 Fred Bergman |
Black & White and filters Hi, Being new to taking photography serious as a hobby, and maybe more, I have lots of questions. The one I have now involves B&W photography. The little I have read on B&W, there always seems to be mentioned using filters. Red, yellow, orange or green. My question is, can B&W photos be taken with no filter, or polorizing, or warming etc...? I was coming back from a mountain drive today, and was stuck in traffic(paving the road). There was a very nice tree I wanted to photograph. I grab my camera that had B&W film in it, put on a lense that had no filter. Took a few shots. What can I expect? Thanks in advance for any input. Fred
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Michael H. Cothran |
Yes, of course you can use b&w without any filters. Color filters will alter the contrast of any given b&w film. The primary filters are yellow, orange, and red. Some manufacturers make "in-between" colors also like "light yellow" or deep red, etc. Yellow affects film the least, while red the most. These filters will darken cool colors like blue and green, and lighten warm colors, especially their own color. For example, if using a red filter - a red rose with green foliage will appear to have almost white petals with very dark gray foliage. Since these filters all darken blue to some degree, it is a natural to use them for scenics with blue skies and white clouds. A green filter will lighten foliage while darkening warm colors, and is also good on caucasian skin. The best way to determine their value in your own photography is to shoot several different kinds of images you often shoot with as many different filters as you can beg, steal, or borrow. OK, maybe not "steal." Shoot the same scene with as many different color filters as you can, then make a contact proof sheet, and compare the differences. All the color filters also aid in cutting through distant haze. Hope this helps. Michael H. Cothran www.mhcphoto.net
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