Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/03/01

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Subject: [Leica] Exposure and Development
From: mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)
Date: Thu Mar 1 20:01:39 2007

On 3/1/07 8:05 PM, "Robert Meier" <robertmeier@usjet.net> typed:

> This is an oddly contrarian view of exposure and development of B&W film.
> You use exposure to get the detail you need in the shadows of a B&W 
> negative
> and then you vary either negative development (the zone system) or paper
> contrast to have the highlights print as you want them.  Getting the
> highlights "right on the money" through correct exposure doesn't make any
> sense for negative film (it does, of course, for slide film -- and 
> digital).
> The highlights in the final print are controlled by the print exposure, not
> the negative exposure.
> 
> 
Well placing the highlights through exposure is certainly possible and done
every minute and I'd check into it do some searches its the way photography
is practiced by a heck of a lot of people anonymous or quite well known.
Zone system or just winging it. Its not a cult thing its the way most people
I think do it if they just don't guess at a mid tone or set it on A or P.
People aim at a face and open up one.
The fact that this flies in the face of "the rule" of photography is what
makes it very confusing and the most confused thing I've run into on
photography. There are a few more but this ones I think's the king.



Mark Rabiner
8A/109s
New York, NY

markrabiner.com



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