filters for bw film

[putri]

if i use a red filter to darken the clouds, will it lose me detail in the green hills and leaves?

[SCL]

Red transmits red and blocks blue & green, Green transmits green and blocks blue and red, Blue transmits blue and blocks red and green. It will not affect the details per se, merely the full transmission of the other colors. Look through the filter to see what it does!

[lex_jenkins]

Yes. If you need to preserve detail in green foliage because of exposure and development. Be careful to avoid overdevelopment.

 

Better yet, try a deep orange filter. You'll get dramatic skies and overall contrast without struggling to retain desired detail.

[dalahorse]

I'd try orange or dark yellow. I don't know anything about medium red (#25), but my dark

red (#29) turns green foliage black.

[SCL]

Russel - here is an example of the effect Example 1 is the color photo of the scene, Example 2 is the B&W conversion as if Tri-X had shot the picture, Example 3 is what the picture would look like if a red filter was used on the Tri-x. Hope this helps.

[SCL]

First Photo

[SCL]

2nd Photo

[SCL]

3rd photo

[ronald_moravec1]

A red will darken the blue sky and also the green foliage.

 

A green, yellow/green, or poloroid would be better. Maybe a grad density.

[lex_jenkins]

A red filter used with most b&w films would produce results more like this than the example Stephen posted. Some work during printing would be needed to produce satisfactory separation in the shadows and lower midtones. A deep orange filter would make this easier.<div></div>

[james___]

In the example number two, all that haze would wash out your sky anyway. The sky would not be as black as you might suspect yet the greens would be very dark indeed. Use a number 58 deep green filter. The sky will go dark and the greens will stay light and full of detail. Any reds will also be dark. To get the sky even darker, use a + development scheme and a polarizer if the sun is at the proper angle.