[Leica] Exposure and Development

[mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)]

On 3/1/07 5:34 PM, "Luis Ripoll" <luisripoll@telefonica.net> typed:

> Hi Walt,
> 
> I agree with you, and this is a general old rule I didn't know was
> established by Eugene Smith. The only thing is that developping for shadows
> on my experience increase the grain. I'm no longer developping myself my
> films, when I does it I've decided to do long and very compensate
> developping processes, sometimes with stoping the development and putting
> the film in a water bad. IMO, except if you search some special effects or
> you work with medium or bigger format, a carefully develpping is enough for
> almost all situations.
> 
> The zone system is a very good school to learn and know better the
> photography techniques, many years ago I've played it, now I think that it
> is similar to the first piano exercises for a pianist.
> 
> Saludos cordiales
> Luis 
>  


Its THE general rule for a long time before Smith and its the basic rule for
how film works. That's how you figure out if your film is getting the right
amount of development and exposure in general.

But as most rules are meant to be broken it can drum up some controversy.
As it may be the way film works but its not the way you as the photographer
work in the practical sense.
In practical shooting you end up working with negative black and white
materials very much the way you work with positive transparency materials.

You expose for the highlights.
Let the shadows fall where they may.
Then get out fast.

Sure if you had time you could take shadow readings and see where they are
gonna fall and worry about if you're going to worry about it but if you try
to control your highlight placement through development after exposing for
your shadows you are in for some real trouble. Yep that's how film works.
Even sheet film shooters end up just running pretty much all their separate
sheets in the same soup for the same time just like their roll film pals.
"Contrast" gets controlled later with this new invention they came up with a
hundred years ago called graded contrast papers. The ones with the numbers
on them? Then 50 years ago came multi contrast papers with filters.

You see those shooters, like bird watchers and nature lovers running around
in packs with spot meters - what are they aiming at? Up! The highlights in
the leaves of the trees that's what it all comes down from that reading.
Highlights need to be placed through exposure. Not development.
In practical practice. Though its not the way film really "works".

Otherwise your shots won't be properly scintillating.
And you'd not not want that.

Those little highlights have to be right on the money.

Scintillation is everything.
And you can quote me as I just made that up.

Mark Rabiner
8A/109s
New York, NY

markrabiner.com