Advice on B&W film for travel

Hello Folks,I shoot almost exclusively B&W film with a Nikon F100 and

have a traditional wet darkroom. Most of my work is

portrait/weddings/event photography etc. which I enjoy immensely. In

three weeks,my wife and I,for the first time together,are travelling

across Canada(east to far west)over a twelve week period to

hike/trek/canoe our National and Provincial Parks. Yes I have shot

slide film, Velvia, Provia etc. but am seeking advice/opinions on B&W

film only for this trip. My backpack will be about 35 pounds

including camera gear. I realize there may be a wide range of

opinions and noticed such on searching past postings. I am excited

about the possibilities.A thousand thank yous for your counsel.

Whatever you take with you, make sure you take some Tri-X for that classic grainy look. I would also suggest some Ilford Delta 100, very fine grained. Efke 25 is also said to be awesome but I have never used it. Oh yeah, don't forget your tripod and have a nice trip!

Why not just shoot what you're using now? I'm sure you're comfortable with exposing, developing, and printing it. Can you be that comfortable with a new film in 3 weeks? What do you think you're current film will be lacking in?

 

Alan

take some color filters with you - more important than a new film? If you use a new film try it out first .-) My impression was that different brands of BW film reflect different tastes as much as different developers. So any ilford kodak fuji will do if it fits your taste of tonality. for traditional landscapes a fine grain film may do well. if shooting different light matching film gamma and natural light contrast would be important (of course easier with sheet film and individual dev.).

My standy for more than 30 years has been Tri-X regardless of the subject. If you're looking for fine grain and will be using a tripod there's always Ilford Pan F and Kodak claims that Tmax 100 is as fine grained as the old Panatomic X of the old days. But don't experiment on a trip like this. If you're going to try something new, shoot some tests before you go, then settle in on one film and stick with it. What do you currently use?

When I travel with B&W film, I always have Tri-X, HP5+, APX100 and PanF... pretty much covers anything I care to shoot with B&W film.

Fuji Neopan 400 & Ilford Delta 100.

 

Russ

Use what you know.

Though for landscapes if you want something with punch have a bash at APX100 developed in rodinal.

Any major brand, medium speed B&W film is a good, all pupose choice. 35mm

enlargements will benefit from the added contrast and tighter grain. I would also

recommend a light yellow~yellow/green filter for landscapes and an orange filter for

increased contrast on flat days or better clouds. Definitely take your polarizer filter

for reflection reduction.

When I travel to a place that I may not have a chance to return to in the future, it is the anxiety of not being able to successfully capture and develop the negative that is my primary concern.

 

So, with that in mind my advice is to pick an ISO 400 speed film known to push well and has lots of exposure latitude. This gives you the best chance to capture the image without camera shake, the best chance that a hasty exposure can be developed into a usable negative, and the least possibility that variances in development procedure will not prevent you from obtaining satisfactory results.

 

Use the ISO 100 speed stuff and the T-MAX/Delta stuff film for fine art stuff.

Thanks ever so much for your collective counsel. Alan, your point is well taken. My current favourite film flavor is Tri-X and it is not lacking anything. I just like to splash about/experiment with everything photographic. There are some B&W films recommended here which I have never tried -Delta 100 is one of them - so I will try a few. Again my thanks.