B & W Film Photography

Jammy Dodger

Jammy Dodger

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I have noticed a very high dominance towards B & W film photography in respect to colour yet in digital its the other way round.

Why do you choose the filmstock you do and why is B & W so dominant in film?
 
Jammy Dodger said:
I have noticed a very high dominance towards B & W film photography in respect to colour yet in digital its the other way round.

Why do you choose the filmstock you do and why is B & W so dominant in film?
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It's cheaper to buy and easier to develop at home, and no scary postal prices for processing.
 
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I use colour more than black and white as it's easier to get lab processed and scans a lot better. Ilford XP2 is great for both so I use that in preference over any other B & W really. .B & W lab processing is usually more than colour so I don't find there is any saving in using the cheaper black and white films. Colour is also more tolerant of over exposure so it's better for older cameras with lazy shutters and dozy me that leaves things on the wrong setting.

If I had ever found an easy way to process and scan at home I'd be all over black and white and probably using monobath developer as I'm inherently idle :)
 
I can't comment on others choices or reasons, but in my case I use FP4 in sheet film, and either that or PanF in 120.

Black and white simply because I find colour too difficult to handle compositionally, and too limited in allowing personal expression. That sentence is amplified on my web site where there is a fuller discussion of my reasoning.
 
Being new to film photography, I am looking to nostalgia with B+W films. I grew up in an era when most media was B+W, my favorite cartoons as a child where black and white and it was a long time before any photograph I saw in the newspapers and books were colour (remember TODAY). I suppose in some small way colour photography is a "gimmick" and real photos are black and white.

These young whipper snappers don't realise the changes we more mature individuals have witnessed. But one thing is certain, progress is relentless and a large percentage will cling to the technology they grew up with, just as some do now, when three D holographic photos and videos are the norm.

Andy Pandy and the flower pot men.................................................Ahhhhhhhh Happy Days
I think the first colour cartoon I enjoyed were Top Cat and Speedy Gonzales, Mr Ben suited colour as well.
 
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I find it difficult to articulate why the majority of my film photographs are in black in white ... something to do with wanting to create an image which is different to how I saw the scene with my eyes. When you've been shooting black and white long enough (or just viewing other people's photos), you can forget that it's a completely artificial rendering and it seems normal.

I have processed colour film at home - C41, E6, and ECN2, and even mix up my own ECN2 chemicals from scratch - but I still keep returning to B&W.

Having said that, the Autumn colour will be appearing soon and that's the time I'm most likely to shoot colour.
 
For me, colour is something I want to have a go at processing sometime, but I'm happy to have it lab processed. I have scanning kit if I want to work on a particular negative. However I mostly go for B&W ;like others because I can easily process it myself, and I like to play with tome and texture. That's why I bought a Pentax K3iiiM digital camera, because I like to see things in black and white artistically (though I'm a poor artist).
In days of old, one of the things I enjoyed was hand colouring a b&w print, and although I've not done that for many years, it still appeals if time permits.
 
I used to shoot predominantly B&W, but I shoot much more colour now than I used to, so it's probably around a 50/50 split. My colour use increased when I reached a point where I was happy with the results I could get from home scanning. B&W is certainly the cost effective choice as the film is generally a lot cheaper to buy, and because I home develop and scan, there is little additional cost (apart from my time). The higher price isn't really a factor that puts me off shooting colour, although it would be nice if it was a bit cheaper. :)

I tend to shoot less colour over the winter, mostly because I find colour images shot on dull overcast days don't looks as good as B&W (or at least mine don't).

If I was forced to choose only one, then it would probably be B&W, but I would definitely miss colour a lot.
 
I mainly shoot b&w as I enjoy home developing (scanning the negs less so) plus the cost factor of the film.

Sometimes I think I should have a go at home developing colour but commercial processing remains cheap saving me the added complexity of C41 dev-ing. I have enough else going on in my life to bother with it.

