which filter would you use?

[Gary L. Quay]

I've used orange filters from time to time. You may be able to darken the sky without blowing out the bridge. I have an orange Hi Tech.

[john borrelli]

Joe, I think the image looks great as is.

If you are asking how to increase the contrast in the sky, have you tried photoshop?

I recently made a decent cloud study with Ilford Hp5 using a polarizer and an orange filter. The sky in the negative really popped so the challenge was bringing out the sky in the print.

I first selected then increased the overall contrast of the sky using curves. I then used the selection tool and levels(or curves). I made small (almost painstaking) selections of parts of the clouds, isolating dark areas then light areas of the clouds. I brightened the light areas and darkened the dark areas of the clouds. I lightened or darkened selections of clouds closer to mid values depending on what looked best.

After this I minimally burned and dodged these same areas(not usually recommended as it is easy to overdo and hard to change if you overdo).

I then selected small areas of the sky using levels(or curves) to darken the sky areas. One of the last things I did was to use the sharpening tool(different than the filter). I took this tool and outlined the edges of the clouds, this sharpened up the edges of the clouds and made the clouds further stand out from the dark sky.

I am sure you could darken the bridge using the same techniques if you wanted to but again I think it is a great image as is.

[CG]

To answer your question as best I could, if you want more contrast, rather than filtering, I'd be tempted to try a slight bump up in developing time to get more zip, but truthfully, I like the image as I see it.

C

[Kirk Fry]

What about shooting it in color and splitting the layers in photoshop and recombining after changing the contrast as needed? K

[Michael Graves]

I'm with the #12. You'll darken the bridge a smidgeon, but lighten the sky by about half to 3/4 of a zone.

[Bill_1856]

Enjoy the view and buy a postcard.

[cjbroadbent]

I was taught to pack grads of various shades for B&W. Here's the one I use most for sky.

[ignatiusjk]

A #15 yellow with normal developement. The yellow filter will add separation to the clouds without having to much of an effect on the red bldg. The scene has enough contrast being late in the day.