Search results for: 'simple'

You have loaded film into your camera, composed your image and pressed the shutter. You have now captured an image on your film. When that film is processed, it reverses the tones of the subject. In simple terms, the image is dark where the subject was light, and light where the subject was dark. That resulting image is known as a negative. What do I do with them? Negatives are normally then used to make prints by reversing the image a second time to restore the light and dark areas to their original tone...

Photographic Paper FAQ's Which paper product is best/suitable for photograms.  All of our ILFORD photographic papers will easily produce photograms, so the choice will depend on which surface finish you prefer and whether or not you want fibre or resin coated. Resin coated paper is lower cost, easy to process and dry flat and would be a good choice for starting out. Does reciprocity affect paper? Paper products are designed for much longer exposure times than film and are less sensitive to reciprocity...

Why print? When you can get excellent prints from your black & white negatives by sending them off to commercial processing laboratories, why make your own? For many photographers, making a photographic print is as much a part of the process as shooting the image itself. For a start, it is a creative process that is both enjoyable and fulfilling and, much like the role of a post processing tools such as Photoshop or Lightroom in any digital workflow, (although much more fun) a darkroom provides film...

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...

Split grade printing The version of split grade printing described here is that taught to me by the ILFORD head printers, Mike Walden and Terry Offord, and is the simplest, fastest way to make good darkroom prints from pretty much any negative. (The exception is really underexposed negatives to print these you usually only need high contrast). This is a very powerful technique that can be used routinely with variable contrast (VC) papers, such as ILFORD MULTIGRADE. It makes use of the differing performa...

What is the luminogram process? The Luminogram process is light, directed onto photo paper in the darkroom. About as basic as ‘photography’ can get. It has been with us for a long while. László Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946) started using it in 1922, while Gottfried Jäger described it as "the result of pure light design; the rudimentary expression of an interaction of light and photosensitive material… a kind of self-representation of light." And yet it has always seemed to sit on the sideline...

My name is Charles, I do film concert photography since September 2014. I chose analog over digital because I like to do things with my hands instead of using a computer. I mostly use HP5+ film (pushed to 1600 ISO) which I find very powerful in difficult light conditions, it’s a good compromise between precision, grain, and dynamic range. Concert photography is easy and difficult at the same time. It’s easy to take a picture of a charismatic singer on stage, but is this enough to have a great photo...

One of the best things about film photography is that the creative process doesn't end in the camera. Processing your images in a darkroom is not only great fun, but it also allows you to exercise complete creative control over the final look of your image. We cover some of the essentials needed to set up a darkroom in our beginner's guide and have also developed a series of short animations which cover essential darkroom equipment, darkroom safety tips as well as how an enlarger works. Below, we cov...

My first time in Afghanistan For the last couple of years, I have been travelling and exploring the people and culture of the Middle East and Central Asia. Visiting these countries is always inspiring and fascinating to me. In 2016, I visited Afghanistan for the first time. At this time I switched from photographing both digital and analog to one hundred percent analog. The reason is simple. I love the handling, the manual process of film photography. It feels real and timeless. It is also practical, t...

Zone focusing is arguably one of the quickest and most effective methods of focusing your camera. With a little forethought, practice and pre-visualisation of your shot, it's a method that can reduce problems like shutter lag. Ensure your images are sharp every time. And help you take photos more surreptitiously. It doesn't rely on automation and, in most cases can be put into practice before you've brought the camera to your eye. I believe it's a core skill and a method that everyone who takes photograp...