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60 votes

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

Why are hardware-based manipulations, like black and white photography (traditionally using black-and-white film), long exposure, etc., which also result in an "unnatural" image, acceptable while ...
mattdm's user avatar
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43 votes
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Should I shoot color or black and white 35mm film to learn photography fundamentals?

If your goal is to practice composition and work with shadows and lighting cheaply and efficiently, then you should shoot digital, not film. You will get more immediate results, and the ability to ...
scottbb's user avatar
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35 votes

Why is the cost of film going up so fast?

The sale price of film is going up because of “economy of scale”. In other words, the more you make of any particular article, the lower the cost to make that article. Digital imaging has overtaken ...
Alan Marcus's user avatar
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30 votes

Is there a black and white physical filter?

Pardon me while I get a little metaphysical for a bit. "Color" as we understand it isn't a real property of anything in the universe. It's something created by our vision system — a complicated ...
mattdm's user avatar
  • 143k
26 votes

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

Upon viewing his portfolio at the link you provided, my first thought was push processing. In push processing, one typically underexposes the shot (that is, meters and set exposure as if the the film ...
scottbb's user avatar
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23 votes
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How do I achieve this creamy black and white look?

If you want to achieve this digitally note how the whites aren't full white and the blacks aren't full black. You can do that e.g. in Lightroom or any other editing tool by pulling the endpoints for ...
JTjards's user avatar
  • 346
21 votes

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

Is it frowned upon? Photography has always made use of whatever technology was available, whether in the camera, the darkroom or, now, the computer. It's a long time since other forms of art were ...
Laurence's user avatar
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19 votes
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Is there a black and white physical filter?

No. It is not possible to create a physical filter that can completely "De-saturate" incoming light. The only way to achieve this without post-processing is at the film / sensor level.
Digital Lightcraft's user avatar
19 votes

Can I develop my b&w film a year after shooting it?

Ilford Delta is a pretty common film. I am certain you will be able to find a reputable lab to develop it somewhere around (you do not mention where exactly in Germany are you spending your year). On ...
Jindra Lacko's user avatar
  • 5,990
17 votes

Which color filter do I use for a black & white portrait?

There is a really important diference if you are using film or is a digital photo. I will focus on Digital aspects but will give you an idea of what to expect with film. The method I am using is ...
Rafael's user avatar
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16 votes

Is there a black and white physical filter?

All color is a result of software processing. The only thing a sensor, be it film or semiconductor, can do is change state in response to incoming photons. Yes, a digital camera has color filters, ...
Carl Witthoft's user avatar
15 votes
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What colour scheme for model aircraft should I use to give a realistic black and white film photo?

I would not worry overmuch about the color schemes. Two reasons: the emulsions you mention (Bergger and HP5+) are panchromatic, in both cases with rather decent color rendition your scenes will ...
Jindra Lacko's user avatar
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15 votes
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Why is the cost of film going up so fast?

Here’s Fuji’s annual report: https://www.fujifilmholdings.com/en/pdf/investors/integrated_report/ff_ir_2018_all.pdf The page you want is page 48. What you should notice is that photo imaging made ...
OnBreak.'s user avatar
  • 20.5k
14 votes

Is there a black and white physical filter?

You can't add a physical filter, but you can remove a physical filter to convert any digital camera to a strictly monochrome camera. The actual sensor on any DSLR knows nothing about color - each ...
Nathaniel Bubis's user avatar
13 votes
Accepted

Home B&W developing - very dark areas gone white

For me this looks like pseudo-solarisation. Also known as Sabattier effect. This can happen when film or photo paper are exposed to light after the start of development. It can be counted as artistic ...
Romeo Ninov's user avatar
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12 votes
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Why is software-based manipulation of images frowned upon while hardware-based manipulation is acceptable?

Why are hardware-based manipulations, like black and white photography (traditionally using black-and-white film), long exposure, etc., which also result in an "unnatural" image, acceptable while ...
Agent_L's user avatar
  • 2,090
11 votes
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How does Renato D'Agostin achieve these super minimalist and high-contrast photos?

Hello this is Renato D’Agostin. By chance I found myself on this blog, and found curious and flattering to read comments about my photography. I thought it could be nice to comment myself. Regarding ...
user96911's user avatar
  • 126
10 votes
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Which file format is recommended for black and white photographs?

Shoot in RAW, and export on whatever format you like. JPEG for example. For print it can be on TIFF. And you could export at grayscale at 16 bits. But that is only for specialized usage. For most ...
Rafael's user avatar
  • 25.2k
10 votes

Can I develop my b&w film a year after shooting it?

Last I checked Germany was rather up there in the photography world. But anyway, I would be more concerned about carrying undeveloped film back through air travel. X-rays and film do not mix. You ...
Trevor_G's user avatar
  • 209
10 votes
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What are these circular splotches on my negatives?

You have two problems. The one you've noticed is water spots remaining on the negatives when the film has been hung to dry. Re-washing and drying may help. It may not remedy the problem if the ...
Stan's user avatar
  • 5,527
10 votes

How do I achieve this creamy black and white look?

If those were film images, I'd say they were "overexposed" by about one stop and developed at N-1 (pull 1) to ensure well filled shadows. They may also have been printed on a warm-tone paper, and the ...
Zeiss Ikon's user avatar
  • 7,170
9 votes
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Developing negatives in a car? (B&W)

I don't have a complete solution, mostly because I don't think you need one. I also don't think your biggest issue is going to be either of the two you've mentioned. To control chem temps, get a ...
Jędrek Kostecki's user avatar
9 votes

Can I develop my b&w film a year after shooting it?

It's always good practice to develop the film ASAP after exposing it. But given the parameters here, I think you'd be hard pressed to notice anything different about the developed images. My regular ...
bvy's user avatar
  • 1,076
9 votes

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

I got into photography with a compact digital P+S just before DSLs became affordable, when all the photography experience and wisdom to absorb was about film. Because the people I learned photography ...
dandavis's user avatar
  • 412
9 votes

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

Just to expand on Matt's answer a bit. Most B&W films used during the first half of the 20th century were not panchromatic. They were much more sensitive to the energy in blue light than the ...
Michael C's user avatar
  • 176k
7 votes

Is there a black and white physical filter?

It's sort of theoretically possible, but not it's not generally practical. To do it, you need a relatively narrow band-pass filter that restricts the light that passes through to the point that only ...
Jerry Coffin's user avatar
  • 19.3k
7 votes

Can I develop my b&w film a year after shooting it?

Yes, you can develop it later, but the results will be dependent to some extent on how well you kept its environment under control - temperature, humidity, light exposure, etc. For best results, I ...
twalberg's user avatar
  • 5,158
7 votes
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How was this Penelope Cruz photo by Peter Lindbergh lit?

If you look very closely at the reflection in the eye, you see that the (camera) right side of the eye is not reflecting anything. This isn't due to post processing. You can almost make out what ...
Michael C's user avatar
  • 176k
7 votes

What are these circular splotches on my negatives?

A short final wash in distilled water with a wetting agent is always a good practice. Consider Ilford Ilfotol or Tetenal Mirasol or something of the like. Distilled water in development and fixing ...
Jindra Lacko's user avatar
  • 5,990
7 votes

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

I've re-thunk this since first posting ;) Best guess is he just used natural light, not through his kitchen window, as I initially had assumed, because he states he didn't take it to the kitchen. ...
Tetsujin's user avatar
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