Photography 1 Flashcards
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Agitate
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To move a solution over the surface of film or paper during development so that fresh liquid comes into contact with the surface.
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Agitation
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The action of keeping the developer, stop bath, or fixer in a gentle, uniform motion while processing film or paper. It also helps to speed and achieve even development and prevent spotting or staining.
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Lens Aperture
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The size of the lens opening through which light passes. An enlarger lens has an aperture to adjust the amount of light passing through it.
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Background
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The part of the scene that appears behind the principal subject of the picture. NOTE: Diorama
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Baseboard
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Part of an enlarger = Supports the whole unit plus the easel/printing frame in which you place the printing paper.
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Bellows (Focusing)
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A flexible, light-tight, and usually accordion-folded part of an enlarger located between the condenser and the negative carrier
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Camera
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A picture taking device usually consisting of a light tight box, a film holder, a shutter to admit a measured quantity of light, and a lens to focus the image
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Cassette/Cartridge
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A light tight metal or plastic container that permits a roll of 35 mm film to be loaded into a camera in the light.
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Changing Bag
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A light-tight black bag into which a photographer can insert his or her hands to handle film when a darkroom is not available. We use this to load roll film onto a reel so that the undeveloped film does not get ruined by the light.
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Composition
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The pleasing arrangement of the elements within a scene.
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Condenser
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A pair of convex lenses, spreads light evenly over the negative or whatever you are printing
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Contact Printing
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The process of placing a things such as a film negative, a paper negative, or a tape transfer negative in contact with sensitized material (usually paper) and then passing light through the negative onto the material for a certain amount of time. The resulting image, after developing it, is the same size as the negative.
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Contamination
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Traces of chemicals that are present where they don't belong, causing loss of chemical activity, staining, and other similar problems. This tends to happen when students use one tong in all the chemicals instead of using the tong that is assigned to the specific chemical. (I know who you are.)
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Contrast
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The difference in darkness or density between one tone and another. There are two types of contrast = low and high. A print with low contrast (AKA flat) has mostly grey tones in it with not a lot or any black or white tones (see Flat for a visual example). A print that is high contrast (AKA contrasty) has mostly black and white tones without any grey (see Contrasty for a visual example).
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Contrasty
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Describes a scene, negative, or print with very great differences in brightness between light and dark areas. Opposite of Contrasty: Flat
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Crop/Cropping
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to trim the edges of an image, often to improve the composition. Cropping can be done by moving the camera position while viewing a scene, by adjusting the enlarger or easel during printing, or by trimming the finished print.
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Darkroom
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A light tight area used for processing films and for printing and processing papers; also for loading and unloading film holders and some cameras.
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Developing
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The action of developing, fixing, and washing exposed photographic film or paper to produce either a negative image or a positive image.
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Drying Rack
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Used to dry prints after processing.
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Duct Tape
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Usually grey in color and about 2 inches wide. Used to cover up any holes where light may leak in on your shoe box, when making your Shoe box Pinhole Camera.
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Electrical Tape
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Usually black in color, can be reused several times, and is about ½ inch wide with a surface that is smooth and shiny. This tape is placed directly on top of the pinhole (located in your metal lens) on your Shoebox Pinhole Camera. It is considered to be the camera's shutter, because it is used to block the light going through the pinhole. You control the time of exposure by peeling it off / sticking it back on to expose the paper inside.
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Elevation Control
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Allows you to move the enlarger head up or down the supporting column. Moving the head up makes the image larger; moving it down, makes the image smaller.
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Emulsion
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A light sensitive coating applied to photographic films or papers. It consists of silver halide crystals and other chemicals suspended in gelatin.
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Enlarger
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An optical instrument/piece of photo equipment ordinarily used to project an image of a negative onto sensitized paper when making a photo print. It can also be used as the light source to make a contact print while in the darkroom. Some of you also used this machine to project pictures onto the linoleum so you could trace them.
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Enlarger Head
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Part of an enlarger = Contains the main working parts; light source, negative carrier, and lens. It can be moved up and down the supporting column to set the size of the image.
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Enlarger Timer/Clock
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In order to get prints which are correctly exposed, you need to control the amount of light that reaches your paper. The timer, along with the aperture on your enlarger lens, controls the exposure so that your prints are neither too light nor too dark. Timers can either be stand-alone, requiring you to turn off the enlarger manually, or they can connect to the enlarger for automatic shut-off. We recommend a timer that automatically turns the enlarger on and off.
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Exposure
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The amount of light reaching the light sensitive material; specifically the intensity of light multiplied by the length of time it falls on the material.
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Film
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The material used in a camera to record a photographic image.
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Filter Holder
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Located within the enlarger head between the lamp and the condenser. It is an area that you can insert filters (that change the contrast in the photo that you are printing) in the path of the light in an enlarger. There should always be a #5 filter in the enlarger to make your prints more contrasty. The enlarger light that is projected down onto the baseboard should look reddish when you turn on.
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Fixer
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A chemical solution that makes a photographic image insensitive to light and allows you to bring your print out of the darkroom into regular room light/daylight without it turning black. It dissolves unexposed silver halide crystals while leaving the developed silver image.
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Flat
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A scene, negative or print with very little difference in brightness between light and dark areas. It describes a negative or print with low contrast.
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Focusing Control
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moves the lens up or down to focus the projected image
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Fog/Fogged
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An overall density in the photographic image caused by unintentional exposure to light or unwanted chemical activity. NOTE: This is caused by you forgetting to put away the unexposed photo paper in the box and someone turns on the white lights or their phone) (I know who you are and I am going to charge you $$$)
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Fore-ground
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The area between the camera and the main subject or in front of the frame and the main subject. NOTE: Think Diorama project
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Glossy
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Describes a printing paper with a great deal of surface sheen. This is what we use to print our photos on in the darkroom - RC Glossy paper.
