Which Of These Shots Do You Like - B&W or Color?

[Old-N-Feeble]

I'm sorry I wasn't clear...

Old vs. new...

This homestead must be 100+ years old vs. the modern electrical power lines towering above it.

The idea is the contrast between the ages... progress... or "not".

That is the visual and cultural contrast I was looking for.

Yesterday vs. today... which is better?

[cowanw]

Do both.
have the old things, the ground, trees, sky and barn in Black and White.
Have the pole and wires in their natural colour.
Or see post #3

[Old-N-Feeble]

OK, here is a thought. Wait until the grass greens up and then shoot with the Ektar 100 plus a red enhancing filter to boost the reddish barn. Maybe add a polarizer to the mix for good measure. I'd try it with and without the red enhancer though, as perhaps some really vibrant green grass would create the illusion of the barn being more intense and the nice green grass could also symbolize the "new". This is what I would try if I wanted to stay full analog.

TAG

That's a great idea but the lighting is wrong in spring, summer and autumn. The sun is higher in the sky so there is no side lighting to illuminate the front of the building at any time of day because there are also the trees that shade the front and there's that that long porch cover. The building is oriented in the wrong direction for morning or evening light to illuminate the front at any other time but winter.

[Old-N-Feeble]

Maybe wait for snow to cover the ground instead of grass?

TAG

Heh... It hasn't snowed here for thirty years.

[Larry Gebhardt]

Heh... It hasn't snowed here for thirty years.

I'll mail you some ice. We've got a bunch of that, but not much snow.

As to your original question, I think I'd prefer a black and white version but with a more contrast. I'd try a version with the red filter, but also one with a yellow/green to lighten the foliage and darken the sky. That may help - or not.

[Old-N-Feeble]

Larry, thanks for the offer of the ice but it wouldn't last long here.

I don't think I have a yellow-green filter but I do have a dark green I can try.

[Andrew O'Neill]

The colour version wins. If you shot it with IR film, it would win. There would be more variation in tone, which would help the old house stand out. SFX would be a good choice as it's not over the top. The strongest filter I have used with this film is a #72. But since this is a LF forum, I highly recommend Rollei IR, or if you can find some, Efke IR.

[Old-N-Feeble]

I'll order some SFX or similar and give it a try. I have #25, #29 and #70 filters to try. IIRC, live oak leaves don't emit as much IR as most others.

So far, we have the following:

B&W pan with #25 and #58 filters
SFX with #25, #29 and #70 filters
Ektar 100

BTW, I don't want to shoot reversal film because I want the option to print analog.

TAG, thank you. You may be right about the brown grass adding to the effect. The few bare trees do the same. What I didn't mention is I already added a little contrast and color saturation to the color image in an attempt to "guess" at how Ektar 100 will render the subject. However, I may have gone too far with it. I suppose I could have the Ektar "pushed" to gain more contrast and saturation if need be.

Is Ektar 100 the contrastiest C41 film with the highest saturation? That may be what I need for this particular scene.

[Old-N-Feeble]

I went crazy today and purchased more film and developers to try. At the moment I only have Tmax 100 and Xtol on hand. I ordered a pro-pack each of Ektar 100, Rollei Retro 80s and Adox CMS II 20. I also added a bottle each of Adox Rodinal and Adotech CMS II film developers. I didn't intend on getting into this experimental mindset but I couldn't help myself.

I'm going to try all of these films on this subject... it's about as good as most other subjects in this part of the country... until springtime anyway. I'll try the Tmax and Retro 80s in both Rodinal and Xtol. It'll take some time but I'll update with results when I have them.

Oops... I just realized I need to order more chemistry bottles and I'm out of funds.

[Andrew O'Neill]

SFX is very nice in Xtol 1+1. If you need some reciprocity data, I have my own that I generated a few years ago.