B&W Film Photo Colour Filter

[ckhfrankie]

Dear all, I am struggling on which colour filter to be used in daytime without sun shine and cloud to produce a good contrast and detail architectural B&W film photo ...... Any suggestion..? :cussing:

 

[Kabraxis]

You may push your negative about 1-2 stops.

 

[Jack]

Under overcast it's tough due to whiter light so most filters have a more linear response. That said, try a deep yellow (minus blue) to deepen shadows as much as possible. A push will increase contrast a little, but also add grain.

 

[ckhfrankie]

Under overcast it's tough due to whiter light so most filters have a more linear response. That said, try a deep yellow (minus blue) to deepen shadows as much as possible. A push will increase contrast a little, but also add grain.

Thanks Jack. However, the most troublesome condition is the sky is purely white and without any blue ..... Should I try red ....???

 

[Swissblad]

I don't think a red will help with overcast skies - this filter is best used when you have clear blue alpine skies, and wish to separate the sky form the white mountains.
A good example is Ansel Adams Monolith, the face of Half Dome:

Monolith, the Face of Half Dome by Ansel Adams

I would go with Jack's suggestion.

In general if you are using B&W film, it pays to have a spectrum of filters: Y,O,R,G.

 

[Jack]

Thanks Jack. However, the most troublesome condition is the sky is purely white and without any blue ..... Should I try red ....???

Yes but --- even though the sky is white now, the shadows are still mostly blue, so using a minus blue or deep yellow will deepen them relative to everything else and increase contrast relatively. You can try red, but it (and orange) will likely darken everything about the same amount and not be as desirable.

As an aside since Swiss brought it up, if you're going to shoot panchromatic B&W films, you will want a selection of colored filters -- in addition to lightening up their own color and darkening their opposite:

Yellow -- renders most panchromatic films in a natural relative contrast under normal light;
Deep Yellow (minus Blue) -- darkens blue skies appreciably and increases contrast under normal lighting;
Orange -- lightens human skin and fall foliage -- ironically does not appreciably darken blue sky, but will render it similarly to normal Y;
Red -- darkens blue sky dramatically while leaving white clouds white for dramatic contrast, lightens human skin but often to the point of greatly accentuating flaws or veins, so not usually a good choice for people;
Green -- often the best choice for smoothing human skin tones, lightens green foliage;
Yellow-Green -- older choice for smoother, but realistic skin tonality;
Blue -- they're out there, but in all honesty I never saw a reason for them except for product imaging where you were trying to hide or accentuate a particular hue of blue.

 

[ckhfrankie]

Yes but --- even though the sky is white now, the shadows are still mostly blue, so using a minus blue or deep yellow will deepen them relative to everything else and increase contrast relatively. You can try red, but it (and orange) will likely darken everything about the same amount and not be as desirable.

As an aside since Swiss brought it up, if you're going to shoot panchromatic B&W films, you will want a selection of colored filters -- in addition to lightening up their own color and darkening their opposite:

Yellow -- renders most panchromatic films in a natural relative contrast under normal light;
Deep Yellow (minus Blue) -- darkens blue skies appreciably and increases contrast under normal lighting;
Orange -- lightens human skin and fall foliage -- ironically does not appreciably darken blue sky, but will render it similarly to normal Y;
Red -- darkens blue sky dramatically while leaving white clouds white for dramatic contrast, lightens human skin but often to the point of greatly accentuating flaws or veins, so not usually a good choice for people;
Green -- often the best choice for smoothing human skin tones, lightens green foliage;
Yellow-Green -- older choice for smoother, but realistic skin tonality;
Blue -- they're out there, but in all honesty I never saw a reason for them except for product imaging where you were trying to hide or accentuate a particular hue of blue.

Thank you very much, Jack

 

[weinlamm]

Most times I love a green-yellow filter. Sometimes with the b&w-style "Panchromatic" (C1).