Attention Print Film Users

	Grayton Beach State Park, Destin, FL. Kodak E-100-VS color slide, shot with a Glod-N-Blue and converted to a digital file.

When shooting print film with Singh-Ray Gold-N-Blue, Intensifiers, Polarizers (as well as color filters of other types and brands), try to avoid having prints made by machines that "automatically correct" for your negatives.

We recently heard from a photographer who had returned from his vacation and was dissappointed with the prints he got back from his local "one-hour photo" processor. On the frames where he used his Gold-N-Blue filter, the prints displayed a color balance totally unlike what he had seen through his lens and filter. This was due to the automatic system "correcting" his image to a generic snapshot color range that they use for average, everyday photos.

You could experience similar results if your prints are being made by your neighborhood drugstore, or even mass-market camera stores--places that use an automatic print-making machine. These machines are designed to "normalize" each exposure and instantly color balance each print.

If you're shooting print film with Singh-Ray filters, please keep several things in mind:

1. Your negatives are not the problem. Your film did capture what you saw in your viewfinder--you just need to ensure that the negatives are printed correctly.
2. There are preventive solutions. If you must use a "mass market" processing service, ask if their machine can make your prints without any automatic color correction--some systems may not allow the operator to override automatic settings, but others can be controlled.
3. It may also be time to move up to a professional-grade processing service that will print your negatives with more personal skill and attention. If and when you do, take time to explain what filtration you've used and what kind of results you're after. Ask a professional studio or photographer in your area for a recommendation.
4. Have your color negatives proofed as color contact sheets, then select the best frames to be custom printed. You may have to go to a professional processing service to get contact sheets done.

Consider, too, converting your best Gold-N-Blue negatives (and slides) to digital scans which you or your lab can then print with astonishing accuracy.