Film recs. for fall colors in SW PA? Sites to photograph?

Hi,

This is Gene from very sunny and hot South Texas. I'll be traveling north in mid-October to visit relatives in SW Pennsylvania. While there I'll be spening about four days in the Ohiopyle area and Blackwater Falls, WVA to try and capture the fall colors. I expect cloudy/foggy and definitely deep shade conditions as I try and photograph waterfalls. So I need some slide and/or print film recommendations.

The last time I went (2 yrs. ago) Kodak 400UC served me well. I'd like an ISO 100 speed film to make silky the motion of waterfalls and was thinking about Kodak 100GX.

I'm trying to avoid two things - blue tint in the shade and films that don't scan well. My film camera kit is an FE2, primes, polarizer, and lightweight hiking tripod.

If anyone is from SW PA I'm also open for suggestions of what to photograph - my list so far includes Indian Creek near Connellsville, Bear Run, Cucumber Falls, Jonathan Run, Ohiopyle upstream from the main park, and Blackwater Falls, WVA if time permits. If not Blackwater, then Linn Run State Park and McConnell's Mills.

It's been 45 years since I lived in Pa (Latrobe) so my memory is a little rusty.

Thanks,

Gene in blazing hot and sunny South Texas

"The last time I went (2 yrs. ago) Kodak 400UC served me well. I'd like an ISO 100 speed film to make silky the motion of waterfalls and was thinking about Kodak 100GX."

Perhaps you would enjoy 100UC.

"I'm trying to avoid two things - blue tint in the shade and films that don't scan well."

Shade is blue-cyan, as all light in the shade is reflected light, and largely from the sky, which is blue. There is nothing you can do about this physical fact. You can use filters to push the color balance toward being neutral in the shade. This will make it warmer in the daylight areas, though. It's good to be aware of this, but in all practicality, with negative film, you don't need to worry about it...nor do you with transparency film if you will be scanning anyhow. I am generally constitutionally opposed to the "just fix it in the lab" method, as doing this is generally more time-consuming and hence costly in the end. However, in this case, simply changing color balance of a scanned file is not time consuming, and is a convenience that will let you shoot without filters at the scene. Also, all modern films scan well, so don't worry about that. (Transparencies will scan a bit better than negs, however.)

For a transparency film, if you want something like UC, you might try E100VS from Kodak or one of the various Velvias from Fuji. (Do they have three varieties now? 50, 100, and 100F? I'm not sure.)

Kodak's E100GX is supposed to be warm biased, so that might help with the shade. I have not tried it myself, though.

Oh, yeah. Let us not forget the obvious answer: K64! Since you actually want less speed in this case, it would be a good time to use this film. Unfortunately, this film's slower speed is often a dealbreaker for getting certain shots, but in this case it is to your advantage.

I can't really help with color films as I shoot mostly B&W. But I can help with places, at least a little. Once you're in Ohiopyle, you might not leave. Between the main section (Ferncliff peninsula) and Cucumber Falls and area, it's tough to run out of things to shoot. The run/stream down the road from Cucumber Falls is great in fall and winter.
Linn Run has some really pretty spots and a couple of good trails, but not nearly as much (though I like this one rocky section near the falls). I haven't been to McConnell's Mill, but I hear it's great. I plan to get there soon, so I can let you know how it is before you come up here.
I live 1/2 hour from Ohiopyle, if you don't want to shoot by yourself. Just let me know.

2F/2F said:

You can use filters to push the color balance toward being neutral in the shade. This will make it warmer in the daylight areas, though. It's good to be aware of this, but in all practicality, with negative film, you don't need to worry about it...nor do you with transparency film if you will be scanning anyhow.

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I'll add to this that a neutral density filter could be handy for extending your range of shutter speeds and thus providing more options for how "silky" you want your waterfalls to look. This type of filtering can't be reproduced in the darkroom.

For a transparency film, if you want something like UC, you might try E100VS from Kodak or one of the various Velvias from Fuji. (Do they have three varieties now? 50, 100, and 100F? I'm not sure.)

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I see that B&H has all three varieties, but I can't promise they're all still in production. (The 50 went out of production for a while but came back.) Velvia has a well-earned reputation for "punching up" contrast and color saturation, which might or might not be the sort of look you're after.

Raccoon State Park on Rt 30 about 5 miles into PA from Ohio just south of the river (Ohio River). Small freshets and cascades running down out of the hills when it is or has been wet.

"I'll add to this that a neutral density filter could be handy for extending your range of shutter speeds and thus providing more options for how "silky" you want your waterfalls to look. This type of filtering can't be reproduced in the darkroom."

Indeed. You can't replicate shutter speed effects from ND filters after the fact, obviously. I was referring only to colored filters and how digital printing has reduced their absolute necessity when shooting transparencies nowadays.

And there's the huge hydro-electric dam spanning the Ohio just south of Wellsville, OH and Newell, WVa.

I can't recommend McConnells Mills enough. I live about 35 minutes away from there. PM me for more info if you think you'll make it up that way. All the best. Shawn

Wow! Didn't expect so many responses. Bethe and Shawn, you may indeed be hearing from me. I do think I will concentrate on that peninsula around Cucumber Falls and upstream from the bridge. Another day to Cooper's Rocks, WVA. Then one day at MConnell's Mills. I'm going to stick with 400UC and 100GX.

Bethe, are you from Greensburg by any chance? I spent my first 21 yrs. (a long time ago!) in Latrobe.

Thanks for all the comments.

Gene

Astia.

paullgj said:

Wow! Didn't expect so many responses. Bethe and Shawn, you may indeed be hearing from me. I do think I will concentrate on that peninsula around Cucumber Falls and upstream from the bridge. Another day to Cooper's Rocks, WVA. Then one day at MConnell's Mills. I'm going to stick with 400UC and 100GX.

Bethe, are you from Greensburg by any chance? I spent my first 21 yrs. (a long time ago!) in Latrobe.

Thanks for all the comments.

Gene

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I'm living in Scottdale, actually. It's a little south of New Stanton. I only moved here a year ago, so I don't know all the good spots, yet. But I'm always looking for chances to go out shooting with people to find more good places. I really love Ohiopyle (there's a shot of Cucumber Falls on my website somewhere).

OK, we're getting ready to go, so I have to finalize my film choices. I'll have them shipped directly from B&H to Pittsburgh so I won't have to worry about airport scanners.

From my freezer, Astia 100F (have had great experiences with this on sunny days). From B&H 100GX and maybe 100UCC. Now, one more question Kodachrome 64. As has been mentioned, it would seem like a natural. My big question about Kodachrome 64 - does it need a warming filter in dark, overcast situations?