Questions tagged [black-and-white]

Classic way of conveying images using black, white and shades of gray, thereby emphasizing shapes and shadows.

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Benefit of being able to see the Infrared band in Monochromatic Cameras?

I have read that cinema cameras such as the ARRI monochromatic series have no IR filter, allowing them to "capture the non-visible infrared light that renders white foliage, milky skin, black eye ...
vannira's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
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What can cause extremly low density negatives?

I have just received a roll of film back from a lab and it had very low density, it was almost clear everywhere except the leader. I haven't used this lab before as I have always processed my own film....
axevalley's user avatar
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Attributing as B&W in IPTC using Bridge

As an amateur I organise my photos in Bridge which does everything I require apart from one thing, I cannot find a means of attributing the color mode. It is visible but not editable under the file ...
Dight's user avatar
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1 answer
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What 2-1/4" roll film type in 1940 allowed more than 15 exposures of 2-3/4"?

I have copies of 18 B&W negatives from 1940 that are 2-1/4" x 3-1/4" from the same apparent roll.
user111437's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
219 views

Why some black and white film require color development process

For example, Ilford XP2 noted C41 on the box instead of d96 or d76, Kodak Black and White even explicitly warned the user "Do not process in B&W chemistry" on the film roll. Why do these ...
Amarth Gûl's user avatar
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Black and white film prints are foggy - Nikon FM2

I am new to film photography, having adopted my Mum's old Nikon FM2. I've successfully taken photos on this camera recently, but the last roll I received back was totally milky. I don't know if I had ...
chelseajoymills's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
305 views

How do you achieve this soft/glowing low-contrast black and white look?

Watched La Haine (4k version) the other day and was captivated by how the British Film Institute gave the film a much lower contrast soft look in comparison to Criterion's hard contrast look. I know ...
T E's user avatar
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8 votes
3 answers
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Home B&W developing - very dark areas gone white

Ilford FP4 125, developed in a Paterson tank with Ilfosol 3 1+14 for 7.5 minutes @20C, Ilfostop, Ilford Rapid fixer. As far as I can tell, exactly as required ... no intentional liberties or ...
David Aldridge's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
222 views

Light meter battery ran low and I overexposed my ASA 400 HP5+. How much should I push my film?

Equipment: HP5+ 400 ASA, Rollei 35 Light conditions and subject: Sunbather in grass surrounded by trees but with Sun in clouds fairly overhead, sometimes in some shadow. Bright day but with sky ...
user344211's user avatar
9 votes
6 answers
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Should I shoot color or black and white 35mm film to learn photography fundamentals?

I want to practice composition, or the basics of photography in reality. From what I've read, some people say shoot color, or only shoot black and white to learn composition right. From my personal ...
Vicente Matus's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
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How do I remove yellow discolouration from a scanned B&W photo in Photoshop?

I have a b&w photo that seems to have been impacted by sunlight. It’s not an overall yellow cast, but lots of imperfections. I have photoshop, and although not an experienced user, I have some ...
ClaireMac's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
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Old Photo Restoration Stuck On Scan Lines

I'm attempting to restore an old photo with pretty bad speckled silvering as opposed to large areas. I've managed to get rid of the spots but in doing so have inadvertently increased the scan lines ...
Stephen Magill's user avatar
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2 answers
388 views

My film didn't fully develop

This is my first time trying to develop film. I just bought a camera from ebay and the seller said everything was working fine. The film I used was the Ilford hp5 plus and I developed it with the ...
Shyne's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
381 views

Why does light-colored skin look different in black and white versus digitally desaturated versions of color originals

One friend, who was a photographer, commented that a desaturated photograph of light-skinned people looks like they have a suntan compared to a true black and white picture of the same skin, and ...
Christos Hayward's user avatar
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2 answers
142 views

ACR: Quick Color Preview While Using "B&W Mixer" tool for Black and White Photo?

In Adobe Camera Raw, when using a monochrome color profile, we get the B&W Mixer tool: When using this tool, I wish I could quickly enter a keyboard shortcut and see a quick color preview of the ...
Myer's user avatar
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1 answer
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What happened if I put stop bath ahead of developer

I accidentally processed my TriX 400 with stop bath ahead of Rodinal for 13 minutes. Will my negatives still be usable?
neversaint's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
204 views

Increase shadows and contrast but keep developing time standard with TMAX 400 Film

I would like to increase contrast make it stronger / darker with TAX 400 Film but keep developing time standard. Do I have to push this film or underexpose it? If underexpose then by how much? I would ...
Andreas's user avatar
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13 votes
2 answers
4k views

How do I achieve this creamy black and white look?

