Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes — 60 Terms Defined

Agitation Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes seconds per interval The periodic movement of the developing tank that replenishes fresh chemistry at the emulsion surface.

Albumen Print Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes A printing process using egg white to bind light-sensitive silver salts to paper, giving a glossy surface and warm brown tones.

Autochrome Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes The first commercially successful colour process, using a screen of dyed potato starch grains over a black and white emulsion.

Black and White Film Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes ISO Film with a single silver-based emulsion that records only luminance, producing a monochrome negative.

Burning Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes seconds Giving extra exposure to part of a print so that area comes out darker.

C-41 Process Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes minutes at °C The standardised chemical process for developing colour negative film. 3′15″ at 38 °C

Calotype Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes An early paper-negative process, patented by Fox Talbot in 1841, allowing multiple prints from one exposure.

Camera Obscura Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes A darkened room or box in which a small aperture projects an inverted image of the outside world onto an inner surface.

Characteristic Curve Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes density vs log exposure A graph plotting a film's resulting density against the logarithm of the exposure it received. D vs log H

Chromogenic Black and White Film Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes ISO A monochrome film that forms its image from dye couplers rather than silver, and is processed in standard colour chemistry.

Colour Negative Film Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes ISO Film that records a colour image with tones and colours inverted, printed or scanned to produce a positive.

Colour Reversal Film Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes ISO Film that produces a positive transparency directly, viewable and projectable without printing.

Contact Print Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes A print made with the negative in direct contact with the paper, producing an image the same size as the negative. Magnification = 1:1

Contact Sheet Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes A print made by laying an entire strip or roll of negatives directly on paper, showing every frame at negative size.

Contrast Index Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes CI A measure of the average slope of a film's characteristic curve over the range actually used in practice.

Cross-processing Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes Deliberately developing film in chemistry intended for a different process, producing extreme colour and contrast shifts.

Cyanotype Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes An iron-based printing process producing images in Prussian blue, developed simply by washing in water.

Daguerreotype Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes The first commercially successful photographic process, producing a unique, highly detailed image on a polished silvered copper plate.

Darkroom Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes A light-tight room equipped for processing film and making prints.

Densitometer Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes density units An instrument that measures the optical density of a negative, transparency or print.

Density Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes density units A measure of how much light a processed negative or print blocks, expressed logarithmically. D = log₁₀(1 / transmittance)

Developer Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes minutes at °C The chemical solution that converts exposed silver halide crystals into metallic silver, making the latent image visible.

Dodging Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes seconds Holding back light from part of a print during exposure so that area comes out lighter.

DX Coding Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes ISO The pattern of conductive and insulating squares on a 35 mm cassette that tells the camera the film's speed and length.