black & white photography - a basic manual

[...]... advanced and professional photographers use such point-and-shoot models for subjects that call for a casual and spontaneous approach The instant camera is a special type of point-and-shoot camera Most instant cameras take Polaroid brand films that self-develop in a matter of minutes Over the years, there have been sophisticated SLR and rangefinder instant cameras—and there are film backs that take instant... cameras are used by advanced and professional photographers who want extremely sharp and grainless results with the widest range of tonality Photographers working with architectural and still-life subjects, as well as many landscape and formal portrait photographers, often favor large-format film There are several specialized black- and -white films available, originally made for a particular purpose, such as... Horenstein.02.Cameras.1 0-2 1 3/11/05 11:52 AM Page 17 Camera Types Other Camera Types Point-and-shoot cameras are a good choice for working simply and quickly for spontaneous results Point-and-shoot camera Instant camera 2 17 There are other types of cameras available for a wide variety of basic to specialized uses Some are designed to take snapshots, but also can be used for advanced and even professional photography. .. or coarser grain than an ISO 400 film from another Some manufacturers even offer more than one film choice with the same ISO, but different grain characteristics Tones A black- and -white photograph is rarely just black and white Instead, it is made up of a range of shades—blacks, grays, and whites These shades are called tones, and the variety of tones from dark to light contained in an image is called... Almost all black- and -white films produce negatives that are then printed to make a positive image But it also is possible to make black- andwhite transparencies (film positives) One way is to buy film specifically made for this purpose, although there are few such films available Another way is to develop standard black- and -white film in special reversal chemicals, which produce positives rather than negatives... prices A popular variation of the view camera is the field camera, which is a good choice for landscape photography because it is light and folds into a neat package for easy portability It delivers many of the benefits of the view camera, including high image quality A field camera is not as versatile as a view camera, however; it doesn’t take as many accessories and has fewer front and rear controls for adjusting... image, and makes prints from the negative that show its jagged edges—all of which are effective in emphasizing the chaos and fragmentation of Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War © Bill Burke; courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, NY Horenstein.03.Films.2 2-3 1 3/9/05 3:06 PM Page 31 Black- and -White Film See bw -photography. net for more on black- and -white transparencies 3 31 Transparency Almost all... tonal range For instance, a photograph of a chess board might have a limited tonal range, since it consists mostly of blacks and whites; a photograph of the surface of a lake would have a much longer tonal range, since it is made up of dozens of subtly different values ranging from black to gray to white Horenstein.03.Films.2 2-3 1 3/9/05 26 3 3:06 PM Page 26 Black- and -White Film Some films are capable... Chromogenic black- and -white films use dyes rather than silver as the main component of the negative, which also is how color films work While these films produce very good quality negatives, the main reason to use chromogenic black- and -white films is convenience They can be processed in any lab that processes color film and you also can get snapshot-size black- and -white prints from such labs at an affordable price,... such as straightening converging lines when you’re pointing the camera up at a tall building The view camera also accepts a wide array of accessories, lenses, and film formats On the other hand, a view camera is large and cumbersome, and must be used on a tripod It is not practical for making candid and spontaneous pictures It also may be expensive, though view cameras are available for a wide range . Photos. Horenstein.01.Beginnings. 2-9 3/11/05 11:51 AM Page 2 This manual is a basic guide to black- and -white photography, covering all the points taught in a typical introductory class. It starts at the beginning, assum- ing. class="bi x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" Black & White Photography A Basic Manual NEWHorenstein.00FM.i-v 3/9/05 2:58 PM Page i Sally Mann, Crabbing at Pauley’s, 1989 The moody quality of Mann’s family. viewfinders adjust for parallax error automatically or include parallax-compensation lines that guide you as you adjust your com- position manually. In general, to compensate for parallax error, you have