Color pictures from B&W vs. Color film

[Gene McCluney]

You have to have separate "records" of the Red, Blue and Green content of the original scene to be able to combine all three in photoshop to get a full color image. If you shoot without filters, then the film will record all colors at once as shades of gray. When you filter your camera, you are excluding all colors except for the one you wish to record on a particular piece of film. I am sure you can see that you need separate "captures" of each primary color (as shades of gray) to be able to reproduce the colors correctly when combined in photoshop.

[Gene McCluney]

Also, for another "vintage" look, you could try the 2-color system, of exposing thru just 2 filters, a salmon color and a cyan color. This does not produce "true" full color, but can be fairly accurate on skin tones and things, and was the basis many color processes prior to 3-color Technicolor, in fact Technicolor was a 2-color process prior to the introduction of the 3 color process in 1932.

[Peter K]

The first Kodachrome process from 1915 was also a two-color-system. It used red and green superimposed images.

[cotdt]

Also, for another "vintage" look, you could try the 2-color system, of exposing thru just 2 filters, a salmon color and a cyan color. This does not produce "true" full color, but can be fairly accurate on skin tones and things, and was the basis many color processes prior to 3-color Technicolor, in fact Technicolor was a 2-color process prior to the introduction of the 3 color process in 1932.

Very interesting! Can we see examples of this?

[cotdt]

The first Kodachrome process from 1915 was also a two-color-system. It used red and green superimposed images.

what about the blue skys? red and green clouds?

[Peter K]

There is an interesting site at http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/oldc...chnicolor1.htm

[Kirk Gittings]

and be much cheaper than using color film

If you think this method is cheaper than shooting color film you are assuming that your time is worth nothing.

[cotdt]

If you think this method is cheaper than shooting color film you are assuming that your time is worth nothing.

actually this method would save me a lot of time compared to what i'm doing now, which is coloring my B&W prints by hand using a fine brush.

[Bruce Watson]

By taking a set three B&W pictures, one with red filter, then green filter, then blue filter, and merging the colors together in Photoshop will give the color picture, and be much cheaper than using color film. Has anybody had experience with this method and its effectiveness?

Been there, done that. It's called Technicolor. There were even still LF cameras made to do this which exposed three B&W frames at a time (5x4 film IIRC). I saw one once but don't remember who made it.

The printing technique is called dye transfer. If you want to go the analog route. Same technique used by Eliot Porter and more recently by Charles Cramer and Ctein.

But if you think this is going to save you any money I'd say considerably more research is needed on your part.

[Peter K]

If you think this method is cheaper than shooting color film you are assuming that your time is worth nothing.

Of course one has to find filter factors and develping times for the film in use, but when this is done one can work nearly as fast as with color neg film. Scanning and PS helps a lot compared with Dye Transfer or other printing processes. And it's much cheaper too. The only problem, the "exposure time" is realy long.