Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/09/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Guy, I just got out of the darkroom after spending 23 hours printing over the last 2 days and am a little bleary eyed, but I'll jump in with an opinion. I've read about f stop printing and it has never registered with me. Maybe I've just been doing it too long my way to learn a new method, but the f stop method breaks my head. I too fail to see what the advantages to it are. I like the simplicity of traditional test strips, they give me the information I need, and I don't have to do too much thinking which makes my brain hurt. I've never been terribly interested in being able to print something the same way in another size. I find that every time I print a photo I do it differently, sometimes dramatically so. I suppose if I was selling them it would be a different story, they would need to be consistent. If you want more information on an f stop timer try RH Designs at <A HREF="http://www.rhdesigns.co.uk/contents.htm">RH Designs</A> -they make lots of interesting darkroom aids. After saying all this I realized that the way I think about a print in the darkroom is in percentages. I'll burn or dodge for a certain percentage of the initial exposure, based on experience and intuition. Maybe this is a blending of the 2 methods? I hope this makes sense, and is of some use to you. Richard Wasserman