Photographing one of Snowdonia's best walks

I like the look of conventional B&W film, especially Ilford's XP2 Super but I also like the infrared look at times.
On this trip I opt for XP2 but realise fairly soon that I would have liked the option of infrared. Through careful post processing in Lightroom I push the final look towards infrared and get the best of both worlds!
Equipment Used
Nikon F80 and Tamron 28-300 VR
Ilford XP2 Super
Yellow/green filter
Preview App
Mark II Artists Viewfinder (iOS only on the App Store)
Vlogging Equipment
GoPro Hero 10
Incidental Music (Epidemic Sound)
Blissful awakenings
Remove the complexities
Etsy Shop
steveonionspho...
Contact Details
Email: [e-mail] Twitter: Steve_ONions / steve_onions Instagram: steveonions1 / steveonions1
KZbin: / @steveonions

[@carls.2649]

I love this channel so much. The landscape, the photos, the commentary, the horses. Even the sheep! These videos are often the perfect respite after a challenging day. Thank you.

[@SteveONions]

Thank you for the kind words 😊

[@ronwhite8503]

These images are wonderful. The grainy black and white pictures are what got me into photography in the late 70's.

[@joerg_koeln]

Wonderful pictures as usual. This is IMHO one of the most inspiring channels for analogue & b/w & landscape photography - bravo!

[@SteveONions]

Many thanks Joerg 😊

[@kimc5750]

Glorious! ❤❤❤ the wild horses.

[@izzyleicanut9190]

Lovely set of black and white images. Soulful with character. Thanks

[@SteveONions]

Thanks 😊

[@rickhauser9698]

Just a wonderful trip and thank you for sharing this with us ❤🎉❤

[@SteveONions]

Glad you enjoyed it Rick.

[@nevillewatkins4997]

Always like your mountain rambles.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Nev 🙂

[@ingmarhindenes7897]

Great as always. You inspire me to bring my camera along when I go for walks in the mountains here in Western Norway. We have plenty of clouds and rain, too😁.

[@AliasJimWirth]

Hey hi, Ingmar (if I got your name right;I hope). My sister is going to your country next month, Sept.. Are there some places she should make it a point to see which you can recommend? In advance, thank you, James

[@SteveONions]

There's nothing like mountain light Ingmar (and no way of knowing what it's going to be like up on the tops either!).

[@paultaylorphotography9499]

Great walk and a bag full a atmospheric shots whats not to enjoy. Cheers Steve.

[@SteveONions]

Thank you Paul 👍

[@SinaFarhat]

Nice!

[@RandyPollock]

Wonderful imagery and yes I need my IR 🙂 Those views were Epic

[@SteveONions]

Cheers Randy.

[@raybeaumont7670]

Another interesting trip Steve, and I like all the mono shots you took. You're my only way into the mountains these days so please keep 'em coming. All the best from The Rhondda.

[@SteveONions]

Glad you enjoyed it Ray.

[@luzr6613]

I spent a lot of time in the eighties running around on the Beacons in pre-historic army boots, and here's you - spiked soles!.. an unbelievable dodge. Take care, young fellah - it's a slippery-slope from there to the full AI editing suite.😊

[@SteveONions]

😄

[@alanwilliams9842]

Some very lovely photographs

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Alan.

[@GWFaust-hi8tm]

Steve, I love the places you go. I also have a similar one, but it is located at an altitude of 2500 meters, and it is very difficult to get there. And there are ice caps. There are very dense forests below. You would really like the mountain landscapes of the Caucasus. I am very inspired by your creativity. Thank you for what you are doing.

[@SteveONions]

I'm really pleased you enjoy the videos, our mountains are quite modest but very accessible and with great views.

[@minisla]

Lovely images as always

[@SteveONions]

Many thanks!

[@Rezaroth]

I really LOVE your content Steve. I wish you all the best from here.

[@SteveONions]

Thank you 🙂

[@johnmarriott9166]

Superb Steve, and your thoughts on the infrared are interesting. Why indeed!?! Quite a day if contrasts weather wise and you made the best of it, well done 👍

[@SteveONions]

Thanks John, see the upcoming video when I take this route from another direction and get really different conditions!!!

[@johnmarriott9166]

@@SteveONions Looking forward to seeing what you went through, from what you hint at maybe they were a little dreek?

