![Breadfruit](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Breadfruit.jpg)
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
and
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
in a
continuous spectrum, producing a
range
Range may refer to:
Geography
* Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra)
** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands
* Range, a term used to i ...
of
shades of
grey
Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...
.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. However, there are exceptions to this rule, including black-and-white
fine art photography
Fine-art photography is photography created in line with the vision of the photographer as artist, using photography as a medium for creative expression. The goal of fine-art photography is to express an idea, a message, or an emotion. This stand ...
, as well as many film motion pictures and
art film
An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...
(s).
Photography
Contemporary use
Since the late 1960s, few mainstream films have been shot in black-and-white. The reasons are frequently commercial, as it is difficult to sell a film for television broadcasting if the film is not in color. 1961 was the last year in which the majority of Hollywood films were released in black and white.
Computing
In
computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, ...
terminology, ''black-and-white'' is sometimes used to refer to a
binary image consisting solely of pure black
pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device.
In most digital display devices, pixels are the ...
s and pure white ones; what would normally be called a black-and-white image, that is, an image containing shades of gray, is referred to in this context as
grayscale
In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a grayscale image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample representing only an ''amount'' of light; that is, it carries only intensity information. Graysc ...
.
[Renner, Honey (2011). ''Fifty Shades of Greyscale: A History of Greyscale Cinema'', p. 13. Knob Publishers, Nice.]
See also
*
dr5 chrome
*
List of black-and-white films produced since 1970
American film and television studios terminated production of black-and-white output in 1966 and, during the following two years, the rest of the world followed suit. At the start of the 1960s, transition to color proceeded slowly, with major studi ...
*
Monochromatic color
A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochro ...
*
Panchromatic film
Panchromatic emulsion is a type of black-and-white photographic emulsion that is sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light.
Description
A panchromatic emulsion renders a realistic reproduction of a scene as it appears to the human eye, alth ...
*
Selective color
Image editing encompasses the processes of altering images, whether they are digital photographs, traditional photo-chemical photographs, or illustrations. Traditional analog image editing is known as photo retouching, using tools such as ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black-And-White
Black-and-white media
Photographic processes