B&W filtration

[Kragmeister]

Greetings,

I've been shooting B&W exclusively for a while, and started developing my own film again. One issue has cropped up. If I don't at least put a yellow filter on the taking lens then the sky gets blown out. A yellow filter though seems to throw the tones of foliage out of kilter, leaves and grass turn light grey to nearly white.

I'd experiment with different color filters but my budget doesn't allow me to get much right now, especially since I like to stick with decent quality filters. I've got too many different size lenses and need dedicated filters for them all instead of step-up/down rings.

I have one orange filter and it actually makes foliage even lighter so I'm sure going red isn't the way. What other color would be better for darkening the sky tone and maintaining the tonality of the foliage? Would a light green filter be a better choice? Thoughts?

Thanks,
Greg

 

[VictorM.]

Sounds like your yellow filter is too dark. Try a light yellow or yellow green next time. You may also be overexposing the film. Experimentation is really the only way to determine film/filter/exposure requirements.

Series size filters are a good choice when many different sizes are needed.

 

[Kragmeister]

Hey Victor,

Series filters are a good idea, but I'm working with a variety of lenses with diameters running from 82mm to 39mm and Rollei Bay 1 size too boot. I'm using yellow K2 filters.

Later,
Greg