Photography Magazine

Did you know that the first people to use a camera-like apparatus (the camera obscura) were in fact artists who needed to trace out the image of the landscape (or whatever subject before them)? Once they traced out the outline of the scene, they could go home and make their image at peace, with the right perspectives. After this, the eventual and logical next step was to try and capture the ‘tracing’ on a paper rather than hand-draw it. And this is what led to the birth of the classic black and white process we are so very familiar with today. Many different light sensitive processes and chemical coatings were used and experimented with until the silver halide was accepted as the most dependable. This is what we shall speak about…

The black and white photo chemical process involves three basic steps (be it paper or negative) - developing of the light sensitive material/ a water bath and finally making it a permanent impression using a fixing chemical. The black and white process is a fairly simple one compared to the later color chemical procedure, and can easily be undertaken in the comfort of a light tight room at your house. One of the most common developing agents or ‘developers’ as they are commonly called, was the D-76 chemical. You can purchase it at photo markets all over the world. Apart from this developer you will need to get a bit of ‘fixer’ or simply a small amount oh hypo crystals to begin processing your own black and white negatives or prints. Of course you will need three trays for the three stages of the process - developing, water wash and fixing.

Take the exposed film out of the camera in a light tight room. Take care that the room is completely light tight. Even a speck of a light leak can ‘fog’ your film and make it appear overexposed and over softened. As an alternative one could always use a developing tank to process an entire roll of film.

The film tank can develop an entire roll of film, and all you need is to load it in the dark, after which the lights can be turned on. Whatever method you choose, leave your film in the developer for about 5-7 minutes (check the developer packing for accurate instructions), after which the film needs to be immersed in a water bath for about 5-7 minutes. In case of the developing tank, you may agitate the tank mildly to ‘wash’ the film well. Once this stage is past, remember - the film is already developed but it is still light sensitive, which means it would eventually turn black if exposed to light. So - the final stage of fixing in the fixer (or hypo crystals) removes the light sensitivity of the film, and thereby ‘fixing’ the image. The lights can be turned on after about 6 minutes in the fixer, after which it is recommended you leave it immersed for another 10 minutes.

There are different types of film cameras but primarily two types of cameras that is most commonly used by amateurs and professionals. The point and shoot camera uses films and are used mostly by amateurs and by people who treat photography as their hobby. The SLR or Single Lens Reflex is a PRO camera, which has captured the imagination of the audience for decades. From the cover of National geographic magazines to Moose Petersons captivating wildlife photography, the SLR has been a long companion of the professional photographers.

The Point and Shoot camera
The point-and-shoot camera is a compact camera, which has been designed primarily for simple and easy operation. Most of the point-and-shoot cameras use autofocus for focusing. For example: if there is a deep cloud cover then the autofocus balances itself and when you take the picture, the flash goes off judging that the subject will require light. The flash unit in a point-and-shoot camera is always in-built and unlike the SLR, they can be used effectively indoors as opposed to outdoors. They have been the best selling cameras ever.One of the most important distinguishing factors of the point-and-shoot cameras as opposed to the SLR is the fact that as a photographer the image that you will see through your cameras viewfinder is not the image that will pass through the primary lens of the point-and-shoot camera. The image that you see through the viewfinder will pass through a separate lens.On the other hand in SLRs, there is a mirror and a single lens. The mirror will divert the image from the single lens to the viewfinder and the mirror will retract when you take the picture so that it can be recorded on the camera film.