The JW Anderson SS19 campaign video has this very unique black and white look to it (that very much applies to photography too), and I can't figure out how to replicate it. I'm not sure if it's ...
Jodast's user avatar
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3 votes
3 answers
312 views

Linear Gradient Histogram

Could someone explain to me in why the histogram of a linear black and white gradient looks as follows? What I do not understand: I was told that humans are more sensitive to darker and lighter ...
MuseOfMusic's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
497 views

Color negatives came out blank

I'm new to film photography and since I've started i have developed my film on my own using the Caffenol recipe. I have developed some film Rolls with success but this time the film came out ...
alf01's user avatar
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18 votes
5 answers
7k views

How does Renato D'Agostin achieve these super minimalist and high-contrast photos?

So there's a photographer named Renato D'Agostin who is renowned for his very high-contrast and minimalist photos, and while I don't want to recreate his style per se, I do want to try to replicate ...
Jodast's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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What's wrong with my scan?

I took some pictures using Ilford FP4 Plus 125 on my Canon Eos 3. Can't remember the lens, but it's probably a sigma 50mm 1.4. The developing and scanning was done in Samy's. The result looks flat, ...
Tzu-Chen Huang's user avatar
4 votes
4 answers
1k views

Vintage vs modern B&W photography techniques differ in color luminance - what's going on here?

A co-worker of mine was trying to identify a film clip of a ticker-tape parade, and was thinking it was a parade from WWII in Italy (celebrating V-E Day), because the clip showed a tri-color flag with ...
KeithS's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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Longest (unlimited?) shelf-life B&W developer for sporadic use?

Is there a B&W film developer without limited shelf-life? For example, something encapsulated so well, that it can be stored unopened for decades? For example, something like tablets in metalized ...
BarsMonster's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
109 views

Lossless Format for B&W Scans [closed]

I will be scanning a number of old black and white photos from both medium format and from glass plates. I'm wondering what my best bet is for digitizing and archiving them. So I suppose it's a 2 part ...
user379468's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
115 views

Should I get Ansel Adam's book or John P. Schaeffer's Ansel Adams Guide?

Which of these is better for black and white beginner like me? Ansel Adam's Trilogy: The Camera, The Negative, The Print John P. Schaefer: The Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of Photography (Book ...
pdubois's user avatar
  • 153
3 votes
3 answers
5k views

Can you replicate the look of orthochromatic film with a blue filter on panchromatic film?

Going back in time, films used to respond to a more limited range of the visible light spectrum. These orthochromatic films, unlike today's more common panchromatic films, were very sensitive to blue ...
timvrhn's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Black level correction for images

As I have figured, the main cause for the intensity values in an image to be non-zero even in the absence of light is the dark current which propagates through the photodiodes, providing some charge ...
LumosMaxima's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
240 views

What type of B&W film did Saul Leiter use?

As shown in Saul's monographs Early Black and White or In My Room. What kind of BW negative rolls did he use?
neversaint's user avatar
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1 vote
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What happens if I develop a B&W film as color?

My friend accidentally did it, and got very interesting pictures with an aspect that reminds something akin to pictorialism. I would like to know more about the actual chemical 'impact', what actually ...
juan Guerrero's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
3k views

What causes "noise" in a low ISO 35mm film?

I've recently re-discovered and started using my parent's old Canon AE-1 Program. A recent roll demonstrated an unexpected result when scanned: a grainy/noise-like structure across all images. The ...
user84938's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
739 views

Why does the Y component in YCbCr represent luma/intensity?

As far as I know, the RGB to YCbCr conversion is just a linear transformation, yet the Y channel successfully captures the intensity value of each pixel. How? In other words, where do these magic ...
nalzok's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
3k views

What is the correct developer for BW Kodak Tmax 400?

Thanks a lot for the previous answer related to the color film. Really helped me understand a lot! :) Now I'm in a bit of dilemma regarding which developer should I choose for my BW Kodak Tmax 400. ...
The_Vintage_Collector's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
342 views

What is the advantage of making true black and white gelatin prints rather than color prints, from black and white film?

I recently had a few rolls of black and white film developed. When choosing options for 4-inch prints, I could either opt to have color prints or, for an extra cost, true black and white prints. I ...
gparyani's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
7k views

Can red LEDs be used as darkroom safe lights?

