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Photography Prints
Journey – From Photographic Prints to Films
Photography has come a long way since the invention of the
Daguerréotypes and the Calotypes. Photographic prints are as
important to photography as is the camera. You can have the
camera, the technology but if you can’t take a photographic
print, you can’t see how the picture has come out. Though,
with the advent of digital cameras, the use of photographic
prints has been taken to the point of becoming obsolete. The
Daguerréotype process involved the use of metal sheets and a
positive silver image was fixed on top of the metal sheet.
William Henry Fox Talbot was the man responsible for moving
a step ahead by using a negative through which multiple
prints could be made.
Around
1856, Hamilton Smith patented a process termed as Tintypes.
The process used a thin sheet of iron as the base to yield a
positive image. In 1889, it was made simpler by George
Eastman, who realized the true potential of the photography
market. He released a film that had a flexible base for easy
rolling. The emulsion coated cellulose nitrate film base
made the process of shooting images easier. Now
photographers could carry their boxed cameras without
worrying about the large and cumbersome plates. Eastman’s
first camera was launched in 1888 and came with a preloaded
film. Once the pictures were taken, the camera with the
films had to be sent to the Kodak factory where these films
were translated into photo prints.
Even
though the camera was well on its way to popularity, the
film rolls were available only in Black and White. So
Photography of that period was devoid of colors. B&W films
were made of cellulose nitrate that is a chemical compound
that is similar to guncotton. A film with a nitrate base
will deteriorate with time and in the process would release
acidic gasses and oxidants. The nitrate base film was also
highly flammable. Nitrate films actually built the
foundation for the first flexible roll films. It also
created the base for development of the 35-mm roll film in
the mid 1920’s. By the end of 1920, the medium type roll
film came into existence. This film roll was 6cms wide and
was covered with a paper sheet to make it easy for anyone to
carry it along in broad daylight. Nine years later, the TLR
or the twin reflex camera was developed.
By the
beginning of the 1940’s, the film roll market had gained
momentum and color films were born. Though by 1935, Kodak
had already developed their color film called Kodachrome.
The new color films used the dye-coupled colors technology.
This technology used a chemical process, which connected the
3 layers of dye together to create a color image. This
system is still in use. The next discovery and development
was that of a Triacetate film that was fireproof and more
flexible. Most of the photographic films till the 1970’s
were using this technology. The films used now come with
T-grain emulsions. These are basically light sensitive
silver halides in the shape of a T to render a fine grain
pattern.
In the
age of the digital cameras, it is hard to really imagine
what next will come out of the Pandoras Box.
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