Filter Question

Ben Hur

Ben Hur

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Name
Adey
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Hi all

Apologies in advance, I've gone round and round, and all I want is a bit simple advice.

I am going to shoot some black & white film, both portraits and landscapes, which filters would you suggest I buy? I'm not talking about which brand, but, I've seen a Yellow suggested for landscapes, would that be the same for portraits.

Thanks
 
Orange is a nice for people and if your out doors doesn't do anything too drastic to the environment.
 
I actually tend to like a Yellow-Green filter as it slightly darkens blues but also lightens greens at the same time so the effect on landscapes is usually quite nice. I'll try and dig out a shot or two where I remember using one. They do also work well for outdoor of people, especially if their in a 'green ' environment. Generally though I find that for people no filters are really needed.

As above though, I do also like the look of an orange filter as they work especially well for architecture as you get a nice contrast between the blue sky and buildings, plus its even better if its built of orange bricks. For general landscape though they also look very nice.
 
the other thing with yellow filters is that they cut through haze since they absorb blue light. So you get lovely clear shots. Obviously if its thick fog then it wont help with that :D but normal hazy conditions clear up well with one.

There is an excellent chapter in ansel adams "The Negative" that covers all the colour filters and their effects. Well worth a purchase.
 
Thanks for your info and the link, I've been swamped under by information overload. I'll start off with a Yellow-Green and Orange filter, and take it from there.

Samuel, I would be interested in seeing a few of your images using the Yellow-Green filter. The Ilford examples are minuscule.
 
I personally find a yellow filter to be ideal for most landscape situations. It passes enough green to keep vegetation looking natural, passes enough oranges and reds and yellows (obviously) for good sunset tones on B&W, while attenuating enough blue to add good amounts of contrast to a daylight partially cloudy sky. Orange for me personally is limited more to when vegetation is is more towards the yellower tones, like reeds, or autumn scenes. Red is for mega contrast... But you need to be careful with the exposure on some films; some films' red sensitivity starts to fall off rapidly, so you need to compensate for the exposure time to account for this possibility as well.

I don't have any comparisons for with and without, but all the LF B&W work on my flickr stream uses a yellow filter. Never really needed an orange thus far.
 
Thanks Woodsy, and I am enjoying your superb gallery.
 
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