In the past when I have used a darkroom the safe lights have been a dim incandescent bulb, with an 'orangish' colored filter. Given red light is less energetic than orange, and LEDs are reasonably ...
DarcyThomas's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
238 views

I'm new to developing film at home — how should I assess my results for grain, tonal range, and etc.?

I'm starting shooting film and develop it at home. For my first roll of film i've used Fujifilm Acros 100 on a Olympus OM-1n with F.zuiko 50mm 1.8. Please see the attached image (straight from the ...
nioxys's user avatar
  • 125
6 votes
3 answers
1k views

How to recreate Edward Weston's Pepper No. 30?

I usually shoot outdoor when plenty of natural light is available, so I don't really care about flash, reflectors, etc (mostly street photography, sometimes landscape). After seeing Edward Weston's ...
anta40's user avatar
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22 votes
4 answers
9k views

Why is the cost of film going up so fast?

Two years ago 25 sheets of Ilford Delta 100 4x5 B&W cost just over $25. My last purchase last fall it was ~$35. Now it's $46. That's a steep rise! What's driving these rising film prices and can ...
steel's user avatar
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9 votes
3 answers
5k views

What are these circular splotches on my negatives?

This is my first roll of Tri-X 400, developed with D76 using Massive Dev's chart in this order: developer stop bath (tap water) fixer tap water (quick 1 minute wash) Photo Flo (2 minutes) tap water ...
ChumiestBucket's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
879 views

Silver Efex-like alternative for Linux?

Without a doubt, Silver Efex makes Black & White processing easier. Sometimes I work on Linux, and too bad Silver Efex only runs on Windows & Mac (haven't try Wine, though). The "de-facto" ...
anta40's user avatar
  • 289
6 votes
1 answer
433 views

Uneven tank development

I've had a similar problem before with tray development, but I've since moved an hour away and switched to tank development. Tank development seemed to fix the problem for the past >100 negatives ...
steel's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
1k views

35mm film - put fixer immediately after developer instead of water

Is that mistake what caused this strange bleeding effect of the shadows? See image below: You can really see it above my keyboard here on the phone holder. It's like a big blob of shadow. This is ...
ChumiestBucket's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
129 views

color to black & white photo...back to color mishap

What do you think I pushed to make my Canon 6D take black and white photos? Initially, I was taking colored photos. About 12 pictures were converted in gray and then I continued to take colored ...
Winker's user avatar
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2 votes
4 answers
304 views

What technical terms or rules of thumb do I need to understand for a black and white conversion of a photo? [duplicate]

Below is a photo taken by me: Below is a photo I found on internet: There are some visible differences between the two. One is dull and the other has visible blacks and whites. I feel I need to ...
Aquarius_Girl's user avatar
29 votes
9 answers
12k views

Why is software-based manipulation of images frowned upon while hardware-based manipulation is acceptable?

In my previous question someone pointed out that unnatural HDR based toning will get more objections from the photography community than cropping. I personally feel that slight HDR based enhancements ...
kiran's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
2k views

Why are there little white dots on my bw negative, and how can I fix it?

I've been deving some bw film at home, but on one of my negatives there are a lot of little white spots everywhere. Why has this happened, how can I prevent it from happening again, and how can I fix ...
plyck's user avatar
  • 107
3 votes
2 answers
185 views

Fiber paper curved on arrival?

I recently bought my first box of Ilford Fiber B&W 8x10 paper. Even though the box is straight and undamaged, the entire ream of paper is curved. This seems like it will make it hard to ensure ...
steel's user avatar
  • 1,296
-1 votes
2 answers
175 views

Angles For Portraits [closed]

I am a freelance photographer. I know the key rule is to focus on the eyes for a good Portrait Photograph. But there are various ways/angles from which a subject is shot my personal favorite is top ...
Dheeraj Chelaramani's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
3k views

Does black and white film have any advantage over black and white effects in digital?

I understand that digital sensors use an RGGB layout for pixels, where 50% of the pixels are green, 25% blue, and 25% red. This means that any particular pixel is sensitive to only one particular ...
user151841's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
1k views

How to create a gray/black color background in a photograph

These are two examples of photographs with black background. My question is how can I set the background like that? Was it through post-processing or on shoot? by Saul Leiter And this by Hélène ...
neversaint's user avatar
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