About DBW
Welcome to Digital Black and White, a website dedicated to black and white photography, film scanning, negative conversion and fine art printing.
Whether you're scanning decades of family negatives, photographing on 35mm film, working with medium or large format, or creating digital monochrome images, you'll find practical advice, software and tutorials designed to help you achieve the highest possible image quality.
My name is Ian and I created Digital Black and White to share my passion for monochrome photography and to develop software that solves real problems faced by photographers. Everything on this website comes from practical experience, extensive testing and a desire to make black and white photography more enjoyable and more accessible.
What You'll Find on Digital Black and White
The website covers a wide range of topics for photographers who love working in black and white.
Black and White Photography
Discover articles covering composition, exposure, tonal range, contrast and techniques for creating powerful monochrome photographs.
Film Scanning
Learn how to produce the highest quality scans from your negatives using Epson scanners and other popular equipment. Topics include scanner calibration, dynamic range, resolution, bit depth, scanner flare and achieving consistent results.
Negative Conversion
Find practical guidance on converting black and white negatives into beautiful positive images while preserving maximum detail throughout the tonal range.
Software for Film Photographers
I also develop desktop software specifically for photographers working with black and white film.
DBW Scan Assistant is designed for photography enthusiasts who want a clean, focused workflow without getting buried in complicated editing software. Open your scan, adjust the conversion, check the before and after view, then export a clean final image.
DBW Scanner is designed to simplify the scanning process when using supported Epson scanners, producing high quality 16 bit TIFF files ready for editing or negative conversion.
DBW Linear Scans provides an advanced workflow for converting black and white film negatives using linear scan data, giving photographers greater control over tonal values, highlight recovery and shadow detail.
Unlike subscription software, my applications are available as a one time purchase and include free updates.
Why I Created the Software
After spending countless hours scanning black and white negatives, I found that many existing applications either overcomplicated the workflow or limited the quality that could be achieved.
I wanted software built specifically for photographers who care about image quality rather than unnecessary complexity.
Every feature in DBW Scanner and DBW Linear Scans has been developed to solve real photographic challenges, from accurate linear scanning and scanner calibration through to preserving highlight detail and maximising tonal range.
The software continues to evolve based on feedback from photographers around the world.
Topics Covered Throughout the Website
Digital Black and White regularly publishes articles covering subjects including:
- Black and white photography
- Monochrome photography
- Film photography
- Analogue photography
- Film scanning
- Epson scanners
- 35mm film
- Medium format film
- Large format film
- Linear scanning
- Scanner calibration
- Dynamic range
- Scanner flare
- Negative conversion
- 16 bit TIFF workflow
- Fine art printing
- Photoshop techniques
- Digital darkroom workflows
Whether you're just beginning your journey into film photography or have decades of experience, my aim is to provide clear, practical information that helps you improve your workflow and produce better photographs.
About Me
Photography has been a lifelong passion, with a particular love for black and white images and traditional film photography.
Over the years I have spent thousands of hours scanning negatives, experimenting with workflows and developing techniques to extract the maximum quality from film. That experience naturally led to creating specialist software that could streamline the process whilst maintaining complete control over image quality.
Everything I write and every piece of software I develop is based on real world use rather than theory.
My Philosophy
Black and white photography is about far more than removing colour.
It is about light, shadow, texture, emotion and storytelling.
Whether you're photographing digitally or working in a traditional darkroom, the principles remain the same. Careful technique, thoughtful processing and attention to detail will always produce better photographs.
My goal is simple.
To help photographers produce the highest quality black and white images through practical tutorials, specialist desktop software and honest advice based on real experience.
Thank you for visiting Digital Black and White. I hope the articles, tutorials and software help you enjoy black and white photography as much as I do.