Is this subject brightness range impossible for slide film?

[loccdor]

I was using Provia 100F. You can see the curve below I applied to the image. It needed to be exposed at EV15 to keep the detail in the sky, but I think the wooded areas in the scene can't be more than EV11. Viewed in-person, these woods were quite rich and colorful, not dark.

If I apply a second curve to try to pull up the shadows a little more, I can make it more like you would see with your eyes, but the gradation becomes harsh and odd looking.

If I'm out shooting slide film, are there things that can be done to improve the image from a scene like this? Or is this just something that's just going to be better on negative? Should I be carrying some kind of adjustable square neutral density filter than I can darken the sky with? Will that make the shot look unnatural? Thanks for your ideas.

 

[koraks]

If I'm out shooting slide film, are there things that can be done to improve the image from a scene like this?

Use a graduated neutral density filter.

The SBR does indeed far exceed what slide film will generally capture. Back when it was still available, Fuji Astia would have been your best shot at something this, although this particular scene would have been beyond its reach as well.

apply a second curve to try to pull up the shadows a little more, I can make it more like you would see with your eyes, but the gradation becomes harsh and odd looking.

If you're digitally processing and presenting this, there may be something you could do. Slide film tends to retain some differentiation even in deep shadow areas. You could make two scans of the same negative; one exposed for the sky, one for the shadow area in the foreground. Then apply adjustment curves to both parts separately, and blend them back into a single image, using selective masking. You can get a reasonably natural-looking result this way, provided the original slide has sufficient color information in the shadows.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Negative film probably will give you a little more leeway, but you still need a graduated neutral density filter for this kind of shot. The current shot won't be able to bring up the darker areas without getting a lot of color noise regardless how you scan. You can't get blood from a turnip.

 

[koraks]

Negative film probably will give you a little more leeway, but you still need a graduated neutral density filter for this kind of shot.

Color negative film will capture this OK without filter if exposure is set judiciously.

 

[gary mulder]

I've used a lot of 4x5" slide film in the past. But never found a satisfactory way to deal with high contrasts. Solutions have their own drawbacks. Graduated neutral density filter is not always invisible in the result. A polar filter quickly exaggerates the colors. Underexposed parts have an annoying blue cast. Which is very difficult to remove from a scan. Maybe you have some shadow details but the color is disappointing. Eventually I stopped using slide film and started using negative color film. Which also has the advantage that it can print analogue in the darkroom but scans with difficulty.