Some of the most memorable images in photographic history have been made on black and white film. Think of the landscape photos taken by Ansel Adams; they are iconic. Black and white is still used by many photographers to create arresting images; many digital cameras let the user switch to a black and white scheme in their menus. Photography students often start with black and white film to learn the art.
Photography
Though there is some controversy over who really introduced film as a medium for photography, with conflicting claims going to Hannibal Goodwin and John Corbutt, George Eastman certainly deserves credit for his introduction of film in 1884. Prior to that, the photographic process involved glass plates. Photography grew quickly after the introduction of film. Eastman later introduced the box camera, which worked with roll film and could take up to 100 pictures.
How it works
Film is a sheet coated with silver halide salts. Black and white film has only a single layer of salts, while color film has three. The salts react to light to form an image. Film can be either print film or slide (transparency) film. Print film creates negatives that can be printed as images, while slide film produces a positive image that can be mounted in plastic and projected as an image.
Film speed
All film, whether black and white or color, is available in different speeds that are suitable for higher or lower light conditions. The lower the number, the less sensitive the film is to light. High-sensitivity films (1600 and 3200) are excellent for low light photography but are also grainier. A good photographer can use this type of grain to create arresting images.
Developing
Many specialty camera shops have stopped developing black and white film altogether. In film's heyday, people often built darkrooms in their basements to develop film, and photography students still learn develop film as part of their instruction. Developing black and white is not too complicated. It must, however, be done in total darkness. A variety of chemicals are used to process the film; these include developer, stop bath, fixer with hardener and a hypo eliminator bath. Popular developers include Kodak D-76 and Kodak T-MAX.
Kodak
Kodak has been making film for cameras since the 1880s. It is still one of the leaders in producing black and white film for cameras. Tri-X film has been in production since the 1950s. Other popular Kodak black and white films include T-MAX and BW400CN.
Other companies
The other major producer of black and white film is Ilford. Ilford offers several different models of print, including Delta, HP5, FP4, and XP-2. Ilford also produces excellent papers for black and white prints. Some other companies who still make black and white film are Fujifilm, Agfa and Efke.
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