number 15 filter question

[Tim Kimbler]

I took 4 pictures last weekend. Two with no filter, and two with my new number 15 filter, of the same subject. I gave 2 extra stops to the ones with the filte r. My mistake was using the same subject, obviously. Two are lighter and show less detail in the negative. Two are darker and show more detail in the negativ e. I hope the darker ones are the filter pictures. I have never used a filter and I'm not sure which is which. Any thoughts from those of you with a lot more experience? I'm going to the southwest and hope this filter will improve my ph otographs.

[Ellis Vener]

Try shooting polaroid tests and labeling them or shoot the same subject with rea l film, just make one image a horizontal and one a vertical and make a note of w hich is which.

[Christopher Cline]

Hi Tim

I think you will really enjoy your visit to the southwest. While the "reds" in the red rock country seem very vibrant, they are actually fairly low in color saturation. I would highly recommend the stronger 3 stop filters (#58 green and #25 red), and perhaps a polarizer. You will be trying to get good contrast separation between whitish rock, yellowish rock, red rock, dark red rock, and black desert varnish, and the stronger filters help quite a bit. If it helps any, visit my web page with my Colorado Plateau photographs. I list the technical details with each photograph, including which filter I used. Since you don't know what the original colors of the scene were, it may not make complete sense why I used a particular filter, but if you have any questions, just send me an E-mail.

Chris Salt Lake City, UT http://risky.wcslc.edu/pers-pages/c-cline/cline.html

[Christopher Cline]

Oops, sorry. The correct URL is:

http://risky.wcslc.edu/pers_pages/c-cline/cline.html

[Peter Hughes]

I keep three filters in my bag at all times, no matter which camera from 35mm, 120 or 8x10I am carrying: a #8 Yellow, a #15 Orange and a #25A Red (or their equivalents). Ironically, I have found that a #15 has a tendency to decrease rather than increase contrast in most landscapes (excluding the sky, of course). I'm not sure why this is. For really snapping things up, you can't beat a #25A, but beware that the suggested 3 stop increase is only a starting point; more may be required depending on the lighting and other factors. A #8 can be used almost routinely with little (1/2 stop) increase in filter factor. On very rare occasions I may shoot with a #47 Blue, and even more rarely a #58 Green. See some of my Southwest/California landscape/nudes at http://www.ravenvision.com/rvaearth.htm A few were shot with #15 or #25A filters. For example of a #47 see http://www.ravenvision.com/rvapeterblackstar.htm