[@thedarkslide]

0:00 Haha! That's why I got a cheap full spectrum converted E-PL5 so I can keep that in the same bag with some filters along with my regular E-M1III - takes no space at all to always have the IR option. Another option I often use now is a full spectrum converted Canon RP with the Kolari Vision clip in filters, allowing me to switch from visual spectrum only to full spectrum or any IR option quickly, regardless of what lens I carry that day.

[@SteveONions]

I usually carry my little G15 720nm conversion on hikes, so small that I don't notice it . . . can't think why I left it out on this trip.

[@chromagraphphotoart]

Excellent guidance as ever Steve. I can't help but feel I'd like the look of infrared, but with more detail. But hey, what do I know.

[@SteveONions]

You can process it differently, push up the clarity instead on down, it looks very sharp then.

[@owenhu9465]

So captivating, great video as always

[@SteveONions]

Glad you enjoyed it Owen.

[@RomulSpiel]

Great video, Steve!

[@SteveONions]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@photoholic6369]

Inspiring and entertaining video as always. I enjoyed it a lot and it was also helping me to calm down in a very emotional phase of this week.

[@SteveONions]

Glad it helped 😊

[@paulsummers3375]

great video as always Steve. it would be interesting to see a video of how you post process your images.

[@SteveONions]

I may do one someday Paul 👍

[@Casey_Schmidt]

I’m glad to see you put this video out now because I’ve been considering doing a full spectrum conversion on one of my digital cameras.

[@SteveONions]

It's well worth it Casey, I have a full spectrum camera and it's given me a lot of use over the years.

[@brycepinson8641]

Beautiful area and images. I went out once and forgot to bring my Rollei IR400 for my 4x5... in desperation I used a sheet of Delta 100 with a red filter and a polarizer, and it yielded an infrared like look. Not as good as the Rollei, but certainly better than straight black and white in that scenario.

[@SteveONions]

There are quite a few films with extended red sensitivity that do a good job of mimicking IR 👍

[@jasongold6751]

Wonderful video. I prefer to shoot in BW esp. on my Minolta CCD. A toy camera! But if i must, doing colour to BW, is easy. I prefer an old Olympus, CCD! really liked your prints! The horses one of the best ever, onyour imaging!

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Jason, I love being up there and the horses are just a bonus.

[@oudviola]

Lovely images! To my eye the shot of the rusted old farm implement was the most IR-like. I'm in the midst of shooting a few rolls of SFX200, I use a red 25 filter to get a less severe effect. I like it for the unusual bright foliage. "Faking" it in post might be easier starting with color, so you could selectively darken the blue sky and brighten the green leaves. Not sure if that is even possible with regular b&w film using color filters. Anyway, the roll in my camera now is for reverse processing to get positive slides - no idea if it will work, Ilford hasn't said anything about that for this film stock.

[@SteveONions]

I’ve never been a big fan of SFX to be honest but it does have a certain look. I did prefer it with the R72 on, quite a graphic image.

[@DAVE211147]

Nice to see some original landscapes, instead of the same old 2and 9, well done Steve

[@SteveONions]

Thanks 👍

[@tedphillips2951]

Nice hike & photos. Are you ever concerned about hiking alone?

[@SteveONions]

I take a lot of precautions Ted. I only use well trodden paths and share my location via the phone. I also leave a map of the route with my wife and check in regularly.

[@thomasfarley2688]

That's an epic hike Steve, tough climb from the Eigiau valley to your first peak - Pen Llythrig y Wrach (hill of the slippery witch!) Great images as always!

[@SteveONions]

It's a lovely route Thomas and the weather was kind to me for a change. I have another video in a few weeks starting from the Ogwen side, sadly with somewhat less sunshine!

[@williamcurwen7428]

Ilford XP2 is sensitive to far red/near infrared. Plus, being a C41 chromogenic B&W film has an incredible extended range in the highlights - when - overexposed by at least 3 stops. This is why you are getting halation in the highlights, especially if you whack a 25R red filter. Looks great with a 1/8th black mist filter.

[@SteveONions]

I typically go for a +1 exposure on bright days with XP2 William, only using 400 in dull lighting. Most of the IR look is achieved by pushing up the contrast and pulling back the clarity, something I also do with IR converted cameras.

[@williamcurwen7428]

@@SteveONions Yeh, all sounds about right. I work a lot in digital infrared in dull winter twilight to get an extended tonal range I can then tease apart in post. There is a big difference between a converted camera and an unconverted camera using a (say) Hoya R72 filter in that the latter looks even more painterly. Nice work, though.

