PaulJohn Posted April 7, 2018 Share #1 Posted April 7, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) I’m considering the possibility of using colour film to create black and white images. Not because of processing as I rather enjoy sloshing b&w film but because it might look different. Manipulating the colour channels in pp would also add some extra creative control. Has anyone done much with this? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 7, 2018 Posted April 7, 2018 Hi PaulJohn, Take a look here Colour film for b&w. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jaapv Posted April 7, 2018 Share #2 Posted April 7, 2018 Chemical B&W prints from colour film are rather ho-hum in my experience. I rather doubt that digital enhancing will save the day. But it will certainly look different. Please share your results. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hiles Posted April 7, 2018 Share #3 Posted April 7, 2018 (edited) The orange mask built in to colour films makes convention B&W printing difficult. There was an orange mask on Kodak's B&W chromogenic films - they were designed to be printed onto colour paper for the 1 hr trade. For scanning, some software (e.g. SIlver Efex Pro) can emulate the effect of colour filters in B&W shooting. I don't think you will gain anything by shooting on colour film with the goal of B&W prints. You might (at least to a small extent) loose something in terms of grain and sharpness. Instead, think Ilford XP2 Super, or a conventional silver film. Edited April 7, 2018 by Michael Hiles 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemgb Posted April 7, 2018 Share #4 Posted April 7, 2018 I have found that black and white images from colour film look very flat with little detail in the shadows, but then my comments are based on wet printing, digital may be different. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ko.Fe. Posted April 7, 2018 Share #5 Posted April 7, 2018 ECN2 film in BW developer, print: ECN2 film in BW developer, scan: C-41 should be even better 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted April 7, 2018 Share #6 Posted April 7, 2018 (edited) I differ from those disappointed with color images made to B&W via digital means. The profound control of color-to-B&W is, to me, undeniably superior to strict monochrome. How else can one apply, for example, a blue filter and a red filter to the same image using color channels, masks and blending of layers? Please experiment, reconsider, share your results or disappointments. Best,Pico Edited April 7, 2018 by pico 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted April 7, 2018 Share #7 Posted April 7, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) Colour negative works well for B&W conversions IMHO. Likewise for digital prints. Wet printing is a different matter of course. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted April 7, 2018 Share #8 Posted April 7, 2018 (edited) I’m considering the possibility of using colour film to create black and white images. Not because of processing as I rather enjoy sloshing b&w film but because it might look different. Manipulating the colour channels in pp would also add some extra creative control. Has anyone done much with this? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Yes, a lot. Fuji Velvia 50 in medium format makes for monochrome conversions with extensive and very smooth tonal transitions that looks nothing like most traditional black and white negative film output. My advice would be not to restrict yourself to simply pushing sliders around in Channels, you'll find far more control and creative possibilities in SFX or Alien Skin. Edited April 7, 2018 by Ouroboros 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted April 8, 2018 Share #9 Posted April 8, 2018 I’m considering the possibility of using colour film to create black and white images. Not because of processing as I rather enjoy sloshing b&w film but because it might look different. Manipulating the colour channels in pp would also add some extra creative control. Has anyone done much with this? There shouldn't be a problem scanning your colour film and converting it to B&W, I've done it a couple of times. All I would say is it can sometimes look a little bland and soft edged. The lack of grain in many colour films combined with removing the colour, which to the eye gives edge definition, means you may have to play with edge contrast to achieve some fake acutance. Also think about adding grain with Silver Efex. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulJohn Posted April 8, 2018 Author Share #10 Posted April 8, 2018 I had a play with some Portra 400 scans and there is definitely room for improvement with the LR sliders but you can only go so far before things start to look grungy. Making a blue sky black is achievable in digital but not with film. Will post examples later. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulJohn Posted April 8, 2018 Author Share #11 Posted April 8, 2018 Here are my experiments with Ektar 100. Donor photo: Ektar 100 by Paul Nadin, on Flickr mono conversion in LR: Ektar mono by Paul Nadin, on Flickr Blue luminance dropped in LR: Ektar blues darkened by Paul Nadin, on Flickr Red filter applied in Silver Efex: Ektar red filter in silver ex by Paul Nadin, on Flickr 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulJohn Posted April 8, 2018 Author Share #12 Posted April 8, 2018 (edited) And one processed to taste using 250SWB's suggestions (thank you): Processed Ektar by Paul Nadin, on Flickr Post processing with 100% clarity, sharpening and adding digital grain to film (isn't that heresy?) Edited April 8, 2018 by PaulJohn 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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