The whole problem of photography started circa 1826 when Nicéphore Niépce produced the first photograph, silver-based. The first photograph was of Niépce's back yard and required an eight hour exposure. (The second photograph was pornography.) For the next one hundred eighty years the technology of silver-based photography steadily improved and diversified. The original photographic process was negative-positive black-and-white. Eventually color negative and color transparency were developed. There was a steady improvement in both film and paper emulsions. The Jolly Yellow Giant (Eastman Kodak) was instrumental in the technological improvement and popularization of photography. Other giants, such as Fuji and Agfa-Gevaert also emerged.

Various experiments with photography from digital sensors began in the 1980s. During 1990, the first generally available digital camera appeared, the Dycam Model 1, aka Logitech Fotoman. The first professional-grade digital camera was the DCS-100, produced ironically by the company with the most to lose from the demise of silver photography, the Jolly Yellow Giant. Original digital cameras offered poor quality compared to the heightened state of the evolution of silver-based photography. However, digital cameras improved steadily in a variety of ways, including dynamic range, color accuracy, and resolution. Perhaps a seminal penultimate moment was the introduction of the Canon 1ds-ii, which enabled the creation of a digital original which could be printed 11x17 at 300 dpi without extrapolation. (11x17 being a typical two-page magazine illustration.)

Prior to the digital era, color prints were made optically using traditional photographic enlargers. Type-C color silver halide prints were made optically from a color negative. Type-R silver halide color prints were made optically from a color transparency. However, the the Fuji Frontier print making machine and its cousins, used a type of color silver halide print paper which responded directly to electronic impulses from RGB lasers. Around 2000, all of the major manufacturers stopped making optical color silver halide print paper of both type-c and type-r and began making only color silver halide print paper designed for digital laser printers. At this point, all color prints became digital by definition. A silver halide print from either a negative or transparency was made by first scanning the silver original transparency or negative, creating a digital version, and making a print from the electronic RGB laser impulses.

2005 is year when many types of professional film became difficult to obtain. An anecdotal example follows. For decades, the author had been buying various professional films locally from several vendors. Late, in 2005, the author entered store #1 to buy a brick of E-100G. The question was asked "When do you need it?" At first it was difficult to understand the motivation for this question. Was the expected answer "sometime next year"? The motivation for the question was that store #1 had split its local film stock between to geographically diverse stores, and E-100G would take two days to obtain. The author then went to store #2 and bought the brick of E-100G, which was the entire stock of E-100G in store #2. This was the last film author shot. The message was received. Film has died. It was now time to calibrate the digital body and go over to the dark side. As of 2008, film can still be obtained, but obtaining it is getting more and more difficult, and fewer and fewer varieties are produced.

In 2006 Nikon stopped making all film cameras except one high end F-series and one entry level point-and-shoot. Canon soon followed with a dramatically reduced film camera product line. As of 2008, Canon still is offering a few 35mm film bodies, but the end is near.

As the specter of digital grew, traditional silver-based gigantic photographic corporations struggled. Not the least of these photographic corporations was Polaroid. The demand for Polaroid. film steadily declined. Polaroid filed for bankruptcy in 2001. A few years later Polaroid exited receivership with a reduced instant film product line and more emphasis on electronic products. At this time Polaroid professional proofing instant films were still extant, such as the 4x5 packs and 4x5 individual sheets. In 2008, Polaroid. announced the final demise of the production all instant film products. The elimination of Polaroid instant film is particularly apocalyptic. All digital cameras have an instant-feedback LCD display. When the image is instantly viewable, the need for instant film for proofing or final product no longer exists. Polaroid is now another indistinguishable producer of electronics.

After a run of 75 years, in 2010 Kodak stopped producing Kodachrome slide file. Unlike Ektachrome, Kodachrome had an incredibly complicated 25-step processing requirement. The last place on earth which was processing Kodachrome was Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas. Dwayne's processed its last roll of Kodachrome on December 20, 2010.

Certain people are quite fond of the topic, "which is better: film or digital?" The short answer is neither. Film and digital are different, not better or worse. Excellent results can be obtained using either media. The art school adage, "make the materials work" applies to both. Ironically, it is easier to obtain a higher quality result digitally, due in no small part to Photoshop editing tools. Digital is inevitable.

Optical color silver halide print: A light source passes through original silver media such as negative or transparency, through an enlarging lens onto type-c or type-r silver halide paper. 

Digital color silver halide print: An original digital file is converted into RGB laser light impulses which are sent directly to digital silver halide paper  The original digital file can be created directly by a digital camera or by scanning silver media such as a negative or transparency 

Type-C Paper: Optical color silver halide paper optimized for printing color negatives in a traditional darkroom..

Type-R Paper: Optical color silver halide paper optimized for printing color transparencies in a traditional darkroom..

Digital color silver halide paper: color silver halide paper optimized for printing from RGB laser impulses, such as those on a FujiFilm Frontier print machine.

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