sumo_kun Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Hi! I'm currently shooting Velvia mainly but now I've started to try my hand at street type (no people though) shots woth black and white. Velvia makes the scenes look way too colourful most of the time. What I'm looking for is a colour *slide* film which gives a muddy look. Kind of like a very low saturation and low contrast look with a slight browny cast. If possible this should be a film characteristic so no "do it in PS" or "use expired film" or "process it with goat's urine" or something. Using normal processes available at a lab, is there a film which gives this quality? I've heard some of Konica's films give this quality. I would go out and buy a bunch of films for testing but I thought it would be a little more logical if I got a starting point. Thanks for any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_levine Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Peopleless street shots?Goat urine processing?I would think that photoshoppe would be the answer to your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hkbmac Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 How about something like astia and a brown / yellow filter on the lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discpad Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Use B&W film with sepia or other toning: You can do the toning to your heart's content... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staticlag Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I wonder if microwaving the film would do anything favorable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans_beckert Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Anscochrome, ca 1973. Too bad you can not buy it anymore.... You may want to try EPN.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sumo_kun Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 Well, as I said PS is not an option because I don't have a computer, let alone a scanner. This is the work PC. Shooting with a brown filter might work but I think it'll give too much brown. I really only want a kind of flat, dull look, not full on brown. B&W with sepia would also be nice except I have no darkroom and I would also like some colour to my shots. And microwaving is no good either because I have no microwave. I think I'll try older technology emulsions. They might be dull enough. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_levine Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Most of us here devote our photographic efforts to getting the best that our film,processing & cameras are capable of.The idea of wanting to obtain crappy results "does not compute".There isnt any reliable way to anticipate results with out of date or damaged films,and anticpating results is what commercial photography is all about.I would rely on a post camera/film processing procedure to obtain what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G. Dainis Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I know you want to use normal processing but you may want to try pull processing if your lab will do that. I'm not sure about slide film but negative film will have a much lower contrast if overexposed and underdeveloped. i.e. shoot 400 ASA speed film at 100 ASA and process it as 100 ASA speed film. James G. Dainis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sumo_kun Posted February 19, 2004 Author Share Posted February 19, 2004 I realise that most people actually want super high resolution, vivid colours, and biting sharpness and I do as well for my landscapes. But, for my street type stuff I prefer the holga philosophy most of the time. Not quite as extreme as true Holga (I have one of them too!) but a sort of toned down, mellow feel is what I'm trying to create. I like to shoot street stuff. That doesn't include candids though. I like to shoot things like power poles, industrial sites, streets... you know, the general stuff you find in a big city. I try to create emotion in these shots rather than being a simple pretty picture, unlike most of my landscapes. That is why I choose either B&W or this colour slide film I'm trying to find. Films good for landscape for me don't give the grunginess quality I want. I also understand the need for consistant results. This is also why I want a fresh film I can buy now which has these qualities out of the box. Thanks for any suggestions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliot_n Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Pull processing is definitely the answer to your problem. I've seen Portra 160NC, rated normal, pulled one stop, give a nice faded 70s feel... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G. Dainis Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 BTW, you don't need a darkroom to sepia tone B&W prints. That is done in daylight no problem. Silver gel prints only, I wouldn't try it with inkjet prints! James G. Dainis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Chuck, I�ve achieved some interesting results on Kodak High Speed B&W recording film. I have no idea if it is still available though. Do a search on different methods of developer and filtration. The previous posts on pulling are bang on. Maybe Provia 400F pulled two? Have you cross processed before? �The idea of wanting to obtain crappy results "does not compute".