Filters - Yes, no, sometimes

[BNF]

I've found that very often, the color slides that are my personal favorites, have been taken with a KR3 / 81c filter. There is just something that I like about the warming tones to skin, to the otherwise cool shadows and to the architecture of Italy.

At the same time, I've rarely ever used filters with black and whites - mostly becaue I seldom shot it.

Now, I am thinking about getting some "medium yellows" for an intentional increase in my black and white work. I am trying to bump up the contrast and dimensions in my general travel work.

Do you think that yellow is the best all around filter for b/w work?

Do you also have favorites that are not UV/protection?

 

[bmattock]

red, medium yellow, and orange are about all I use for B&W. I seldom use green, never blue, and the in-between shades just confuse me. For B&W and color, I often use a polarizing filter, as there is no digital equivalent.

 

[Santafecino]

Nice questions. For general B&W work I usually leave a yellow (K2) filter on the lens. But frequently I switch to a green filter, which seems to add zest to landscapes while still strengthening the clouds. I recommend that you get a yellow, orange, red, and green filter for at least one of your lenses and take a series of 4 shots of various landscapes to check the effect.

I have seen blue filters but have no idea why one would use one. The film is already too blue-sensitive.
--Lindsay

 

[Roger Hicks]

'Yes, no, sometimes' sums it up pretty well. I like a light yellow but I don't think it really makes that much difference; generous exposure seems to me at least as good for tonality. Orange and red add a lot of drama -- sometimes too much, in the case of red -- but quite honestly, despite having tried greens on and off for decades, I've never seen the advantage in them. To me, content and composition are paramount, followed by rich tonality; I'm just not that sensitive to grain, bokeh or indeed sharpness in many cases.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[RdEoSg]

I shoot a yellow almost always on my 35 and love the results. The only time I remove it is in the evenings when I need that extra stop of light.

That extra stop also lets me shoot at 2 or 2.8 during the day time in some instances which is an added benefit.

 

[bmattock]

That extra stop also lets me shoot at 2 or 2.8 during the day time in some instances which is an added benefit.

That's a very good point. I used to carry a couple of ND filters around for the same purpose - haven't used them in years, though. I should, the reasoning behind them is still sound.

Oh, I remember now. My most recent film SLR has a higher shutter speed and that allows me to open the lens up even on a fairly bright day. But for my vintage cameras, it is still a very good idea when you want an open aperture for the effect it gives. Excellent point.

 

[palec]

Yellow filter during sunny days, sometimes orange, red very rarely.

 

[Ade-oh]

My filter of choice on sunny days is a light yellow-green X0 which gives depth to skies, strengthens skin tones and lightens foliage rather attractively. I agree it isn't a huge difference but it makes printing easier, which is a good thing, IMHO.

 

[kipkeston]

I'm going to get a red 29 soon to shoot my HIE. I usually have the UV on. I also have a 3 stop ND for when the fast roll of film carries over into daylight.

 

[sepiareverb]

The medium to dark yellow might be a good choice to start- more effect, but not as much as the orange, which can indeed be too much at times. (B+W 022 or 023). The 81A is an old not-so-'secret weapon' for stock shooters, just a hint of that warming you like with the 81C will often make a slide more appealing.

I shoot 81A or B on most of my color these days, going for the B in the city, where tall buildings give a colder light to the street-level stuff I'm shooting. For B&W I like a B+W 021, 022 or 023 Yellow, sometimes throwing an orange on a wide angle for bringing down blue sky tone. I've not shot with a red filter in 20 years I'd guess.

ND filters are good to have along- as kipkeston says, a fast roll in bright light, or when you really want to shoot at 1.4