aka...science room
developing photos
Colour photographic film is a strip of plastic coated with three layers of light sensitive silver compounds. The tiny crystals on each layer are only sensitive to one colour of light – blue, green or red. When these crystals are exposed to light, a chemical change occurs and they start to break down into specks of silver metal.
So, when you take a picture, light is let into the camera and an image is formed where the light hits the film. But how does the image get from the film to the photograph on your sideboard?
There are three main stages in developing a film:
1.
The film is placed in a developer which encourages the crystals that have been exposed to light to change into silver metal. The developer also contains dyes that attach to the silver formed in the different layers.
Those crystals that were not exposed are not affected.
2.
The film is then placed in a fixer which dissolves the unexposed crystals and the silver metal leaving behind the dye.
3.
The film is washed to remove all of the processing chemicals.
However, the film developing process only leaves you with a negative - the image still has to be printed onto paper.
Colour photographic printing paper has the same layered, light sensitive coating as the film so when light is shone through the negative and onto the paper, a recognisable image is formed. This image is then developed using the same 3-step process as film developing.
Finally, once the paper has dried, you are left with a perfect mugshot to display on your sideboard.
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