Need filter recommendation

[joseph_wasko]

Hi Folks:

 

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I am shooting urban architecture. Many of the churches have copper clad steeples. This produces a dull green patina. I want to shoot these steeples against a blue sky with tonal separation. I would like the steeples to be highlighted, with some texture, and the sky to be a medium gray. (like a white painted steeple shot against a blue sky with a yellow filter). Does anybody have any filter suggestions? I am thinking maybe a yellow/green? All ideas welcome. I would rather have some imput before I buy. Thanks.

[joseph_wasko]

Oh, I forgot. I am using medium speed black & white pancromatic film.

(Ilford FP4)

[charlie_strack]

I would first try a polarizer. It will darken the sky, and you might

be able to control how much by the polarizing angle. You should

probably have a polarizer, in any case, as it is a very useful filter.

 

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A medium yellow, yellow/green or light green filter might work, too,

if the polarizer darkens the sky too much. Yellow is perhaps the most

useful filter, so again it wouldn't hurt to have it.

 

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If you go to a local camera swap meet, you could probably pick up

some used filters just to look through. Your local art supply store

might have some colored plastic sheets that you could also use for

estimating the effect.

 

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If you don't have a black and white viewing filter, this should be

your first purchase. It will give you a good idea as to whether or

not you need a filter at all.

[robert_pellegrino]

I would reccommend a "yellow-orange" filter to highlight the copper

while darkening the sky.

[david_goldfarb]

I think the copper is oxidized, so it's green, not copper colored.

This is tricky, since green and blue are so close. I'd try

yellow-green and green to lighten the steeple, but also try orange and

maybe deep orange for comparison, to see what it looks like to darken

the steeple. Hard to say what yellow will do--depends on how yellow

the green is, but try that too. I would probably go out one day and

make a test with roll film to see what works before taking out the

large format camera.

[jnorman1]

a #40 or #41 orange filter will generally work well for any outdoor

architectural application without being overly dramatic. to

specifically highlight a greenish roof against a blue sky, you might

want to use a #61 yellow-green filter which will lighten the green

and still give you a darkened sky tonality.

[charlie_strack]

My suggestion of a polarizer was based on oxidized copper, thus the

separation between the polarized light of the sky, and less polarized

reflection by the extremely diffused copper oxide.

 

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If I had a copper oxide steeple (or something) I'd take a look at it.

I can't think of any near me.

 

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Another thing to check out would be the cut-off curves for the

filters. It would let you see how sharp the difference between green

and blue are. Don't forget, too, to check out the spectral

sensitivity of the film. Some are much less sensitive to blue.

 

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I think TMax 100, Tmax 3200, and Ilford 3200 have reduced blue

sensitivities. TMax 100 (according to Kodak) acts as if it had a

light yellow filter; the two 3200 films are frequently used for

artificial light, which has less blue, so they balance the dyes to

make better use of the colors available.

[joseph_wasko]

Thanks for your numerous responses. After your input, and after

examining Bernard Suess "Creative Black & White Photography" it seems

that the #40 yellow/orange will show the greatest contrast

difference. This seems a little counterintuitive, since I suspected

#60 yellow/green would transmit all green and block blue. But what the

heck, I go with the majority and I will work with the #40

yellow/orange the hardest. Thanks again, I will place my order with

B&H this evening.