Surface finishes

A sheet of transparent film coated with silver salts which react when exposed to light (usually in a camera). In black and white negatives, one layer of salts reacts to white light (the full spectrum of light). The result is a reversal of normal vision: the shadows are light, the highlights dark. In colour negatives…

P.F.T.s, or Print Film Transparencies, are positive colour reproductions from original negatives, produced as transparencies.

Silver salts Silver salts are light sensitive chemical compounds. When exposed to light – either in a camera (in the case of film and negatives) or in the dark room (photographic papers) – the silver salts react by darkening in proportion to the amount of light reflected from the subject. Silver bromide Print Silver bromides…

A single image built up from several photographic prints.

Although it may seem too obvious to mention, may people are unaware of what exactly constitutes a print. Put simply, a print is a method of image-making that allows the work of art to be created more than once. The size of the edition (i.e.the number of prints produced of the one work), the significance…

Different types of photographic paper have varying degrees of susceptibility to fading over time. The main cause of this is exposure to UV (ultra violet) light, although humidity, temperature, pollution and acidity are all contributing factors. Exposure to direct sunlight should be avoided, and UV-resistant glass can be used when framing.