Flat light and Tri-X in 35mm

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Just when I finally worked out a time with XTOL 1+1 that gives me a normal development, it's fall again and overcast most of the time. Now I'm wondering which direction I should look at to get a full-scale print from my next 35mm.

I haven't really used filters so far because I wanted to see how my film looks before adding another variable, but I have on hand a light yellow, a minus-blue, and a red filter. Would a yellow-ish filter give a better contrast?

I guess I could develop more my negative, but then I fear the problem of having mixed lighting on the same roll. Would it be preferable to just stick to changing paper grades?

 

[Gerald Koch]

Using a filter is not going to increase overall contrast. You must use a shorter exposure and longer development time to do this. You might consider using a shorter roll when mixed lighting would be a problem.

 

[Bromo33333]

I haven't really used filters so far because I wanted to see how my film looks before adding another variable, but I have on hand a light yellow, a minus-blue, and a red filter. Would a yellow-ish filter give a better contrast?

I think it depends upon what you want to be white - Red flowers against green will do well with a red filter that makes the flower look white against the gray of the leaves. But if the problem isn't colors, but light, pushing the film is a good technique for that - though it can look really grainy and too contrasty if you aren't careful.

My wife uses Tri-x once in awhile (I just shot my first roll - straight) and regularly pulls the film 1 stop to give the picture a more "natural" look. She pushes to make it "pop" with contrast, and if she wants additional grain she pushes a lot.

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

OK, so that resolves into exposing a bit less and developping a bit more—"pushing the film" is pretty much equivalent to "N+1" in Zonie talk, I think. That makes sense, but I'll have to make more tests <lazy grumble>.

 

[Markok765]

underexpose a stop, and increase development 30%

 

[jim appleyard]

Roger Hicks has a rule called (I think; Roger please feel free to correct me here) the 5/15 rule. It's about shooting in flat light, exposing and developing to compensate for it. You can find it at www.rogerand frances.com.

 

[Papa Tango]

You may find that stand and semi-stand works very well to bring out local contrast on otherwise "flat" shooting conditions. There are several informative threads on the subject to be found.