid | holga | ZenitUsers | toy-camera</sub>