Re: [Leica] answers??Darkroom secrets, LONG

["Dan Post" <dwpost@email.msn.com>]

Thanks for setting me straight there; I read the Minor White book- a
smallish yellow paperback that eventually fell apart, I read it so much!
I briefly read Adams' books, but in view of the current discussion, I should
get them and re-read them.
I did say that a consistant time and temperature routine for film
development was for most 'normal' situations unless one shoots in
eitherextremely high contrast situations, or extremely low contrast
situations. It is obvious that one cannot get the 'perfect' negative with
all lighting conditions, and the same dvelopment time and temperature,
though it goes a long way to eliminate intervening variables. True, a
compensating developer helps- which is why I use Rodinal and Diafine so
much!
I daresay some would find my methods tedious and pedantic, but they work for
me, and any system is usually better than no system at all!- The important
thing is, I suppose, some sort of order in what you do. It is certainly a
must when you're shooting, as well as when you print... Am I telling this to
the guy who charges out into the morning light in his pyjamas, blazing away
with his 'M'?  :o)~
Dan
- -----Original Message-----
From: Eric Welch <ewelch@ponyexpress.net>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Wednesday, March 24, 1999 9:06 AM
Subject: Re: [Leica] answers??Darkroom secrets, LONG


>At 11:15 PM 3/23/99 -0500, you wrote:
>>I assume that the Zone System was Minor Whites name for controlled
>>development of film so that it could be printed on the papers of limited
>>contrast range available in the days of yore.
>
>Incorrect in both points. It was Ansel Adams and another person who taught
>at a photo school (they taught together, actually) in San Francisco who
>developed the Zone System. Minor White adapted it to his own use.
>
>And it's an urban legend that Ansel tried to print only on grade 2 paper.
>He used many different grades and even VC paper. Early on, they believed
>that grade 2 paper had the ideal curve for the best highlights and shadows
>(and that's still at least partially true), but as Ansel matured, his
>printing techniques became more sophisticated, and he used various
contrasts.
>
>And to think that one developing method (time) is going to give you a
>perfect negative that will get you in the ball park to make great prints is
>true for average situations, but in extremes of contrast (flat or hot)
>you're going to find that changing development can make a big difference in
>quality. Even John Sexton couldn't have done his new book on Images of
>Power (I think that's the name) if he didn't have his 1:14 dilution of TMax
>Developer RS for compensated development.
>
>Eric Welch
>St. Joseph, MO
>http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch
>
>Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
>