Stacking 80A (blue) filters & sodium street lighting (UK).

[david_jones18]

As there is no 35mm tungsten balanced film available I am using

daylight balanced film (Fuji Superia 100 or 400 ISO speed film).

 

I have got good results shooting with an attached B+W filter KB 15

(80A) when taking night shots lit primarily with sodium (orange)

street lighting that more approximates what the naked eye can see. I

would like to know whether I can shift the colour in the scene even

more towards the cooler side.

 

I am considering buying a further filter that is available, KB 20,

however I am not sure that this would result in an improvement in

the degree of filtration of the orange hues as the B+W catalogue

indicates that the mired shift for KB 20 makes it useful for low

wattage bulbs (15 W/candlepower) (2600 K) whereas KB 15/80A converts

100 W bulbs colour shifts to a 5500 (cooler) Kelvin from 3200 K

(warmer).

 

Would I see a difference when using the KB20 over the KB15 in the

degree of colour cast that remains (orange).

 

Also if I stacked another cooling filter I have, KB3 (82C) over the

KB15 would I see a difference in providing stronger intensity of

filtration or instead only an increased exposure in a similar manner

to a ND filter, as the KB15 filter has already filtered all there is

to filter in the wavelengths that the KB3 is useful at blocking?

 

Same question if KB15 and KB20 are stacked, what effects would I see?

 

Many thanks.

[steve_levine]

I have shot many night scenes without correcting the NA vapor lighting.This is a digital.

[david_jones18]

Nice shot, a bit blurred but it looks like you were on a moving train. Although it is difficult to tell the floodlights in your picture are different to the streetlighting used throughout most of my area (W Yorkshire, Northern England). It is likely that these lamps require less correction than the orange sodium streetlamps I find myself taking photos around. Having said this I took some street shots in Hull (E Yorkshire) which have in some streets a white-blue tinge to them. On Fuji print film these came out white without filter correction.

 

I suspect that your digital camera has added its own 'daylight' correction to the lighting but I cannot tell for sure, unless you dialed in manual Kelvin balance or set it to an Auto mode, i.e. Night shot, etc.

 

I try and upload some shots, one or two are blurred after a trip from a nearby pub (which sometimes helps to steady the camera) braced against a lamp-post.

[david_jones18]

80A filter (KB15) 30 s (F/4?) Canon 50 mm ISO 100 Superia.

[david_jones18]

Hull, E Yorkshire, no filter correction, taken under street lamp (not orange lighting). 24 mm at F/2.8-F4? (15 s?), some camera shake.

Happy with this colour balance.

[david_jones18]

Without filtration but taken under orange sodium streetlit lamps. I forgot to add 80A filter. Distant line is lighting storm I was trying to capture but nearby lighting has reduced its prominence.

[matt hedgecoe]

David,

 

Are the pictures you supplied scans from the print or scan from the negs? I suspect they are from the prints and that could well be where your problem lies. The third shot has a horrendous reddy-brown cast over the entire image which looks suspiciously like the result of an automated print machine trying to over-compensate for the large amount of dark areas. Using colour correction filters is always a hit-and-miss affair when shooting on negatives (unless you explain to the lab exactly what you are trying to acheive). If you have access to a film scanner, run your negs through it - You will probably be surprised with the results! The colours tend to be far more natural than the printed results. Stacking filters will have an slightly increased filtration effect but any benefits have to be weighed agaisnt the risk of loss of image quality and risk of flare - Anyway, the 80 range of filters are not suited to this kind of colour correction. If you want to remove the colour cast it is probably easier (and far more controllable) to make adjustments to the image digitally. It is of course worth bearing in mind that adjusting a night-time shot so that it looks like it was shot in daylight can produce a very un-natural and unpleasing effect! We are used to seeing things at night with a bit of an orange tinge to them from the street light, so don't over-do it!