[@richardhale9664]

Having watched this video, I was inspired to try this edit (reduce clarity, boost contrast) on a number of my B&W files. Results were very mixed. Some were an excellent improvement over the original edit, some were decidedly awful! It was very hard to tell which image would benefit from the edit beforehand. I tried with all types of images from bright, sunny contrasty ones to murky, foggy ones and both types produced these mixed outcomes. So thank you Steve for the tip. I don't mind a bit of experimentation in post and I will continue to tinker.

[@SteveONions]

It’ll never match a fully converted camera for impact but sometimes a less severe IR effect is desirable. I usually allow generous exposure with my B&W film images which helps with the conversion later. Empty shadows will ruin the effect.

[@richardhale9664]

@@SteveONions Well I've spent a little more time experimenting with the edit on colour images. Looks horrible on most., but produces a pleasant effect on misty scenes.

[@velvia7880]

Fomapan 400 is IR sensitive at ISO 1-1.5 with a Heliopan 715 filter.

[@SteveONions]

Interesting. I also find the Rollei 200 and 80 films work well at an EI of 1, similar to IR400.

[@lensman5762]

What a climb, Steve? Lovely photography too. I know that it goes against what I usually practice, but once or twice I have used the IR preset of the my LR6.14 on a few digital files and with some tweaking the results were actually quite believable. Very much depends on the scene and the lighting, though.

[@SteveONions]

You can definitely get a convincing look from Lightroom with any image and I'm sure future Ai processing will make a converted camera necessary.

[@wolfganggerlach1868]

Stunning video in a great landscape. It is obvious that you have no fear of heights, but who will find you, if you get injured? Do you have a satellite telephone? I enjoy your videos! Kind regards from Sweden!

[@SteveONions]

I take safety seriously Wolfgang and always use well trodden paths. I usually have good phone reception up there too and leave a map of the route with my wife before setting off.

[@simonbarnes7124]

Love the grain and texture to these images Steve. How long does it take you from home to Snowdonia?

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Simon. For a walk like this is around 90 minutes drive, others like Cnicht and the southern peaks can be two hours which isn’t too bad.

[@azfactor7875]

Lovely b-roll to compliment the beautiful photos. And yes, with your processing, it has similarities to IR, particularly in the glowy highlights. I am curious about the grain: do you add grain in post or do you develop to enhance the grain? It strikes me as being more pronounced than what the XP2 Super would normally provide. Either way, the look certainly works well with the subject matter.

[@SteveONions]

I do add the grain in Lightroom Bob, along with a strong contrast boost and reduction in clarity. It's a halfway house look and not as strong as IR but obviously no need for two cameras either.

[@azfactor7875]

It certainly works well. It strikes me as adding a lot of mood rather than demanding it be considered as IR. I think IR can be great, but when misused, it can overwhelm the subject.

[@SteveONions]

Totally agree.

[@stevebarnett5048]

Very beautiful photographs Steve. The ‘almost’ infrared look is very appealing, I recently converted an old Canon S90 to be an IR camera (very easy) and it’s too full-on infrared for my tastes, too artificial looking and not very ‘mysteriously intriguing’.

[@SteveONions]

I find the need to tone down my digital IR shots somewhat with negative clarity and also added grain.

[@AliasJimWirth]

How far did you walk on this day, Steve? Seems quite the distance. You came away with some nice images. I am reminded of the question of what makes a good image, in these times of such heavy focus (no pun intended) on sharpness. I think the notion of art, for one, is lost sometimes, or maybe even often anymore. This was yet another enjoyable video. Thanks for posting.

[@SteveONions]

It was about 11 miles James and very enjoyable thanks to the good paths, I hate slogging through rough terrain as it saps the energy like nothing else. More and more I'm moving away from sharpness and clarity towards a more gentle rendering, you should enjoy the upcoming video when I do this circuit from a different direction with a very muted film.

[@AliasJimWirth]

11 miles is quite the walk I think. Your next video sounds really good. I look forward to it. Thank you.@@SteveONions

[@danncorbit3623]

I think there is no piece of photographic equipment that is absolutely necessary. The beauty of the image is primarily a product of the eye of the photographer. If the photographer uses a pinhole camera, a medium format camera, a digital camera or a large format camera, the greatness of the image is not a function of the equipment. I think that choices of equipment are valuable for this purpose: Fun. IMO, YMMV.

[@SteveONions]

I find the camera affects the way I shoot to a fair degree, the more flexible the system the more I’m likely to experiment. It’s true that no amount of expensive equipment can guarantee a great image, I’d rather have great light than a great camera.