Black And White Photography

The resulting images, often referred to as monochrome, display a range of shades of gray, from black to white. This style of photography predates color photography and has remained a significant, timeless and versatile artistic and documentary medium for over a century.

Black and white photography dates back to the early days of photography in the 19th century. The first successful form of photography, known as daguerreotype, produced monochromatic images. Throughout the 20th century, black and white photography flourished as the primary form of photographic expression, used extensively in journalism, fine art, and documentary photography.

After the advent of cheap and accessible color photography technologies for the mass public, including instant photography, the share of black and white photography began to decline rapidly, by the end of the 1970s being less than half in the world. In the USSR, this process was slower due to the low availability and high cost of color-photosensitive materials, as well as their more complex chemical photographic processing.

However, by the end of the 1990s in the CIS countries, due to the spread of machine processing of photographic materials, the ratio also did not favor black-and-white photography. The spread of digital photography further reinforced this trend, due to the simplicity and improved color reproduction.

In the 2010s, most countries began to see an increased interest in black and white photography, due to the specific expressiveness of photographs devoid of color.

There are various techniques for creating black and white photographs, both traditional and modern. Traditional methods involve using black and white film, which is processed using chemical techniques in a darkroom. Silverless monochrome photographic film, suitable for processing by the high-speed C-41 process, has become available, offering alternatives to traditional silver-based processes. Additionally, digital technology allows for the conversion of color photographs into monochrome by adjusting tonality and color components.

One of the most important disadvantages of black-and-white photography is considered to be the increased consumption of silver, even when it is fully regenerated from processing solutions. The reason is that in the gelatin silver process, the black-and-white image consists of metallic silver, whereas the colored image consists only of dyes. Through laboratory processing, the silver from colored chromogenic materials is bleached and can be almost completely recovered from solutions. For black-and-white photographic materials, the regeneration rate is no more than 70%.

Monochrome photography allows for more abstracted images, emotionally interpreting everyday reality. The effect can be enhanced by toning in sepia tones or cool shades. Special printing techniques such as cyanotype may be used.

Infrared photography is a specialized technique within black and white photography. By using infrared-sensitive film or digital sensors, photographers can capture unique images where green vegetation appears almost white, while the sky appears almost black. This technique adds another dimension to the expressive possibilities of black and white photography. The effect can be produced either analogically using infrachromatic photographic materials, or digitally by removing the protective screen of the matrix.

Black and white photography offers a unique aesthetic that emphasizes contrast, texture, and composition. Without the distraction of color, viewers can focus more on the shapes, lines, and emotions conveyed in the image. Monochrome imagery allows for abstract interpretations of reality, evoking emotions and conveying mood in powerful ways.

Black and white photography finds applications in various fields, including fine art, journalism, documentary, and commercial photography. In the digital age, black and white imagery is also widely used on the internet for various purposes, including illustrating articles, creating stylistic effects, and evoking nostalgia. Black and white photographs as illustrations and stylistics are also used digitally by some Internet resources of various subjects - artistic, historical, analytical-news, etc. due to the association of black and white technology with the past time, documentary newspaper photographs, etc.

One more advantage of black and white photography, particularly silver-based prints, is its durability. Well-processed and thoroughly washed bromosilver photographic prints can last for centuries, making them valuable for archival purposes. In contrast, many color photographic processes produce images that fade over time, highlighting the long-term stability of black and white prints.

The most common color photo processes are dye-transfer process, ilfochrome, and especially chromogenic — yield an image composed of rapidly fading dyes. The same is true for color photographs produced digitally on most jet or laser printers. At the same time, the preservation of a well-processed and thoroughly washed bromosilver photographic print can reach several centuries, as evidenced by storage experience. An exception is carbon print of both color and black-and-white photographs, which gives images with durability comparable to oil painting. However, due to technological complexity, the cost of a single pigment print exceeds $1,000.

• Monochrome photography
• Color photography
• Infrared photography
• Cyanotype

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• "Black+White Photography". GMC Publications Ltd.