B&W film for firework portraits

[nikon grrl. . .]

hi there. i want to take natural light, firework portraits on the fourth of july. i will be shooting medium

format. anyway, i know the fireworks will burn hot, and it will be difficult, but is there a film that can

handle this situation? for example, a child holding a sparkler at night, showing the details of the sparkler

and the details of the scene behind the child, as well as his/her face? any help is appreciated. oh, and i

sure don't want too much grain, either. thank you.

[ethan_kuefner1]

Not-blown-out highlights, which it sounds like you are looking for, _and_ very excellent

grain control are going to be a bit hard to find. T-MAX is not an option, as although it has

tubular grain emulsion, it blows out highlights way too easily. Tri-X is a traditional-grain

film, which gives fine prints and is well liked, but may be a little more grainy than T-MAX.

Ilford Delta, which is similar to T-MAX, but may have better highlights, may also be another

choice. I would suggest that you walk down to the local photo store and pick up a small roll

of each before the 4th, and see what you like. Good luck!

[stephen sullivan]

Do you know the location of where you'll be shooting? Why not buy a small box of sparklers and perform a test shoot with some Tri-X

[gasha]

I can recommend Ilford Delta 400. I shot one roll with fireworks (using tripod) and highlights were ok and grain was good. (Developed in Rodinal 1+100)

[jay_de_fehr]

Tmax 400. It's fast, straight lined, fine grained and pushes well. Delta 3200 is another option, but grainier. Good luck, and don't burn yourself.

 

Jay

[nikon grrl. . .]

thank you so much for the responses. i'll try the faster films and hope all turns out alright.

the mentioned films i'm not too familiar with, so it will truly be an experiment. thanks again:)