Coming of age in the mid-late 80's colour still feels a bit like general "snaps" to me and I always shot a roll or two of 35mm C41 on family hols. I also get a set of prints too as the place I use is £9.25 for dev and print.

However in the last year or two I've started to shot more C41 in both 35mm and 120 for my photography interests even slipping in the occasional roll of 35mm E6.

Ultimately, I enjoy the variety of both b&w and colour but mainly use b&w.
 
My introduction to photography was B/W. My brother, 12 years older than me, had me as his darkroom assistant. The smell of the fixer brings back memories inverting the dev tank and rocking the print trays.

For me colour film, as has already been said, reminds me of holiday snaps as well. I do use it but B/W is the one reach for. To make a B/W stand out there needs to be a focal point, something that draws the eye. Otherwise there can be nothing to look at and the eye can wander. Colour, on the other hand, can sometimes make a bad photo look good.
Just my opinion, by the way, I know others will differ
Barney said:
Andy Pandy and the flower pot men.................................................Ahhhhhhhh Happy Days
I think the first colour cartoon I enjoyed were Top Cat and Speedy Gonzales, Mr Ben suited colour as well.
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Andy Pandy, rubbish!! ‘Thunderbirds are go’

Now I wonder how many of you have the theme tune rattling around your heads
 
I love B&W. 90% of my photography is B&W. I have been using Pan F and FP4 since the 1960s and still enjoy processing to prints and reversal processing to slides. I confess, however, that I do use the occasional roll of HP5 when I get over excited and feel the need for speed!

I am currently also playing with Ortho and SFX.

Like others I find colour a bit 'snapshot' but I do like to experiment and I am enjoying the evolution of Phoenix.

Plus one here for Andy Pandy and the Flower Pot Men - and don't forget The Woodentops and the amazing opening flower that introduced Watch with Mother.
 
On a side note which I have not read here so far is that C41 film process is not archival, how long who knows. Maybe why a lot of colour films are pink.

Pauls thunderbird quote reminds me of a conversation between Parker and Lady Penelope.

Lady Penelope "Parker would you take off my Jacket"
Parker "Yus mah Lady"
Lady Penelope "Parker would you take off my shoes"
Parker "Yus mah Lady"
Lady Penelope "Parker would you take off my skirt"
Parker "Yus mah Lady"
Lady Penelope "Parker would you take off my bra"
Parker "Yus mah Lady"
Lady Penelope "Parker would you take off my knickers"
Parker "Yus mah Lady"

Lady Penelope " and don't put them on ever again"
 
Barney said:
On a side note which I have not read here so far is that C41 film process is not archival, how long who knows. Maybe why a lot of colour films are pink.
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Wilhelm Imaging Research

Wilhelm Imaging Research in Grinnell Iowa is an authority on archival and preservation for the photographic, digital, and printing industries.
www.wilhelm-research.com www.wilhelm-research.com

Edit to add:
Now you've seen the film, here's the book it was based on :)

Copyright  1993,
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other-
wise, without prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may
quote brief passages in a review.
First Edition
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Wilhelm, Henry Gilmer, 1943–
The permanence and care of color photographs:
traditional and digital color prints, color negatives,
slides, and motion pictures.
Includes index.
1. Photographs— Conservation.
2. Moving-picture film— Preservation and storage.
I. Brower, Carol, 1951– . II. Title.
TR465.W55 1993 770'.28' 3 84-6921
ISBN 0-911515-00-3 (hardbound)
ISBN 0-911515-01-1 (paperback)
 
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Barney said:
On a side note which I have not read here so far is that C41 film process is not archival, how long who knows. Maybe why a lot of colour films are pink.
Click to expand...
Well I can't remember the process for old colour neg film but if same for C41 it does fade eventually, but my 60 year old colour neg shots were revived in Photoshop. Same for slide film other than Kodachrome (for Kodak estimates could be 100 years and then only one or two colours fade).
The old colour prints seem to be still OK and I could always scan them.
 
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