I need some advice about black and white filters

[sully75]

Hello all,

I have been studiously avoiding using filters thus far, but I'm starting to get annoyed with burning in skies so much in photoshop...I think I could get some more interesting results without so much work if I understood filters a bit better.

I'm also considering getting a 6x17 back at some point. I read somewhere here where Christopher Broadbent was talking about the importance of using graduated filters for doing panos...so that's been on my mind.

So I'm wondering what the general recomendation would be? I just got some nice lenses, neither of which have the same filter size. I'll probably have another two lenses soon. I guess that all points to something like the Lee system. I do most of my photography out of a backpack, walking around the city (at least right now), so something that's the minimum of fuss would also be nice. So I'm torn between getting some screw on filters and wanting more flexibility.

Any thoughts/resources/admonishments?

Here's an example that I think would have been better with a yellow filter.


Untitled by Paul McEvoy, on Flickr

This one, I'm not sure...is there something that would take down a hazy sky?


Untitled by Paul McEvoy, on Flickr

[Tony Evans]

Yellow filter should very little for a grey sky, unless there is blue around somewhere.

[E. von Hoegh]

The basic rule is, filters lighten like colors, and darken opposite colors. Use the least dense filter possible to get the desired effect. Be careful not to overexpose, it reduces the filter's effect. Overcast skies are tough to bring down.

Your second shot looks to have a bit of lens flare in the upper right corner.

You could purchase a set of filters to fit your largest lens, using adapter rings for the others.

[Bob Salomon]

Take a look at the with and without shots here:

http://www.heliopan.de/produkte/schw...ssfilter.shtml

[Stephane]

No filter needed: double exposure using a mask. I think it is called "in-camera dodging".

[E. von Hoegh]

No filter needed: double exposure using a mask. I think it is called "in-camera dodging".

Where do you get the mask?

[Steve Hamley]

Using graduated filters is problematic when you have an irregular skyline, as in both your examples. The filter line will bisect a building and it will not look right. If the skyline is relatively straight, a GND can help.

If the sky is blue, yellow, orange, and red filters will progressively darken it with B&W films, as will a polarizer for B&W and color.

With a white sky or bright clouds, you might also try a compensating or semi-compensating developer like PMK pyro or pyrocat-HD. -MC, etc. These developers will help hold detail in the highlights.

Cheers, Steve

[sully75]

Steve,

Thanks, I got that about the ND filter. I knew it was not appropriate for these shots. Then again, I'm not sure what shots I'm thinking it's going to be appropriate for. I live in the city...

I've avoided the pyrocat developers because right now my "darkroom" is my kitchen that I share with 2 roommates and 2 cats. Am I right that there's no non-toxic pyro developer?

So is the general consensus that it makes more sense to use glass filters and some step up rings rather than a Lee Filter system?

[Darin Boville]

Hey Paul,

No color filter will hep you much here, in terms of darkening the skies, since they are colorless, or nearly so. Not sure a developer-based solution (no pun intended!) is what you are after since that will affect all high tones, not just the sky. Maybe photoshop really is the quickest/best solution? Assuming you have the data in your scan/file, of course.

You could always do some sort of merging of two exposures...

--Darin

[Mark Stahlke]

I prefer screw-in filters unless I'm using graduated neutral density filters. If you go with something like a Lee system be aware that it's possible to get reflections off the lens side of the filter if the sun is behind the camera. That's never a problem with screw-in filters because there's no gap between the lens and the filter.