Green Filters for B&W

DREW WILEY · Jan 13, 2016

I'll admit that I don't carry the XO yellow-green around much anymore. That's because I've been shooting a lot of ACROS (in multiple formats), which renders the same look all by itself, with its orthopan sensitivity. Mountain and desert light in particular look much more
natural and buoyant with this film than on conventional pan films, especially the foliage. Now blue filters are a different subject. I just printed a shot from last summer in the High Country where some residual forest fire smoke rendered a sense of atmosphere to a particular view that I've been seeking for many years. That condition could either be visually reduced using a red filter to essentially "see through" the light scatter, or exaggerated using a blue filter to accentuate it, much like the wonderful sense of distance in 19th century blue-sensitive emulsions. Sepia filters might be nice for color portraiture of Sicilian mobsters.

Sirius Glass · Jan 13, 2016

I have a large stock of clear and blue flash bulbs so I will not be using the blue filter indoors soon.

RalphLambrecht · Jan 13, 2016

Andrew O'Neill said:
I second the use of a Wratten #11 green filter. One of my favourites.

maybe just personal taste;I can live without it;yelow and orange is all I need.

RalphLambrecht · Jan 13, 2016

DREW WILEY said:
No sharp portraits? Look at AA's legendary 8x10 shot of Carolyn Aspachner, done full f/64 style with every pore in her face in focus. Utterly
gorgeous, though the "fuzzy-wuzzy" school threw a tantrum over it. Depends on the complexion and specific model of course, as well as the
lighting. Nearly all the large-format portraits I've done were shot hard-sharp, but then printed very delicately.

I'm not familiar withthat specific image but it may be a reason why AAwasn't well known as a portrait photographer.would like to know what Yosuf Karsh or George Hurrell thought of filters.:confused:

Sirius Glass · Jan 13, 2016

RalphLambrecht said:
maybe just personal taste;I can live without it;yelow and orange is all I need.

That is why I have been looking for 86mm filters in KR1.5 [for color], yellow, orange and red in my APUG Classified.

Theo Sulphate · Jan 13, 2016

Sirius Glass said:
... However I am in the western US were trees are common in the mountains such as the Sierras or the Wasatch but no so common in the open land. ...

I saw a tree in Tustin once. It's probably gone.

Sirius Glass · Jan 13, 2016

The tree was removed for a better view.

Roger Cole · Jan 16, 2016

In the east they cut down the trees to build subdivisions then name the streets after them.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk and 100% recycled electrons - because I care.

frank · Jan 16, 2016

Roger Cole said:
In the east they cut down the trees to build subdivisions then name the streets after them.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk and 100% recycled electrons - because I care.

I live on Pine street and in my neighbourhood there are Maple, Cedar, and Balsam streets.

ColColt · Jan 16, 2016

Yep, we have Cedar Lane, Oak Ave and Poplar St here. Maybe Sweet Gum Avenue next.

Bill Burk · Jan 17, 2016

Sirius Glass said:
I have a large stock of clear and blue flash bulbs so I will not be using the blue filter indoors soon.

How are you going to balance the indoors with the landscape outside the windows?

Bill Burk · Jan 17, 2016

DREW WILEY said:
No, I wouldn't spend $30 or $40 on a green filter. I'd want something better. I use these quite a bit.

Haaa, better than that.

But even the good filters leave ghost images, right? Remember the movie theater marquee shot that had us puzzled for a long time... The more glass surfaces you add to the light path the more ghosts appear in shots with bright lights in view.

Sirius Glass · Jan 17, 2016

Bill Burk said:
How are you going to balance the indoors with the landscape outside the windows?

Where I take landscape photographs is so far from buildings that that has not been a problem.

Bill Burk · Jan 17, 2016

Sirius Glass said:
Where I take landscape photographs is so far from buildings that that has not been a problem.

Maybe you can fill the shadows?

p.s. I didn't know if you were Sirius that you had no use for blue flashbulbs... I just think they'd come in handy a lot of ways.

Sirius Glass · Jan 17, 2016

I have and use both clear and blue flash for black & white and color, respectively. What I do not have much use for is a blue filter. When I did a lot of night photography I used tungsten slide film. I have not do night photography in years, hence my comment about not having much need for a blue filter. I have them, I just do not use them.

John Koehrer · Jan 17, 2016

RalphLambrecht said:
I'm not familiar withthat specific image but it may be a reason why AAwasn't well known as a portrait photographer.would like to know what Yosuf Karsh or George Hurrell thought of filters.:confused:

An old quote: "Adams makes people look like rocks, Weston make rocks look like people."

Sirius Glass · Jan 17, 2016

John Koehrer said:
An old quote: "Adams makes people look like rocks, Weston make rocks look like people."

Ansel Adams could do great portraits, he just chose not to. See below:

drmoss_ca · Jan 17, 2016

I tried a green filter for a portrait today, but not having taken the same photograph without the filter, I can't say very much about the difference it made!

M2, Summarit 90 and green filter, XP2, HC-110, two CFT lights, Hasselblad X1 scan:

Pippa 2016 #1 by chrism229, on Flickr

Chris

Bill Burk · Jan 17, 2016

Sirius Glass said:
I have and use both clear and blue flash for black & white and color, respectively. What I do not have much use for is a blue filter. When I did a lot of night photography I used tungsten slide film. I have not do night photography in years, hence my comment about not having much need for a blue filter. I have them, I just do not use them.

Oh geez did I read that wrong. I kept thinking blue flashbulbs.

85B is a good filter to use for setting up a sensitometer.

I also enjoy using the deep blue tricolor separation filter to "simulate" ortho film. You know the black lips - parched white skies look.

Though my daughter says she'd wear black lipstick if necessary.

Green Filters for B&W

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