Black and White Film
When black and white film is processed it is usual to make a contact sheet. This means that, for instance, a 36 exposure roll of film is cut into six strips of six negatives. These are placed on a 10 X 8 in (30 X 20 cm) sheet of printing paper to make a positive print. On this contact of the negative to be cropped out — draw the area you want on the contact sheet as a guide. You can also ask the printer to angle the masking frame, which holds the printing paper in place on the enlarger, to tilt the picture. This can often improve the overall com¬position. Some laboratories can produce enlarged ‘ contacts ‘ which give a better idea of how enlargements will look. The whole film is printed on a 16 x 12 in ( 40 x 30 cm ), 20 x 16 in ( 50 x 30 cm ) or 24 x 20 in ( 60 x 50 cm ) sheet.
Prints can be ordered in different finishes, from matt to glossy. Paper types include resin-coated, which has a plastic surface that gives faster development, needs less washing and
dries faster than the traditional type. The older fibre-based paper, which gives a more subtle effect, is favoured by photographers for exhibitions and portfolios. On both these papers you can have toned prints. Sepia is the best known tone, but there are others. Some are more suitable for fibre-based paper, others for resin-coated. You can also hand colour your prints. This old technique is now enjoying a revival. It calls for special colouring media.
Special Black and White Film
Black and white slides for projection are made on special ‘ positive ‘ black and white film. There is also black and white instant film, made by Polaroid. Infrared black and white film gives unusual results: pictures taken in daylight look like night scenes. This film should be tested before you use it in earnest, to avoid unexpected results.
Filters for Black and White
Although you do not need to use light balancing filters for black and white film, some coloured filters can add interest to your images. For example, a yellow filter will darken a blue sky and make the clouds stand out sharply. A red filter will exaggerate the effect: even a blue sky with white clouds will look positively stormy.
Seeing in Black and White
Taking photographs in black and white is a most rewarding exercise. It is sad that most people today would not dream of putting anything other than colour film, in their cameras. Undoubtedly this is because they want their photographs to record the way they remember a particular scene. Yet the absence of colour in a black and white photograph can make a far more striking interpretation of that scene. And since black and white imagery is an interpretation rather than a mere record, the onus is on the photographer to create a picture through the use of texture and tone; these are important considerations in colour photography, but in black and white they are paramount.
If you have two cameras, try loading one with black and white and the other with colour. When you compare your prints you might be surprised at the power of the black and white images.
Tonal Range
The tonal range from black through various shades of grey to white is known as the grey scale. Professional photographic stores sell charts of these scales called step wedges, which can be used to analyse a photograph. A black and white print where most of the tones are from the extremes of the scale —without any mid-tones — is referred to as a high-contrast print. If these tones are mostly towards the white end it is called a high-key picture. A picture where most of the tones are near the black end is a low-key print. One that uses the full range of tones is called a full-tone print.
One of the great exponents of black and white photography was the American Ansel Adams. His landscapes combine stunning composition with a powerful grasp of tonal range. They are worth studying.
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