First venture into 35mm Black & White

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stvn

Senior Member
Camera - Nikon F2as + 35-80mm f4-5.6 ais lens
Hi,
I would like critical opinions of this image please.
I am not sure how to balance the extreme light and dark area's or even if it can be done in this enviroment.
The shot was taken inside an Abbey handheld with no flash.
I was using Ilford 400 ASA and the speed was 1/30 with an aperture of f4 (I think 90% sure).
Next time I will make a proper note.

image09_zps98a43c1d.jpg


All comments will be greatly appreciated as this is my first time with 35mm Black & White and I can already tell that there is an art to getting it right.
Are there any 'rule of thumb' tips that apply to Black & White rather than colour shots?
Thank you.
 

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zsooz

Senior Member
Crikey I think it's lovely.
It's a little bit fuzzy to my eye BUT that's what makes it work. Makes for an ethereal feel- if you see what I mean:D
 
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piperbarb

Senior Member
Did you scan in the negative or a print? If you plan on scanning in prints, try to use glossy paper. The various matte finish papers will decrease the sharpness.

BTW, I like the photo. It has that "vintage" look.
 
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stvn

Senior Member
Thank you Barbara, I had no idea a matte finish would effect the sharpness.
I scanned a matte photograph using the 'Fine Black and White' setting on my scanner.
I am actually looking for the 'vintage' look so I will stick to matte finishes as I will only use Black and White to take shots of 'olde' genre places/items.
I will however now go for a glossy finish when I have colour prints developed :)
 
hark

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
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Some B&W 35mm films used to offer more contrast while others yielded much more detail between the lights and darks. I'm not familiar with Ilford film and don't know what film is currently available in today's world. You might be able to capture more detail with a different type of B&W film. Nice shot--I really like it! :)
 
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stvn

Senior Member
zsooz said:
Crikey I think it's lovely.
It's a little bit fuzzy to my eye BUT that's what makes it work. Makes for an ethereal feel- if you see what I mean:D
Click to expand...

Yes, you're right it is a bit fuzzy. Not sure if it was me trying to steady a Nikon F2as at 1/30 speed or if the focus was slightly out?
I will try again sometime and use a tripod with the 'mirror up' option :)
 
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Akiviri

New member
Great concept/composition. If you're looking to balance the lights/Blacks a bit more I'd suggest either a hard edge ND or maybe a split ND filter. 1-2 stops I'd think but hard to tell not being there. You'll miss part of it either way with that approach, but B&W film is very forgiving on the lights - expose for the blacks and photoshop the whites (lol) or dodge and burn in print for part and hit the rest in photoshop. That will take your lights down some while allowing the shadows to gain details. Great comp tho I love it.
 
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crycocyon

Senior Member
I actually would have shot vertical on that. The right side column is a bit dominiant and takes away a bit from the light of the central area. Plus it would exaggerate the feeling of height of this interior. I agree about the fuzziness because I've shot a lot of b@w film back in the day (Plus-X and Tri-X Pan) and it should be a lot sharper. It could be the zoom, but with 1/30th of a second it is hit and miss. You can apply color filters to a b&w images in photoshop I think? A favorite of mine is the red filter. But better to screw on a red filter on the lens but of course you lose probably a full stop of light. I really admire you going into this. I was going through a few old albums on the weekend and realized how different my shooting style was to now. With film you just take the one good photo and it really stands on its own. Now with digital, you can shoot just anything and there isn't the same kind of careful thought process that goes into a shot....because you don't throw away lesser ideas from your mind and just keep the best ideas for shots. Anyway as usual I'm going off on a tangent.

But I love the shot even as it is and that's because with old equipment you can easily bring back that same vintage look to the photograph and that is a comforting thing to know that it really isn't lost, the art behind those silver grains won't ever be lost as long as there is film stock to be had. Ernst Haas once said that photography isn't an art, but a medium. I think that even as the medium changes, the art that is carried by the medium remains.
 
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stvn

Senior Member
Akiviri said:
Great concept/composition. If you're looking to balance the lights/Blacks a bit more I'd suggest either a hard edge ND or maybe a graduated ND filter. 1-2 stops I'd think but hard to tell not being there. You'll miss part of it either way with that approach, but B&W film is very forgiving on the lights - expose for the blacks and photoshop the whites (lol) or dodge and burn in print for part and hit the rest in photoshop. That will take your lights down some while allowing the shadows to gain details. Great comp tho I love it.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your filter suggestions, during my many online searches into B&W photography I came across the Y2 or K2 yellow filter which I have now purchased for my next roll of B & W film.
As far as photoshop is concerned I will never ever use it with my 35mm film shots (Black & White or colour) as I feel this is totally defeating the object.
I will of course use photoshop when I use my digital DSLR for important shots, but film will always be for me, fun photography in its purest form.
If I get it wrong, fine I will learn for next time, just old fashioned I guess.

With the greatest and sincerest respect to everyone any photoshop suggestions I will ignore. Sorry.
 
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stvn

Senior Member
crycocyon said:
With film you just take the one good photo and it really stands on its own. Now with digital, you can shoot just anything and there isn't the same kind of careful thought process that goes into a shot....because you don't throw away lesser ideas from your mind and just keep the best ideas for shots.
Click to expand...
I agree.
 
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Akiviri

New member
stvn said:
Thank you for your filter suggestions, during my many online searches into B&W photography I came across the Y2 or K2 yellow filter which I have now purchased for my next roll of B & W film.
As far as photoshop is concerned I will never ever use it with my 35mm film shots (Black & White or colour) as I feel this is totally defeating the object.
I will of course use photoshop when I use my digital DSLR for important shots, but film will always be for me, fun photography in its purest form.
If I get it wrong, fine I will learn for next time, just old fashioned I guess.

With the greatest and sincerest respect to everyone any photoshop suggestions I will ignore. Sorry.
Click to expand...

Hey NP - kinda why I put the (lol) in there :) But yeah, a split ND or colored filter would also work, and maybe better in fact. I'm a bit more awake now and got a better look at it. The others would work as well, but I really think split is the way to go here, you'll still end up dancing with the enlarger but with this much range you will regardless I'm thinking.
 
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stvn

Senior Member
The idea of a split nd filter sounds a great idea. I am going to try this with my DSLR set on manual with a 35mm f1.8 prime lens and take a note of the settings. I will then use these settings again with the nd filter, the F2as and a 35mm ais Nikkor lens and then compare the images.
This is exactly the sort of advice that I am looking for, many thanks :)
 
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