Other Camera Types
Apart from the point-and-shoot camera, there are other types of cameras too that uses films and they include the Polaroid camera, the box camera, the rangefinder camera, the TLR (Twins lens Reflex), SLR (Single Lens reflex) and disc cameras. Out of all of them, only one is in effective use and that is the SLR or the Single Lens reflex.The first SLR produced for commercial use was on May 20, 1949 and it was developed by Contax S. The primary feature of the SLR was the roof pentaprism used for eye-level viewing. The first SLR cameras ever sold were the large format SLR cameras and they were sold around 1884. One of the most popular 35 mm SLR models around that time was the Ihagee Kine-Exakta. One of the remarkable SLR cameras of the 19th century was Alpa, a Swiss made innovative camera that greatly influenced Japanese cameras. The Japanese modified their cameras and around 1952 Asahi developed the Asahiflex and later launched it in 1954 as the Asahiflex IIB. Three years later Asahi Pentax developed the fixed pentaprism as well as the right-hand thumb wind lever. They were followed by brands like Canon, Nikon, and Yashica around 1959.The single-lens reflex (SLR) camera uses viewing pentaprism and automatic moving mirror system. This is situated right between the film plane and the lens of the SLR. Its job is to direct the reflected light from the image of the subject to the viewfinder lens. The photographer can compose the final image by adjusting the focus manually. Once the focus has been adjusted, the photographer can release the shutter to expose the film.The various optical components in an SLR camera comprises of:

• Reflex Mirror at 45 degree angle
• Front-mount Lens (4 element Tessar design)
• Focal Plane Shutter
• Condenser Lens
• 35mm Film or Sensor
• Focusing Screen
• Eyepiece (can have diopter correction ability)
• Optical Glass Pentaprism (or Pentamirror)Although the SLR has been extensively used for defining color and imagery with optimum accuracy levels, it is on the verge of replacement especially with DSLR (Digital Single Reflex Lens) cameras, which have become a hot commodity for professionals.

With the advent of the digital camera, many people have changed their preference from film to digital camera because of many reasons. In digital camera, you can see the image immediately after it has been taken and there are no processing costs. The people who still use film camera are the ones who are either professional photographers or people who have a passion for film camera photography.

The first camera was called daguerreotypes and it didn’t use any film at all. It was in 1885 that Kodak built the first photographic film and at that the time, the film was coated with paper. It was not before 1889 when the first plastic transparent film was produced. The first truly photographic film was actually made from a highly flammable material called nitrocellulose and camphor was added to it as a plasticizer or celluloid.

Around the 1920s, a cellulose acetate or safety film replaced the nitrate film. The Kodak or fuji films were used extensively by one and all and also by professionals in wildlife photography, nature photography etc. Finally, by the end 20th century digital cameras brought with them the near extinction of film cameras.

Types of Photographic Films

There are primarily 2 important types of photographic film and they are:

Print film: When a print film is developed, it forms a negative, which has inverted colors or white and black values in a B&W film. The print film can be viewed only after printing or when kept on a photographic paper. Print films are available in both color and B&W formats.

Color reversal film: Once you develop a color reversal film, it is known as a transparency. The only way to directly view it is through a projector or a loupe. A reversal film that is mounted with cardboard or plastic for the purpose of projection is known as a slide. There are several manufacturers who market it as a slide film. The most common use of a color reversal film is for producing digital scans and even for color separations used in mass-market printing.

You can produce photographic prints from a color reversal film, but it is considered to be an expensive process; more expensive than the normal camera print film development process. A black and white reversal film is quite uncommon and this is one of the primary reasons why color reversal films are mostly used by professional photographers like ad photographers etc.

A color reversal film is far more superior than the normal print film as far as color reproduction is concerned.

The only way to produce an image that can be used, a photographic film should be exposed properly. Both excessive and low exposure can destroy the image. There is a degree of exposure variation that any photographic film can endure in order to produce a high quality image. This degree of exposure variation is called exposure latitude. A color print film will always have higher exposure latitude as compared to any other film.

Another important aspect of a print film is the optical density, which refers to the concentration of silver salts or dyes that remain on the film even after development. Normally, a darker image as seen on the negative will have a higher optical density as compared to a transparent image.

Most of the print films are affected by silver grain activation, which helps in setting a certain amount of light that is required for exposing a single grain. It is also affected by the statistics behind random grain activation using photons. This simply reflects at the fact that the print film will require a minimum degree of light radiation before it can start to expose, and soon after it will start responding by following a progressive darkening over a wider dynamic range as far as exposure is concerned. This will keep on happening till all the grains have been exposed and thus the film will achieve its maximum optical density after development.

Some of the most common print film speeds that is used in film cameras start from ISO 25, 50, 64, 100, 160, 200, 400, 800, 1600, and 3200. The consumer print films normally have a ISO range varying from ISO 100 to ISO 800.