[Leica] Re: What food for our Leicas

["Tim Spragens" <t.spragens@cityweb.de>]

For me, there are two major reasons and one minor for using B/W 
film for B/W images. 

First, I like grain artifacts better than dye cloud artifacts. I accept 
that I've got dye with color film, but would rather not with B/W. If 
you like the effects you get with TX400CN, then this one won't 
matter to you.

Second, I visualize a scene in B/W or color, and want to use the 
appropriate film. Do you make notes about which ones you thought 
of in monochrome and which in color? I'm a horrid note taker. I 
don't think I'd remember some of them, and would have to sort it 
out after the film was processed.

The minor issue for me, though probably not for others, is the 
archival quality of silver film. If you expect that someone is going to 
want that negative after a few decades, the silver will last far better. 

For color print vs. slide, I don't like fighting color balance, and find 
scanning slides far more straightforward than color negative film.

Regards,

Tim

> From: Gerry Walden <gerrywalden@cwcom.net>
> 
> Over the last couple of weeks I have been pondering the films that we
> use in our Leicas and wondering why we choose such a wide diversity.  
> For instance, as I have now gone totally digital, I now shoot Kodak
> TX400CN when I want a black and white film, and either Kodak or Fuji
> print and slide film.   But why am I differentiating between
> monochrome, print and slide?   Why, for example, do i just not shoot
> everything on print film - after all it is all going to be scanned
> before I output it.   Why do I shoot slide film at all?   Anything
> that goes to a possible publication is scanned and output to disk.  Or
> why not just concentrate on slide film and do all my printing from
> that, converting it to monochrome should I need to?
> 
> I don't know about others, but I have a psychological problem 'seeing'
> in black and white when my brain knows full well that there is colour
> emulsion in the camera.   Is this a common malfunction of our brains,
> or am I unique in this?   I know a number of good digital monochrome
> workers who shoot solely in colour now, doing the conversion on the
> computer with no trouble.
> 
> And I fully appreciate that if I just shoot tranny then I may have
> problems with contrast if I try printing in black and white, but
> surely that can't be that difficult to control (even if that involves
> two changes in my brain  - positive > negative > monochrome.)
> 
> At the risk of starting major debates, does anyone else have these
> thoughts and anything to add?   I, for one, am sticking with the three
> film types at the moment but I am trying to get my brain used to the
> colour film/monochrome print battle.
> 
> Gerry


- --
Tim Spragens
http://www.borderless-photos.com