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Choice of film is perhaps not the most
obvious way to manipulate the image, but in some respects this is among
the most fundamental photographic controls. You can change other
controls such as shutter speed and aperture at whim, but once you've
loaded the camera with film, you're committed. When the sun is about to
dip below the horizon, there just isn't time to reload the camera with
a more suitable film.
The principal choice to make is between the four types of film below:
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Black and White film - It has a special
appeal to photographers who like the abstraction offered by the
translation of a color scene into a broad tonal range from black to
white and who want to do everything themselves. In a home darkroom you
can make a whole gallery of different prints from a mono- chrome
negative, conjuring many different moods from just one landscape. Black
and white film is also the most economical and permanent of all
photographic media, so it's ideal for photographers on tight budgets,
and for those who want to pass on their pictures to their
great-grandchildren.
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Color negative film - It is processed to
produce prints and is the most familiar and convenient type.
Wallet-sized prints are easy to look at, you can get them processed
quickly almost anywhere, and further copies or enlargements are
inexpensive. A less obvious feature of color negative film is its
forgiving nature: even quite large exposure errors can be corrected at
the printing stage, and normally you don't need to use filters to match
film sensitivity to the prevailing light. Finally, there's a further
advantage if you have a darkroom at home: you can use special printing
techniques to reveal features that would normally be hidden in deep
shadows or brilliant pools of light.
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Color slides - also called transparency,
reversal, diapositive or chrome film - requires more methodical use
than negative film, but the benefits more than repay the extra care
needed. Slides (within the film's limitations) faithfully record the
image that you see through the lens, because there is no intermediate
printing stage: the film in the camera is processed in a single step to
form the finished image. Slides are potentially sharper, more colorful
and more richly detailed than color prints, so printers prefer a slide
when making plates for reproducing a book like this one. On the debit
side, you must expose slide film very precisely, and you need to take
special care with filters or your pictures will look off-color. Also,
slides look best when projected in a darkened room, which sometimes
makes viewing inconvenient.
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Instant film - traditionally associated
with snapshot photographs, but many landscape photographers also make
use of Polaroid film both as a medium for test exposures, and to create
finished images. You don't necessarily need a special camera to shoot
instant film: all large-format cameras, most roll-film cameras, and a
few 35mm cameras can be fitted with adapter backs, so that you can
preview a shot while you're on location.
Choosing the Film Speed
Other than choosing within these four groups of film, there's also a
choice of film speed.
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Fast films - those with a high ISO number
require little light to make a good picture.
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Slow films have a low ISO number, and
need brighter light, slower shutter speed, or wider apertures for
correct exposure.
Fast films are more versatile but produce
pictures that have a more pronounced texture or grain, and are not as
sharp and colorful as those shot on slow film. However, you'll only
really notice the difference in prints larger than about 8 x 10 in (20
x 25cm).
Ultimately, your choice of film depends
on several objective factors, including how you want to view the
pictures, how big you'll enlarge them, and whether you do your own
processing or printing. There's a subjective factor, though, too: many
photographers use one particular make of film for the simple reason
that they prefer like the way it records the hues and tones of the
landscape.
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