What is Black and white?
[[File:Adams The Tetons and the Snake River.jpg|thumb|''The Tetons and the Snake River'', black and white photograph by [[Ansel Adams]]]] '''Black and white''' ('''B/W''' or '''B&W''') images combine black and white in a [[continuous spectrum]], producing a range of [[grayscale|shades of gray]]. Until the 1950s, most movies were made in black and white. Black and white film was less expensive than color film, and was easier for [[cinematographer]]s and set designers to work with than the color films of the time. Today, color movies are more popular, but black and white movies are still made occasionally. [[File:Ilford HP5 Plus - Black & white film with original box.jpg|thumb|Black and white film for 35mm still cameras]] The earliest still photographs were also in black and white. Black and white still picture film was, and still is, less expensive than color film, and the chemicals to develop it are also cheaper, so it remained popular long after color film was introduced. About 15% of current film sales are black and white film. Major brands of black and white film include [[Ilford Photo]] / Kentmere, [[Kodak]] Tri-X and TMax, Agfa Photo, Fomapan, Arista, and Rollei. The earliest [[television]] broadcasts were transmitted in black and white, and received and displayed by black and white only television sets.<ref>For the effect this caused for team uniforms in televised sports, see: [[Away colours]].</ref> Scottish inventor [[John Logie Baird]] demonstrated the world's [[Color television#All-mechanical color|first color television transmission]] on July 3, 1928. A color television can receive a black and white broadcast, although few (if any) TV stations still broadcast in black and white. ==References== {{reflist}} {{stub}} [[Category:Photography]] [[Category:Television technology]]