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Lamp
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Part of an enlarger = supplies the light to expose the printing paper
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Latent Image
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An image formed by the changes to the silver halide grains in photographic emulsion on exposure to light. The image is not visible until chemical development takes place.
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Lens
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A piece or several pieces of optical glass shaped to focus an image of a subject. Forms the light passing through the negative into a sharp image. Plural: Lenses
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LightTight
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Absolutely dark. Protected by opaque (can't see through) material, overlapping panels, or by some other system through which light cannot pass.
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Metal Reel
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A reel made out of metal with spiral grooves into which roll film is loaded for development.
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Mid-ground
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The point between foreground and background in an image
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Negative
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Any image with tones that are the reverse of those in the subject. Opposite: Positive
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Negative Carrier
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A frame that holds a negative flat in an enlarger. Found between the condenser and the bellows on an enlarger.
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Negative Film
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The material used in a camera to record a photographic image.
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Over-develop
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To give more than the normal amount of development. When printing a photo in the darkroom, the end result is a print that is too dark.
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Over-exposure
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A condition in which too much light reaches the film or paper. When printing a photo in the darkroom, the end result is a print that is too dark.
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Packaging Tape
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Usually about 2 inches wide and is clear. Used in your Environmental Tape-Transfer assignment to transfer ink from magazines to itself.
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Paper Developer
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A chemical solution that changes the invisible, image produced during exposure into a visible one. The name of paper developer that we use is called Dektol and is made by the company Kodak. (Latent = existing, but not yet developed; hidden; concealed)
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Photographic Paper
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Photographic paper is sensitive to light and should be handled only in a darkroom with the correct safelight. Black and white paper is exposed under an enlarger and processed in chemicals to create a final image.
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Photogram
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An image formed by placing material directly onto a sheet of sensitized printing paper and then exposing the paper to light.
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Pinhole
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The tiny opening (located in the middle the piece of metal we place and tape over the hole that we cut) in a pinhole camera that produces an image.
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Plastic Reel
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A reel made out of plastic with spiral grooves into which roll film is loaded for development.
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Positive
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Any image with tones corresponding to those of the subject in real life. Opposite of Positive: negative.
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Print
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1. A photographic image, a positive one if printed from a film negative onto photographic paper. 2. To produce such an image by contact printing from things such as a film negative, from paper (regular or photographic etc.), or from objects (photogram).
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Print Washer
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A device that circulates fresh water around prints to remove fixer during washing.
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Processing Chemicals
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The three basic chemicals are (1) Developer (2) Stop Bath and (3) Fixer. These chemicals are mixed with the appropriate amount of water and stored in airtight containers.
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Printing Frame/Contact Printing Frame
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A holder designed to keep sensitized material, usually paper, in full contact with things such as a film negative or a piece of photo paper (positive or negative) during contact printing. This piece of darkroom equipment has a glass or Plexiglas top to hold your negatives or paper flat/flush on the paper for contact printing. It is important to keep the glass clean and free of things such as smudges and fingerprints. Whatever is on the glass will show up in your picture that you are printing.
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Processing
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The entire process by which exposed film or paper is treated with various chemicals to make an image that is visible and permanent.
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Processing Trays
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The trays hold the processing solutions. The first tray is for the developer, the second for the stop bath, the third is for the fixer and the fourth is for the wash. Label the trays and always use the same tray for each solution. It is a good idea to get trays at least one size larger than the paper you are using. You also use a tray to hold the hot water and your Environmental Tape-Transfer when you are peeling off the paper.
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Resin Coated Photographic Paper (RC Paper)
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Printing paper with a water-resistant plastic coating that absorbs less moisture than uncoated paper, consequently reducing some processing times.
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Safe Light
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A light used in the darkroom during printing to provide general illumination without giving unwanted exposure. The safelight should be positioned to provide the best illumination of the work area, but should be kept at least four feet from the photographic paper. NOTE: Safelight filters or light bulbs come in a few different varieties. The most commonly used are OC (amber) and Red (A1).
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Silver Halide
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The light sensitive part of the common photographic emulsions; the compounds silver chloride, silver bromide, silver fluoride, and silver iodide.
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Stain
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Discolored areas on film or paper usually caused by contaminated developing solutions due to students using the same tong in each chemical or by insufficient fixing, washing, or agitation.
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Stop Bath
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An acid solution used between the developer and the fixer to stop the action of the developer and to preserve the effectiveness of the fixer. Generally a dilute solution of acetic acid; plain water is sometimes used as a stop bath for film development, but the time has to be doubled to 1 minute.
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Supporting Column
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Supports the enlarger head out over the baseboard and serves as a rail on which you can move the enlarger head up or down on.
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Tank (metal)
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A light tight container that is made out of metal for processing chemicals into which film on a metal reel is placed for development.
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Tank (plastic)
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A light tight container that is made out of plastic for processing chemicals into which film on a plastic reel is placed for development.
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Tongs
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These are used for moving the photographic paper through the processing solutions. You should have a set of four: one for developer, one for stop bath, one for fixer, and one for the final rinse. Label each one to avoid contaminating the chemicals.
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Under-exposure
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A condition in which too little light reaches the film or paper. This means your print will be too light.
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Value
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The relative lightness or darkness of an area.
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Washing Siphon
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A washing siphon is a simple means of washing prints. It clamps onto the side of a processing tray and pumps water into the top of the tray. It then removes it from the bottom of the tray by sucking it up.
