OK, so it is very subjective, but which slide film do people reckon is best for pictures of gardens, flowers, and trees? Not too bright and unrealistic, not too subdued. I have tried most films except some of the Fuji range which here in NZ at least are often more expensive. For travel or people, I have found Kodak E100S or Elite Chrome 100 fine. For previous garden pix, I have used Agfa RSX50 and 100 (neutral, but too neutral perhaps) and at the opposite end of the spectrum, Elite Chrome Extra Color, which produced very vibrant but quite pleasing colours. I would take slides in diffused light or early morning, early evening, and would like to use both my M3 with early Summicron and IIIa with Summar. Both these lenses are less contrasty than modern lenses such as my Miniliux's, but with soft subjects this can be a advantage. All thoughts from the experts welcome.

-- David Killick (Dalex@inet.net.nz), November 27, 2001

Answers

David:

Not an expert perhaps, but a grizzled veteran of many years shooting gardens and flowers. Perhaps some specilists have favourite films, but it is like me asking you what is the best sauce for beef, (or in NZ Lamb).

Then only way is to try 'em all and see what you like. If they are for sale, see what the customer likes.

My personal favourite is Fuji Provia F100 Pro and I know many who swear by Kodachrome( Available in NZ????) The shadows are neutrralblack and the whites are neutral white, and due to the fine grain, one can make out each individual leaf and blade of grass. I would strongly recommend aginst using negative film, as the normal printing done by most labs is excremental. The new Fuji Frontier process gives the best paper output of any photgraphic medium, or a good scanner and a modern ink jet printer can do as good a job. TGoo bad dye transfer is dead and gone for all practical purposes. Try getting hold a copy of the book "Flowers" by Robert Mapplethorpe for a good benchmark.

Check the garden magazines -maybe their websites have info to get in touch with the photogs they use. Do not overlook the potential of black and white for gardens with bright flowers and textured leaves. Ansel Adams has an entire corpus of almost unknown work in B&W of flowers, gardens and plants. Agfa Scala would do very well for that.

Live dangerously and experiment.

Cheeyahs Myte

-- RICHARD ILOMAKI (richardjx@hotmail.com), November 27, 2001.

David,

for garden pictures I prefer more saturated films, fuji velvia on top of others. Kodak E100xx are also films of choice, though I hardly use them. Also Kodak seems emphasize red light, which might result in a color shift in the morning when light is already reddish; fuji is a bit blue-orientated and might therefore result gice more balanced colors. I find AGFA RSX too neutral, AGFA CT or fuji sensia / provia might be better alternatives.

HTH - Kai

-- Kai Blanke (kai.blanke@iname.com), November 27, 2001.

Velvia, hands down. Shoot during hazy/overcast weather, consider a warming filer for some shots.

-- Dan Brown (brpatent@swbell.net), November 27, 2001.

Velvia + Tiffen #812. Period.

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), November 27, 2001.

Velvia and diffused light. Period.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), November 27, 2001.

E100SW or Elitechrome 100 EB, if you don't like blue trees in early morning light.
Velvia only in diffused grey light.

-- George (gdgianni@aol.com), November 27, 2001.

Fuji VELVIA! It is a wonderful film with warm and very saturated colors. You will be amazed at the colors on slides shot in diffused light. Kodak E100VS is my second choice. The color palette is slightly warmer than Velvia, and the film is marginally more grainy but you won't notice it unless you do a side by side comparison with Velvia.

-- Muhammad Chishty (applemac97@aol.com), November 27, 2001.

Although Velvia's saturation is wonderful, the extra stop with Provia 100F (RDP III) also has its advantages, with about the same grain as Velvia. Personally, I prefer the more muted tones of the Provia. The choice really is very subjective, however.

If you're thinking about B&W transparencies and high-end digital prints, look into dr5 processing (www.dr5.net) of conventional B&W films. I prefer it to the look of Agfa Scala.

-- Ralph Barker (rbarker@pacbell.net), November 27, 2001.

Well, David, you got lots of good advice here. There was a preference among your respondents for Velvia, one of my favorite films. It gives a lot of color punch, which I happen to like. My experience with flowers is that they wave around in the breeze. The 609th corollary of Murphy's law is that there will always be a breeze when photographing flowers. In addition, depth of field is needed for gardens in general, flowers in particular. Both of these observations argue in favor of the highest film speed consistent with good quality. From that viewpoint I'd suggest a 100-speed film. My choice would be Fuji Provia F 100. If I couldn't get that, or I wanted to experiment with something else, Ektachrome EPP 100 is another favorite of mine, if its color balance lends itself to the purpose. I find it unsurpassed for blues, and for a good separation between blues and greens. I think its greens are more true than Kodachome's. And greens are important in a garden! But Provia's greens are on the money, and I find it to have a more neutral color balance.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), November 27, 2001.

Thanks guys for such speedy answers. I have a couple of rolls of Elite EBX to shoot, but after that I'll definitely rush off and buy some Velvia. And I'll experiment with Provia 100F and perhaps give Agfa CTX a whirl. I take the point Agfa might be better for skin tones. Alas Richard, old favourite K25 is not available here any more (or anywhere?), and NZ doesn't process it anyway - but I reckon the E6 films are great. On another note, I find it heartening so many people like gentle pursuits like gardening when there has been so much tragedy in the world this year - surely an antidote to stress.

-- David Killick (Dalex@inet.net.nz), November 28, 2001.

Quick question off tangent. Velvia, pro film here, but an amateur one in Europe, correct? (heard it from somewhere) If so, how should one go about storing it? In a fridge or just like any amateur slide film?

ken

p.s sorry David for going off tangent.

-- ken kwok (kkwok@gostanford.com), November 28, 2001.