Using a green filter with B&W landscape photos

Hi,

 

I want to start experimenting some more with using filters with black and white film. I mostly take landscape photos,

and I develop all my B&W pictures the traditional way in a darkroom. I've had pretty good luck with yellow and

orange filters, which seem to help reduce haze and darken the sky a little bit. I've also tried a 25A red filter, which

really darkens the sky and gives a pretty cool look. But the problem is that it also really darkens grass and trees,

and it seems like it makes it tricky to get good prints. It works with some pictures, but other times it gives kind of an

ugly "copper" look to landscapes because it darkens everything including grass.

 

I think I read somewhere that a green filter can also be used to darken the sky. And if I understand correctly, filters

tend to pass light that is the same color as the filter (lightening subjects of the same color), and block light that is

the opposite (darkening opposite colored subjects). So a green filter would tend to lighten plants in the photo, right?

What effect would it have on the sky? I'm thinking of getting a green filter if it would be useful.

 

Does anyone have any tips? What I really want to do is darken the sky, without darkening the rest of the landscape

too much. I know the look I probably want is infrared film, but before I jump into that I want to see what interesting

effects I can get with conventional black and white film.

 

And if anyone can post some examples of B&W photos they've taken using a green filter so I can see what effect it has, that would be really helpful.

 

Thanks guys!

<p>A green filter will darken the sky a bit, but not dramatically. Green objects will tend to look lighter due to increased exposure, since everything not green is darkened to some degree.</p>

<p>You might also consider a circular polarizer or a graduated neutral density filter if your only real need is to darken the sky.</p>

<p>I have green filters but almost never use them. They're supposed to be good for portraits among other uses. I use a yellow-orange filter when I want to darken the sky or put more contrast between clouds and sky. I do use a polarizer sometimes with color film but usually not often with bw film. I have used red but that is too much and the effect is too obvious. It always seems to me that a slightly knowlegeable person looking at a photograph should not obviously spot the technique. Darkening the sky with red almost always seems "too much of a good thing". The only other filter I use is a clear or uv filter to protect my lens surface when I am near the ocean (there is always some micro salt spray in the air it that is hazardous to coated expensive lenses.) </p>

<p>Hi Chris, I don't use green much for landscape. The orange, yellow, polarizer and gradated neutral density are my most used. I rarely use red. The best way to get a feel for it is to try it out on various scenes and see if you like what it's doing for you. The gradated neutral density is a must have to balance sky and land. I use Cokin brand and they work well and are more controllable than screw in filters.</p>

<p>have heard that green is best for portraits. Maybe a good suggestion would be to get one and try iy out.</p>

<p>I ran a series of trials some years ago using yellow, yellow-green, orange and deep green filters. The biggest effect in trems of lightening foliage came with the yellow (K2). The yellow-green was not significantly different. The orange darkened the sky much more than the yellow but did not lift the foliage, but the green had, to my eye, less effect on lightening foliage than the yellow. So, in conclusion, if I am shooting landscape then I will probably use a yellow filter.</p>

<p>This might seem counter-intuitive...but using a green filter while photographing the red rock often encountered in the southwest US really works for me. What happens here is that the green filter pushes the various reds down a bit on the film response curve, to a region of more linear response so that these reds can separate out better than they do when they're all scrunched up nearer to the top if using a red filter. At any rate....works for me! I credit my good friend and former student Rae Adams of Georgia for turning me on to this green filter - red rock combo. Rae, wherever you are....thank you!</p>

<p>John, I've had similar experiences photographing flowers. Shooting a white flower with pink markings using a green filter makes the pink markings dramatically darker. It's a very impressive effect. (On the other hand, shooting the same flower with a red filter makes the pink markings vanish completely!)</p>

<p>If you need more sky darkening than a yellow can provide, consider stacking a yellow and polarizer. The foliage will not darken as much as with a red, but the sky will be somewhat more dramatic than yellow alone. For some wild effects, pair the polarizer with a red filter.<br>

Don't forget that if you try stacking filters, you'll increase the chances of flare and image degradation. Also, don't forget that a polarizer works best when positioned 90 deg from the sun.</p>

<p>Are you talking about real green (Wratten #58) or the X1 which is half yellow and half green. They are very different but both potentially excellent depending on the circumstances.</p>

<p>Lynn </p>

<p>try graduated red filter, not as strong as red filter<br />this is what i use on landscapes<br>

IR400 (with filter) lightens greens well, very sharp</p>