Diggin99
Established
Hi everyone!
I have been doing film off and on for a while now and yet I am not getting the results I want in a consistant way. I have decided that what really I want to do is understand exposure. Now I have read many books, looked at online web sites etc. I have gone out and used manual camera and the Sunny/16 rule, thee shady/8 etc. I have also used in camera meters on SLR's and RF. Additionally I have tested different films, developers, development times etc. I know that the end result I want are pictures with deep rich tones. I thought I would present here some pictures with examples, any comments welcome!
Tones that I like:
Taken with a FED 2, HP5, developed in Gainer vitamin C formula
Here is an example of a shot where I like the composition, but the tones are not all they could be:
Sorry this was with a Nikon EM, FP4, Pyrocat HD Semi-stand. 35 minutes.
Now I have done a lot of research and my conclusions have been as follows, The film, developer, camera, and lenses I use are not the key to achieving the tonality I want, it all boils down to exposure. I read in Fred Picker's "Zone IV" Workshop (and many other places) that:
"A reflected light exposure meter reading of any evenly illuminated single toned surface provides camera setting information that will result in a negative density which will produce a "middle gray" in the print." (Picker: pg1)
I decided to test this out for myself and did some testing with shots from yard.
Here is a shot of a tree outside myhouse. I am using a Leica CL to meter on the tree:
Taken on the Leica CL, Nokton 40 S.C. lens, FP4 in R09.
Now I realize that my development times on these may not be perfect, far from it, but now when I look back at the shots I have taken over the last few months I can see that those which relied on a meter reading have very smiliar mid-grey tones. Not what I am looking for as an end result.
One final test I did, I have also read that one method for exposure you can use is to meter the darkest part of a picture and adjust the exposure and expose for 2 fstops less. (This I read in Horensteins Black and White Photography). So I did this, with the same tree:
Also taken with the CL.
Now I know that when printing , or using photoshop, these can be adjusted, but I have not done this here. I am hopeful that it will soon click together, meanwhile I will continue to go out and have fun. Any thoughts welcome!
Nancy
I have been doing film off and on for a while now and yet I am not getting the results I want in a consistant way. I have decided that what really I want to do is understand exposure. Now I have read many books, looked at online web sites etc. I have gone out and used manual camera and the Sunny/16 rule, thee shady/8 etc. I have also used in camera meters on SLR's and RF. Additionally I have tested different films, developers, development times etc. I know that the end result I want are pictures with deep rich tones. I thought I would present here some pictures with examples, any comments welcome!
Tones that I like:
Taken with a FED 2, HP5, developed in Gainer vitamin C formula
Here is an example of a shot where I like the composition, but the tones are not all they could be:
Sorry this was with a Nikon EM, FP4, Pyrocat HD Semi-stand. 35 minutes.
Now I have done a lot of research and my conclusions have been as follows, The film, developer, camera, and lenses I use are not the key to achieving the tonality I want, it all boils down to exposure. I read in Fred Picker's "Zone IV" Workshop (and many other places) that:
"A reflected light exposure meter reading of any evenly illuminated single toned surface provides camera setting information that will result in a negative density which will produce a "middle gray" in the print." (Picker: pg1)
I decided to test this out for myself and did some testing with shots from yard.
Here is a shot of a tree outside myhouse. I am using a Leica CL to meter on the tree:
Taken on the Leica CL, Nokton 40 S.C. lens, FP4 in R09.
Now I realize that my development times on these may not be perfect, far from it, but now when I look back at the shots I have taken over the last few months I can see that those which relied on a meter reading have very smiliar mid-grey tones. Not what I am looking for as an end result.
One final test I did, I have also read that one method for exposure you can use is to meter the darkest part of a picture and adjust the exposure and expose for 2 fstops less. (This I read in Horensteins Black and White Photography). So I did this, with the same tree:
Also taken with the CL.
Now I know that when printing , or using photoshop, these can be adjusted, but I have not done this here. I am hopeful that it will soon click together, meanwhile I will continue to go out and have fun. Any thoughts welcome!
Nancy
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
Hi Nancy ... I just adjusted your first pic out of curiosity because decent contrast and tonality are issues I'm having as well ... I used ACDSee Pro.
Strangely the best tonal qualities and contrast I have yet had have been by using Fuji colour film and grayscaling it in ACDSee Pro after scanning!
Strangely the best tonal qualities and contrast I have yet had have been by using Fuji colour film and grayscaling it in ACDSee Pro after scanning!
FrankS
Registered User
Exposure and development will have the greatest impact on tones in the negative that are transferred to the print.