� ��and anticpating results is what commercial photography is all about� Perhaps results other than a �perfect� exposure printed well on a good c-41 film is desired. This happens once in awhile, I wish it happened more, breaking out the box of �bog-standard� �commercial photography�. A blanket statement of commercial photography does little, and very few �commercial photographers� post and contribute here. I neither understand the assumption that a result of a �commercial� photograph is desired from the query. This is a question on experimenting, on making images for a gallery wall (?), something different and unusual. An image that would make me stop and ponder and smile, especially of common things seen differently, like a telephone poles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_rannells Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Tiffen makes sepia filters for color film. They make them in three different strengths. Tiffen also makes low contrast filters. One other type of filter they make are warm/soft filters. A combination of a low strength sepia filter plus a low contrast filter might be what you are looking for. The warm soft filters are nice and they come in different strengths also. Many possibilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_levine Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Eric,I have the feeling your lab manager cries when he sees you walk in!Do you ever shoot film that isnt "out of the box" cross processed,pulled/pushed?I still think that Chuk would be better off shooting,exposing & processing film normally,and have a post camera & processing effect added.I would think that most labs could make slide dupes anyway that he desired these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 �I have the feeling your lab manager cries when he sees you walk in!� I think you mean he laughs all the way to the bank! �Do you ever shoot film that isnt "out of the box" cross processed,pulled/pushed?� Of course I do Steve, in the appropriate situations. But anyone can do that. I�m often in situations where boxed film isn�t fast enough. Or I prefer, along with my clients, different contrast or saturation�It would be a boring world if everything was shot on Portra or NPH. �I still think that Chuk would be better off shooting,exposing & processing film normally,and have a post camera & processing effect added.� I agree Steve, but he said he didn�t have photoshop or a computer�old school advice needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliot_n Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 My lab manager is a little friendlier than Steve's. Prior to a big shoot, he'll happily sit down with me and pore over the reference tearsheets I've brought along as inspiration, offering his opinion on which film/processing technique has been used to achieve which effect. Armed with this knowledge, I'll go off and shoot some tests, and the lab manager will then proceed to do multiple clips from the different rolls - all free of charge. It pays to find a good lab. A good lab manager (at a lab doing interesting and varied work), knows more about film and processing than anyone else - though film effects are hard to describe, so nothing substitutes for doing your own (often mind-numbing) tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_macman Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Low saturation, low contrast with a browny cast ? If you have the guts, develop slide yourself since all those variables can be controlled through development. I don't know about browny cast though. Toner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sumo_kun Posted February 19, 2004 Author Share Posted February 19, 2004 Hi! Thanks for all the replies!! I think I'll do a bit of experimenting with pulling. Also, what do low contrast filters do? How can they selectively make parts of a scene less bright? Won't that just make it a ND filter? I've got the Lee holder system and they sell low contrast filters but they just look like NDs to me. And about my aim. I'm not trying anything ambitious like an exhibition or anything. This is just for personal satisfaction. I've only been into photography for about 9 months so I've got a long way to go yet! Once again, Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_rannells Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Chuk, Low contrast filters lower the contrast of the scene.There are different types. Some will lower the brightness of the highlights and some will decrease the darkness of the shadows. These are different from neutral density filters. Combining one of these with a sepia filter might be just what you are looking for. Check out the filters at www.tiffen.com/filters.htm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cole_petersburg Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Kodak EPH ISO 1600 gives low contrast and low color saturation. A browny cast can be achieved with a filter or two, especially with the added speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans_beckert Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 Try Kodak EPN film. It exactly waht you want. It is intended for studio use and gives very accurate, but not vivid, color. Use an 81B or C filter to warm it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_lloyd1 Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 Recently on a trip to Prague I had a problem, night shots hand held and all the stock I had with me at the time was Kodak Portra B/W 400. Why is this relevant? I shall explain. I took the only option open to me ant that was to push the film. I rated it at 1600 but when Itook it to the lab they could only develop it for 800 or 3200 (don't ask me why) anyway the long and short of it was we decided to develop for 3200. The result was incredable grain (the size of golfballs) and a certain softness to the image remaniscent of some very early films. Porta B/W is a C41 process film so it is processed in colour chemistry and you specify what you want it printed on. I chose b/w paper as usual but you could choose colour paper for some very interesting tones. Try it and see you may get some interesting results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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