Not what I expected... as usual!

[Joakim Målare]

Isn't it strange... that when you try to do everything right and you think you have control, you get disappointed because in the end you realise what you should have done differently.

Then, when you're in the middle of something that went wrong from the start, but you think "what the heck, at least something has to come out of this mess" and you have no idea what you're doing... you get near perfect results!

I have yet to figure out how that works...

One alternative is to become very strict and rule out as many variables as possible, until you know what's happening. The other is the happy-go-lucky approach. Hmmm...

 

[John Bragg]

Happy go lucky isn't repeatable but keep notes so even your happy accidents can tell you something. Start out with a strict procedure and then deviate from there only if something isn't working out. Consistency is the key in developing. Only change one thing at a time and your learning will improve exponentially.

 

[Joakim Målare]

You're absolutely right, John. And I know that's what I should do, but for some reason I tend to juggle with one ball too many. That's my kind of consistency ;-)

It's just that it's a weird phenomena that I think applies to more than exposure and developing. And when you get more rewarding results from being sloppy, you kind of start questioning being all scientific about it 🙂

That said, I should also point out that it only happens occasionally and that the serious approach definitely pays off in the long run.

Sort of something that crossed my mind, that's all 🙂

 

[skibeerr]

You're absolutely right, John. And I know that's what I should do, but for some reason I tend to juggle with one ball too many. That's my kind of consistency ;-

Hey, that's my line :bang:

 

[shadowfox]

Wait until you get into darkroom printing.
Sloppy means wasted time, frustration, and expensive.

A consistent albeit simple system of note-taking is a must, and it pays in a tremendous way.

 

[ibcrewin]

A consistent albeit simple system of note-taking is a must, and it pays in a tremendous way.

THIS x100. I have a little cheat sheet with 3 columns. Fstop, filter, seconds, film type. Since most of the stuff I'm printing comes from the same film, it saves tons of time.