[Leica] re: Exposure and Development

[imagist3 at mac.com (Lottermoser George)]

On Mar 2, 2007, at 2:20 PM, Mark Rabiner wrote:
> People place their highlights through exposure and worry about shadows
> later.
> Which may mean if they have the time they'll do a reading and see
> where the shadows are going to "fall" at that exposure. But in many  
> images
> shadows are a second priority and if they fall past the gamut  
> people are not
> going to over expose to get them.

Certainly, if this works for you in your b&w work flow, great.  
However, some of us don't want to lose shadow detail or highlight  
detail. Therefore we work out N- N and N+ development schemes; which  
work so very well to control b&w film contrast in a wide array  
situations.
In neither work flow scenario do we "over expose" the shadows.

> It just doesn't end up happening after they're first photo outing.

Now this, "their first photo outing" is another topic all together.  
Ah how fondly I remember the first roll of film that I developed  
myself under the basement stairs when I was a mere 13 years old. The  
magic of it. I contact printed the 127 negatives on 30 year old paper  
that my dad never through away. The smells and thrill are not all  
that far off - even though 47 years past. And you're quite correct. I  
didn't know didly about shadow or highlight separation; nor over or  
under anything.

Regards,
George Lottermoser
george@imagist.com