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Contact sheets are a great way to review and record your images. They allow you to view all the negatives on a roll of film before deciding which ones you want to print and how you may want to crop them. They also provide a permanent record of those negatives for filing purposes.
How to make a contact sheet
To make a contact sheet we recommend using ILFORD MULTIGRADE RC DELUXE
Set the enlarger head to a height that gives a 40cm (16in) wide rectangle of light on the baseboard
Put a MULTIGRADE fil...
Silver halide has been used in photographic film and paper for over 150 years and remains a vital ingredient found in all high-quality products. Silver halide crystals in gelatin form part of an emulsion which is used to coat the paper or film. On exposure to light (i.e. in a camera or darkroom), the crystals react turning into silver and forming the image.
Silver halide prints
There are many ways to produce black & white prints with options varying in quality. Traditional black & white silver ha...
Retouching is normally done to remove blemishes from the negative or the final print. It can also be used to change the tone or remove unwanted detail. As retouching can be difficult, care is required.
Advice for retouching
The most risky retouching techniques involve removing parts of the image, by bleaching, cutting, or scraping with the edge of a sharp knife. The addition of density is generally less risky, and can be done using dye, paint etc, or a suitable soft pencil. When retouching prints from o...
A black border often enhances a print and does not involve any sort of mounting or overlay.
Ink or tape borders
The easiest way to produce narrow black borders is to rule them with a pen directly onto your finished print: an India-ink pen gives the most solid line, but most permanent (all surface) spirit based markers are much less expensive and will do the job.
For slightly wider black borders, narrow, self-adhesive strips are available from graphic arts suppliers. Supplied in dispensers, of various w...
Mounting your Prints
Even the most stunning print can look better when it has been properly mounted. Mounted prints are also better protected as they are kept flat with the image separated from the immediate surroundings by unobtrusive margins.
There are no hard and fast rules about mounting prints; the most suitable results will depend on individual preference, the nature of the image, the intended use and other circumstances.
It is recommended that only boards and other materials intended for the p...
I always loved celluloid pictures. Maybe I was drawn in as a baby, while the 8mm camera whirred (and the handheld light blinded). Maybe it was being so thankful to my big brother for lending me a 35mm rangefinder and showing me how to use it at age 10. Might have been the Minolta-16 he gave me (as a graduation present?). What a sweet little 16 that is, and I’ve still got it. Can you get those cartridges now? I envied his Pentax Spotmatic as I shot 8mm motion pictures on the point and shoot family camera,...
All ILFORD Inspires content has a common goal: To inspire people to try traditional analogue black and white photography by showcasing the power and potential of this highly creative medium.
New York Silver Stories
Working with the talented team at Exploredinary, this series features four short documentaries telling the stories of silver gelatin darkroom printers in New York City.
The Bronx Documentary Center - Turning Negatives into Positives
Founded by Michael Kamber, the BDC is a non-profit aimed at ...
Lifelong love of black and white
Growing up in the late fifties and sixties, one of my favourite movies was The Day the Earth Stood Still, a lot of which was shot at night in black and white. That early exposure to film noir inspired a lifelong love of black and white photography, especially at night.
When I first started shooting pictures in 1967, though, the only option for night photography without a tripod was “pushing” 400 ASA film and using specialized developers. While what was essentially un...
Man of science
I love alternative photographic techniques like dry plates and brushed on emulsions. I am a darkroom fanatic – always exploring new ways to mash up digital with traditional analog techniques. I love all kinds of print processes – cyanotypes, salts, van dykes to name a few. I shoot all formats right from 35mm half frames up to 8×10 large format.
I am also an avid camera collector but prefer to be a user rather than an admirer of my cameras. I currently use a Nikon F3, Leica M-A, Hasse...