What MF film for mountain photos?

In July I'll be spending 2 weeks in the Canadian Rockies doing

landscape (rather than wildlife) photography with a Pentax 67. While

I generally like the enhanced colors of Velvia, I have some concerns

regarding it being able to handle the wide contrast range. While I'd

be tempted to use a polarizer to reduce the glare coming from the

snowy peaks, I'm concerned that it will cause the sky to become too

dark. The best transparencies will be drum scanned and the digital

files printed. I'll also shoot some of the more contrasty scenes

with Reala since it will better handle the contrast - but I'll not

have these drum scanned and will wait to get my own scanner at some

point in the future. I�ll use neutral densities filters only when

there is a straight line separating the brighter parts from the

lighter (it looks unnatural otherwise). Would Provia 100F better

handle the contrast? � By how much (1/2 a stop?). Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Your instinct on the polarizer is dead on. With modern saturated films, a polarizer is generally overkill unless you like navy blue skies. Cutting reflections on foliage and water--yes, skies--no. I like Provia 100F a lot, although sometimes the shadows can look a bit magenta or cyan. Provia 100F will not block the shadows as quickly as Velvia and your estimate of half a stop more dynamic range sounds about right. Another film to consider is Ektachrome E200. It has a softer palette and the grain isn't bad, especially in MF.

If you have not yet worked much with Sensia I would recommend that you give it a shot. It is half the cost of Provia and I find that it has very natural colors and quite a bit of exposure latitude for a slide film. It would be best if you could get a few rolls of each and try them out at home before taking them into the wilderness, just so you know better what to expect.

 

But then what do I know, I'm still way behind my $29 Universal Uniflex I. :D

 

Have fun in the Rockies! Remember to wear sunscreen.

I don't believe Sensia is available in 120 format. I would recommend sticking with Velvia for early morning and evening shots, and Provia 100F with a warming polarizer if you have to shoot in the middle of the day.

Paul, I did a lot of mountain photography in the Himalayas these last years.

 

First time I started I also used a few Velvia. It turned out to be an excellent film for early morning and late afternoon shots. Say till about 9 am and from 16.30 pm onwards. Shots taken between these hours had very harsh shadows and extreme contrasts. Not to good. I was glad I used astia for most shots. This is a very good allround film for mountainphotography. These days I use only Provia 100F. It has a smaller grain then Astia, looks a bit smoother to me and the colours are more saturated then those of Astia. It is also more easily available. However, I still have some 220 rolls of Astia in my freezer and when I return in 3 weeks I am going to use those rolls.

 

So my advice to you is either provia 100F or Astia. However, when you encounter overcast weather, nothing beats Velvia to give a gray weather just a bit more colour.

I photographed in the Canadian Rockies in July a couple of years ago. I think the point about Velvia being good for early/late shots but taking something else for the middle hours of a sunny day makes a lot of sense and I also think you can squeeze an extra half stop of dynamic range out of Provia 100F to use in the latter role. Astia is just too dull and lifeless for me I'm afraid.

 

However I also think that most of the photographic potential occurs early and late.

 

I recall using a grad. ND filter a lot so as to darken skies without the darkness you can gwt with a polariser, and certainly with the brand I use (HiTech) there is little evidence of a "line" with the soft versions. Nevertheless there are a lot of lakes and a lot of opportunities to polarise if you set the degree of polarisation with care.

 

As I recall there was less snow around than I expected.

Astia is the professional version of Sensia II 100, and is available in 120 or 220. I agree with Frank it is a great film - teeming it up with Velvia would be a good choice. I actually prefer it to Provia. Quite right about polarizers - with E6 films they seem to me to be unnecessary in most blue sky conditions unless you are after some graphic effect. I tend to use Astia for "everyday" subjects including people as it has a nice neutral palette - you do not always want the Velvia look.

 

As to the harsh shadows during the day (as opposed to morning and evening) I am not sure there is a lot you can really do about it whatever film you use really - I think it is more useful to ensure accurate exposure (no underexposure) and think whether the harsh contrast in the scene will actually work or not. After all the harsh contrast is there in reality too. Also as Astia is only a stop faster than Velvia, I might consider taking some 400F Provia instead, which is an excellent fast film and would give you a real speed difference. It is low contrast (like 100F) and has amazingly fine grain. I think it is a very useful film and of superb quality. I skip the 200 speed films altogether these days.

<p>Hi Paul,  </p>

<p>I live and do most of my photography in the Colorado Rockies. I shoot 4x5 and

more recently some 645 (for hand-held stuff). My most used film is ProviaF. I

still use some Velvia, but only for that sweet light early in the morning and

late in the evening. </p>

<p>I have some examples on my website (linked below) from a backpack trip last

weekend (not necessarily my best work -  but recent). As you mentioned,

using a polarizer on high altitude, clear blue skies can make them go almost

black on film. But, on occasion, I use a

<a href="http://www.naturalorderphoto.com/gallery/co/co-50112.htm">polarizer on

water</a>. I often use a graduated neutral density filter for

<a href="http://www.naturalorderphoto.com/gallery/co/co-50115.htm">morning and

evening shots of the mountains</a> - in this case a 3-stop soft. But mostly, I

add just an 81A warming filter to balance out the somewhat

<a href="http://www.naturalorderphoto.com/gallery/co/co-50118.htm">cool mountain

light</a> at elevation - about 10,000 ft. (this shot also has the 3-stop soft).

The 81A is useful as the morning sun gets higher in the sky.</p>

<p>I personally like the color balance and saturation of ProviaF and I've been

very happy with its performance.</p>

<p>Enjoy your trip! </p>

Ditto the recommendations for Provia 100F - it's become my standard film for architectural exteriors. Excellent for nighttime photos of lighted city exteriors too due to its latitude and reasonable reciprocity capacity.

 

Astia is slightly warmer and may be better at taming the high altitude "blues" without resorting to filters.

I was in the Canadian Rockies last summer and took Velvia, Provia 100f, and Agfa Optima 100 for my 6x9 Selfix 820 camera. If you have glacial ice in the photo along with shadow detail, forget Velvia. The Optima will preserve the tones in the ice and capture shadows. For less demanding shots I was generally more satisfied with the Provia 100F. I would also consider Kodak E100S and E100SW. Run a test under harsh lighting outdoor conditions. Use a polarizer to cut through mountain haze.