Proper Filter For Street Lights

[craig_sander]

Which filter(s) would be the correct one to use for high pressure or low

pressure sodium vapor streetlights?

I am trying to take some pictures of an old bridge near my house, and the

streetlights are wreaking havoc with my shots. I tried using Tungsten balanced

film, but that only turned the orangish light cast to a green.

Has anyone had any luck converting the low (deep orange) or high (peach color)

sodium vapor lights into a neutral color?

Thanks so much.

[Ed_Ingold]

The orange lights are high pressure sodium vapor, and the spectrum is a little broader than the pure yellow of sodium in the chemistry lab. I have tried Daylight, Tungsten and custom white balance with a DSLR, with little success.

 

IMO, the best approach is to shoot in B&W - my ultimate solution even with a DSLR.

[art_haykin]

That yellow light is very "pure" and of a single frequency, ergo, nearly impossible to correct. Try a deep blue.

[Ed_Ingold]

The orange lights are high pressure sodium vapor, and the spectrum is a little broader than the pure yellow of sodium in the chemistry lab. I have tried Daylight, Tungsten and custom white balance with a DSLR, with little success - there is very little blue in the spectrum.

 

IMO, the best approach is to shoot in B&W - my ultimate solution even with a DSLR.

[stephen_w.]

Sorry to be repetitive.

 

http://www.photo.net/equipment/filters.html

[pvp]

Those responses cover it pretty well. To paraphrase: you can't get there from here. Because the spectrum is discontinuous and has such a narrow band of colors, you're going to be stuck with those colors or have to resort to black and white.

 

You might be able to do some post-exposure processing (i.e., in Photoshop or similar) to improve color rendition, but it will be difficult I think. I just accept the weird colors in night shots with artificial lights, as part of the charm of shooting at night...

[wirehead]

You should find some information about what filters to use in your film's datasheet. It kinda depends on the film.

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<a href="http://www.wireheadarts.com/blog6.html">I've blogged about this</a>....

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I don't think you can get a normal look if there's a combination of the high and low pressure sodium vapor streetlights. Even if you correct for high pressure sodium vapor lights, the low pressure ones will still mess with your colors.