Filters---8, or 12? or 15?

[Vaughn]

And 3) What film you are using. I liked a light yellow back in the day, but found that TMax films did not need it...and darkened the sky too much when I did use one.

I am another one who prefers a lighter, more natural sky. But I understand the desire to compensate for the lack of the impact of blue in the sky by making a more dramatic dark sky...or whatever reason one has for doing so...plenty of valid ones.

I use a yellow filter now mostly in the fall to brighten up the yellow leaves amongst the redwoods.

[Merg Ross]

And 3) What film you are using. I liked a light yellow back in the day, but found that TMax films did not need it...and darkened the sky too much when I did use one.

I am another one who prefers a lighter, more natural sky. But I understand the desire to compensate for the lack of the impact of blue in the sky by making a more dramatic dark sky...or whatever reason one has for doing so...plenty of valid ones.

I use a yellow filter now mostly in the fall to brighten up the yellow leaves amongst the redwoods.

Good point about type of film. I was raised using a K2 (Yellow-#8) and have found the (Orange #16) useful along with the (Green#58). Keep it simple!

[John Kasaian]

Thanks, Merg!

[Martin Aislabie]

What filter you need depends great deal on the type of skies you encounter when shooting.

If you shoot most of the time under the very deep blue skies of the dry atmosphere of the western deserts, then a fairly pale yellow (08) is all I found I needed (I don't like my skies to be too dark)

However, if you shoot under paler, more water laden skies, then you might prefer a darker yellow (No 12 or 15)

Martin

[J. Patric Dahlen]

Too dark skies look unnatural, for example when the sky is already deep blue and you use an orange or a red filter that gives you white clouds on an almost black sky. A #3 or #8 yellow would look best then, like Martin said.

However, if you shoot under paler, more water laden skies, then you might prefer a darker yellow (No 12 or 15)

Yes, and the #15 or #16 (yellow-orange) would also cut through haze and sharpen up details like mountains and trees in the distance, wich is good to know if you want that or not.

[LabRat]

Yellow/Orange filters will penetrate haze well, but non Y or O objects will be considerably darkened, so water, foliage, etc will photograph darker (maybe too much), and desert sands in sunlight might be too bright... Test first at your usual photo sites before jumping in whole hog...

If you just need a little haze cutting/a little extra contrast, you can use a polarizer or light ND filter (just like your sunglasses)...

Steve K

[David Lobato]

I have photographed quite a bit at high altitudes in Colorado where UV light is strong on a clear day. A yellow filter will drop the shadow values unexpectedly due to the strong blue light. Once with a yellow filter I tried to brighten yellow Fall aspens but the shadows were so dark I could not make a good print. A polarizer would have been a better choice.

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

More curves

From Doremus Scudder
" ... my stripped-down filter kit is: #8, #11 (yellow-green), #15, #25, 80A (which I use like I would a #44 filter to achieve ortho effects on panchromatic film) and a polarizer. "

and from Merg Ross
"I was raised using a K2 (Yellow-#8) and have found the (Orange #16) useful along with the (Green#58). Keep it simple!"

[Drew Wiley]

Depends on the specific film. But I tend to go with the hard multi-coated Hoya filters instead of the soft B&W ones, except for the 22 deep orange. Hoya jumps from a light orange right up to the 25 red. Tiffen filters smudge up easily, though they do have a big selection. I rarely carry more thsn three contrast filters at a time, but the specific choice varies with the film and topography. I like a deep green in the desert.

[Martin Aislabie]

I have photographed quite a bit at high altitudes in Colorado where UV light is strong on a clear day. A yellow filter will drop the shadow values unexpectedly due to the strong blue light. Once with a yellow filter I tried to brighten yellow Fall aspens but the shadows were so dark I could not make a good print. A polarizer would have been a better choice.

Polarizers darken the shadows too.

You really need to watch your exposure with polarizes so that you don't loose the shadow details.

Martin