I have a number of B&W filters: yellow, orange, green, red, and a special
cyan. While there are a number of very common uses for each . . . a couple
postings have been about the green, another use of which provides better
separation of skin tone from sky while leaving caucasian skin tone value
looking natural.
In expanding my use of them and experimenting by doing the same scene with
several different filters, I realized the need to think of them more
abstractly. IOW, not to think of the common uses per se as that boxes one
in creatively, but to think of them in terms of the underlying reasons
there are some common uses for specific filters.
First, the obvious . . . colored filters used with B&W film provide tonal
separation. Thus, it doesn't matter the subject material, or the type of
photograph, only the colors involved. Specifically, it's those particular
different colors that would render the similar tonal value in B&W without a
filter for which an increase in the difference in their tonal value is desired.
This opens up the thinking and tends to keep one from falling into some
traps awaiting those who adhere rigidly to common applications for specific
color filters without *looking* and *seeing* and *thinking* first about
what a specific color filter will do with all the colors in the scene to be
photographed. A particualar filter that will create a greater separation
of tonal values for one set of colors that desired can sometimes also
affect tonal values for other colors in the scene in a manner that's not
desired.
A couple common examples:
(a) Use of a medium or darker yellow for portraiture, a common application,
for a caucasian person with blonde hair. It can provide a more natural
looking skin ton value, but it can also unnaturally pale the blonde hair
tonal value.
(b) Use of a red for landscape, a common application, for a scene with a
deep red barn or red brick building. While it will provide dramatic tonal
separation of blue sky and white clouds, it will also make red structures
unnaturally pale, especially if they're deeper red in color. With red
brick, it can push the tonal separation of the brick and mortar unnaturally
close together.
What do I use the cyan for?
It's a special B+W filter (and was rather expensive as a result) that
severely knocks down the yellows, oranges and reds to shift tonal values in
panchromatic films very close to the response of the very, very old
orthochromatic emulsions that existed mostly prior to the end of WWI and
somewhat into the early 1930's before panchromatic emulsions were invented
and came into widespread use. It must be used carefully though as it can
push what might appear to be medium contrast scene into a much higher
contrast one. This is one with which I'm still working to visualize better
what will happen with B&W tonal values when I use it. I have made a couple
very interesting male portraits with it.
-- John Lind
At 08:38 PM 6/23/04, AG Schnozz wrote:
> > I am not familiar with TCN, but could TCN and the green filter
> > be particularly well mated? It is, after all, a C41 film,
> > and thus is inherently different that standard B&W pan films,
> > no? My past experience with standard B&W films had me using a
> > yellow-green filter for this kind of separation, but I don't
> > recall if that was because I preferred it or I just didn't
> > have a green filter.... ;) Sr. Moments happen...
>
>Talk about learning something new every day. I wasn't aware of
>how a green filter improves the tonal seperations of vegetation.
> Makes sense, just never experimented. Don't even OWN a green
>filter. Today.
>
>As far as TCN is concerned, I've found that it does a good job
>of responding to filters like a standard B&W film.
>
>AG
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