Hello,
I shall be grateful if folks would recoomend a color negative film for
snow landscapes in cold northern winter scapes.
I have the kodak portra 160/400 nc and vc.
Thanks.
Paul, with respect, for a scene in which bright snow predominates, wouldn't the correct advice be to increase exposure rather than to decrease it from what the meter indicates? Perhaps I've misunderstood your meaning.
Since the meter tells you the exposure needed to render what it sees as medium gray (Zone V), unless you want your snow to look dingy gray, shouldn't you add exposure to render it as a Zone VII or VIII? Meaning, an additional two or three stops' exposure?
Paul,Keith,Mike..
Thanks for your responses. Paul, shouldn't I be increasing the exposure to
bring the snow from mid-grey to zone 7/8 as Mike suggests?
Thanks and best regards.
The idea that any film is "too fast" for the situation is crazy. That line of logic would only make sense if you had a camera with very minimal (or no) exposure controls, like a Brownie or a Holga. It is the contrast of the film that matters most, not the speed. Therefore, since as a rule of thumb faster films are lower in contrast, they are better than slower films for retaining highlight detail.
Personally, my first choice would be Provia 400 or 400X. I would place a low tone, see where the snow fell, and pull the development if necessary to get the snow to land where I wanted it tonewise. I have pulled this film 2 stops with no major color problems, and 2.5 stops with a correctable shift. (3 stops is right out, however.)
However, since you want a negative film, I would go for a warm-balanced, but low saturation film such as Kodak 400NC.
It is in no way easy to blow out the whites in this situation. You are far more likely to underexpose than overexpose when photographing light-toned surfaces. You would have to be very deliberate or just out to lunch to do it using an in-camera reflected meter.
Also, there is nothing wrong with your snow falling above zone VIII with negative film. In fact, "overexposure" to move your whole tonal range up the S curve can be a very effective way to deal with high contrast highlights, although it does give slightly more grain.
Depends on the camera, with MY film camera, which has a top shutter speed of 1/1000 @ F/16 it becomes an issue, when the meter says that it can't determine an exposure. If the fact I have an older camera disqualifies me from being able to advise someone on something, then please let me know, and I will just go away.
Photrio.com contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. To read our full affiliate disclosure statement please click Here. |
PHOTRIO PARTNERS EQUALLY FUNDING OUR COMMUNITY: ![]() |