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Is a Graduated ND the answer?


clark_king1

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Alot of my negs come out with a washed out sky. Usualy it's when the

are alot of clouds in the sky. sometimes the exposure difference

does not look that great to my eye, however I must confess that I

rarely meter to check. My guesses are usualy pretty good but... At

what point should I use a Grad. ND filter? one stop difference, two

three...?

 

Clark

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Is there an issue with flare from the sky values as well? A lens shade may be in order, along with a ND filter to help the exposure. The polarizer may work, but if it isn't perpendicular to the axis of the sun, it won't work as well.

 

Try to meter the scene vlaues and then the sky values. With a transparency film like Velvia, there are only about 1 1/2 to 1 2/3 stops above zone V which will register with full values in the first place. Any more and something must be done to reduce overall contrast.

 

With negative film there is more leeway for exposure values, but the sky may still be an issue. In any event if you don't meter the scene, you will be wasting film by guessing and without taking notes on the scene values and comparing them to the finished film it will not be a learning experience. It will be like the mythical "Whiffle Bird" of old.

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Panchromatic film (most black and white films) are blue sensitive. That means the blue sky will expose as white unless some moderating filter is used. Yellow, orange, or red. And you can also use a deep green filter which will give you the same result as a red. A neutral density filter will do little compared to these other filters and unless you have a flat horizon you will knock down the tones in whatever is adjacent to the sky. You need to use care in which filter you use too. Where green trees are present, you will not want to use a red filter which will render the green of the trees as very dark or black in the print. Use a green filter which will bring down the tonal value in the sky while leaving the trees lighter. If you have red rock or red leaves or a red sunset you will want to use a green filter to darken them or a red filter which will make them even lighter. Get yourself a color wheel to find out which filter will render your scene the way you want it.
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