Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/01/29

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Subject: Re: R: [Leica] Noctilux
From: Eric Welch <ewelch@ponyexpress.net>
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 21:28:28 -0600

At 10:03 AM 1/29/98 -0500, you wrote:

>     Thus my question: for those who've had successful experience in this 
>     kind of photography, how do you estimate the amount of underexposure 
>     to allow, in order to capture the "spirit of darkness?"

Understanding the Zone system is a good start. Then there's also the best
teacher of all.

Experience. 

In that kind of light I shoot like I'm shooting chrome film. Only I make
sure the highlights are "overexposed" compared to the meter's indication. 

And meters really won't give you "daylight" type exposures. In that kind of
light, mediocre meters will overexpose film. Good meters, with
inexperienced photographers might under or over expose film.

Nothing to do but shoot, study the film and then shoot again. There are no
magic formula here. 
==========

Eric Welch
St. Joseph, MO
http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch

Pi R Squared? No Pi R round, Cornbread R Square!