One of the biggest changes to the analog photographic world has been the quiet removal of transparency film. Most of us are quite knowledgeable about negative films, but what about slide films? Our ancestral counterparts used this type exclusively.
Modern photographers are hard pushed to find transparency film today. If it can be dug up, would there even be a lab that could handle the different processing chemicals? Read on to find out more about slide film.
Cover photo by Gemma Evans
Photo by Alexander Andrews
What is Slide Film?
As a modern society, we expect to see images instantaneously. It's why one of the reasons Polaroid film still exists – it’s an immediate replication of a scene in a physical form. Even more recently was the wide use of digital cameras and then smartphones.
Slide film, also known as reversal film, is a transparent ‘film’ presenting a positive image. Most film photographers use today are negatives. This means the scene needs reversing to be a true scene replication. The most common slide film size is 35 mm, but there were films for 6x6 medium format.
The name comes from the fact that each positive image needed a ‘frame’ which turns it into a ‘slide’. These are then placed inside a Carousel, an infamous slide projector by Kodak. The photographic world used positive film until the 1970s when negatives took the popular spot.
Cross Processed image of a little canyon in Northern Wales - Photo by Mick Haupt
Are All Slide Films Color?
Most transparency films were color, with a few exceptions. With color, you could create a monochromatic scene, yet the opposite wasn’t possible. Converting the color after capturing the scene would strip away some contrast and color strength.
There was a way to make black-and-white transparency film from bleaching negative film. A reversal process from Ilford used potassium dichromate in sulfuric acid. This allowed leftover silver halides a re-exposure to light.
The most common black-and-white transparency films were the Adox Scala 160, Fomapan R 100, and Dr5 Chrome.
Photo by Sen Lee
Slide Film Vs Negative Film
Any magazine, editorial or documentary travel photo in the past 40/50 years was on slide film. These films had superior qualities and allowed people to see the images immediately. No need to mess around in the darkroom for a contact sheet with slide film.
Personally, transparency film was an easy introduction to film experimentation. It was helpful in my photography education, and I used it for interesting results. Cross-processing produced abnormal color shifts. This was possible by using negative chemicals (C-41) on transparency film (E-6).
The biggest benefit slide film can give your photography work is a fast and easy way to see your images. They are faster to work with because you spend less time with them. They can be photographed or scanned for digitalization. A Carousel (a nod to Madmen) allows the shots to be wall projected – great for family travel photo seminars in the 60s!
Photographers look for more in the film's qualities. Transparencies have a more vibrant color, less grain, and higher contrast. In short, a better resolution. Color translation (capturing true-to-life color when digitalizing) is better with slides.
The biggest problem with slide film is its unicorn status – lots of people have heard about it but rarely seen it. If you can find it, expect a large cost not only with buying but processing too. It might be difficult to find someone using E6, much rarer than C41-negative chemicals.
There are some black and white slide films but most are color. Typically, their ISO doesn’t go above 200, limiting its use to well-lit areas. Unlike black-and-white negative film, you need to place each scene in a frame. A lot of your photography storage space will suffer by synonymous orange and white rectangular boxes.
What you will notice among all other things, is its lower exposure latitude. The scene’s capture is difficult without under or over-exposure. A black-and-white negative film has 5 stops of play. If you don’t get it on target, you’ll still get something on the film. Color negative has 3 stops and color transparency only has 1.5 stops. If you don't get it spot-on, you can't fix it in post-production.