Rangefinder Magazine
October 2001/Features

The Real Black & White by J.J. Allen
Films For the REAL Black & White

A photographer who sets out to choose a black-and-white film may end up choosing, not one or even two, but several different films, based on the types of photography he or she does, the purpose of a particular photograph, and the desired effect. Once the choice is made, the photographer finds that almost every film can be “fine tuned” to a specific purpose through the choice of a developer and by manipulating processing times. The first installment of “The Case For The REAL Black And White” appeared in the September 2000 issue of Rangefinder. The premise of that article was that black-and-white photography has inherent advantages, as well as a special appeal that goes beyond fad or nostalgia. My goal in writing this isn’t to pick the film or films, I think you should use, but to suggest films that are suited to specific purposes. The films covered in this installment are general-purpose films that can be used for applications as varied as portraiture, wedding and commercial photography.

Black-and-white films are classified by certain characteristics. The most obvious is the speed, or sensitivity to light, of a film, which is expressed as the film’s exposure index, or ISO rating. The films listed in the following table are classified by speed.

There are significant differences between films that fall in the same category. The best example is Kodak Tri-X and Tri-X Professional. Both are fast films. The difference in the Tri-X exposure index of 400 and the Tri-X Professional index of 320 is only 1ž3 of an f-stop, which isn’t significant. There are other differences—Tri-X Professional can be retouched by conventional methods on both the emulsion and base sides; Tri-X can be retouched only on the emulsion side. In this age of computer retouching, this may not be all that important. However, there is another difference that may mean more to you and to your photography. That difference is the gradation, or way each film records the shades of gray that make up a black-and-white photograph. In non-technical terms, Tri-X Professional records more detail in the shadow areas than Tri-X.

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The fastest films listed are Kodak’s T-Max 3200 and Ilford’s Delta 3200. Both have box speeds of 3200. Unlike the other films that are listed, they are multi-speed films with an exposure rating as determined by the ISO method, which is less than their box speeds of 3200. They achieve the box speed through extended, or “push,” processing. According to both manufacturers, they are optimized to produce the best results at the box speed.

Another quality that defines a film is its grain. Years ago, fine grain was a characteristic of slow films that were processed in special fine-grain developers. Today, even fast films are labeled as fine grain films, and medium speed films have such fine grain that some manufacturers have dropped their slowest films. However, there are still ultra-fine-grain films that, when used carefully, can produce results from a 35mm negative that rival photographs made with larger cameras.

Black-and-white films can be classified in another way. Some are made using the same technology that film manufacturers have used for generations. Examples of these traditional films are Kodak’s Tri-X, Plus-X and Verichrome Pan as well as Ilford’s Pan F Plus, FP-4 Plus and HP-5 Plus. Others are “new technology” films. Examples of these films are Kodak’s T-Max and Ilford’s Delta films. These films are made using a shell crystal technology. New technology films were designed to have finer grain and to produce sharper images than traditional films with similar film speeds.

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The final feature of a film is its ability to record a sharp image. Two terms are used to express sharpness. They are resolution and acutance. Resolution refers to the amount of fine detail a film can record. Acutance refers to the sharpness of the edges of objects within a photograph. Both resolution and acutance can be enhanced through the use of special developers and special processing techniques. As a general rule, slower films are sharper than fast films, but once again, the difference isn’t as great as it once was.

In addition to the general purpose films listed in the above table, there are special effects films. The most dramatic special effects films are infrared and other films with an extended red sensitivity. Special effects films also include document and copy films which, when processed properly, produce images with a normal range of tones, extremely high resolution and are virtually grainless. Special effects films will be covered in another installment of the story of “The REAL Black and White.”

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Many of us wonder what will be left of silver-image photography as we move deeper into the digital age. All of the major manufacturers are involved in digital, at least to some degree. What if they abandon the silver image? There are smaller companies dedicated to the silver image that may play a roll in its preservation. One of these is Forté, a Hungarian company, which offers an ISO 400 black-and-white film as well as a line of excellent resin-coated and fiber-based papers. Another is Cachet, a California company, which offers a more complete line of traditional films and special effects films as well as silver-rich photographic papers.

Visit the following websites to learn more about films for the REAL black-and-white photography.
www.kodak.com
www.agfa.com
www.ilford.com
www.fujifilm.com
www.onecachet.com

This article is the product of an ongoing personal research project by J.J. Allen, a veteran photographer and author of “Posing & Lighting Techniques for Studio Portrait Photography” and a second book to be released by Amherst Media.”

Captions:

1. Medium speed films work equally well for studio portraiture

2. Medium speed films work equally well for commercial subjects

3. If you do outdoor portraiture in areas where the light is subdued, you will want to use a high-speed film, particularly when photographing children. Photograph #3 was made on Kodak Tri-X, a traditional film.

4. Photograph #4 was made on Ilford’s Delta 400, a new technology film. One of these films, or another black-and-white film with a speed of 400, is a logical choice for this kind of portraiture.

5.Most wedding photographers use a fast color film such as Fuji’s NPH or Kodak’s Portra 400 NC or VC. With more brides asking for black and white, it makes sense to use a film with the same speed. This multiple flash wedding portrait was made using portable flash units. My film choice was Delta 400 Professional. Choose your favorite film from the fast films listed above.

6. This portrait (photo #6) of a young woman with her mother was made on a medium speed traditional film.

7. Portraiture is not on the list of recommended uses for Ilford’s HP-5 Plus. However, it turns out to be a good choice for this portrait of anAfrican-American woman. I photographed her on Delta 400 (below left) as well as HP-5 Plus. Both films worked well, but in this case, the HP-5 Plus negative printed easier with only a little burning in of the lower corners required to hold detail in her white shirt as well as her dark skin.

8.The portrait below (photo #8) was made on a medium speed new technology film. Films like these are a logical choice for studio portraiture by electronic flash.

9. When you think of a film with a speed as high as KodakT-Max 3200 or Ilford’3200 Delta, you think of action photographs made under poor lighting conditions, using a 35mm camera. The window, the light source for this portrait, was small, and the light that came through it wasn’t very bright. An ultrafast film such as the 3200 Delta that I used is a good choice for any low light level portraiture.

10. I remember 35mm experts talking about 35mm photography with 8x10 negative quality. I never made a 35mm photograph that came any closer to that ideal than this architectural photograph, made with a Canon F-1 on Ilford’s Pan F Plus, an ultrafine-grain film. This film has a speed of 50 when processed as I processed it in Ilford ID-11 developer. If finer grain is required, it can be developed in an ultrafine grain developer such as Perceptol.