

As mentioned in the section on light sensitivity the manufacturer's recommended speed rating should be used as a guide. To assess the effective speed of a particular film with your own particular equipment it is necessary to make a test for yourself. If you normally work in a studio then make this test with the lights you normally use. If you work outside it is best to make the test in lighting conditions which are relatively stable. Find a high contrast scene by measuring, with your exposure meter, the difference between particular light and dark areas so there is a difference of about 8 stops or zones. Start by using the manufacture's recommended speed setting (ISO). Measure the exposure of the dark area where you want to see just a hint of texture in the shadows or the first suggestion of texture in the shadow detail (zone 2). Set your camera to reduce this exposure reading by 3 stops (or 3 zones). For example, if this shadow reading gave an exposure of f2.8 then close the lens (by -3) to f8. Expose the film to this exposure setting. Then make a series of six other exposures by altering the speed settings on your light meter by one third. For example, if the manufacture's recommended speed setting is ISO 100, then first set the exposure meter at ISO 100. Then alter the settings to slower speeds of ISO: 80, 64 and 50 and then make three more exposures to faster speeds of ISO: 125, 160 and 200. Make careful notes of the 7 exposures and then process the film in your chosen developer and remember to keep the temperature and agitation methods consistent. See processing guide. When the negatives are dry place them on a light box and carefully assess which negative shows the first hint of detail in the shadow area (the shadow area you choose to calculate the exposures). The speed setting for this particular film (in association with the development and camera equipment) is measured from the negative you choose. For example, choose the negative with the zone 2 shadow detail and if this particular negative was exposed at a film speed of ISO 80 - then ISO 80 would be the speed of this particular film in combination with the equipment and chemistry you have chosen. to top



The method for exposing colour or B&W slides correctly is different from exposing negative film and finding the exact exposure is more critical with transparency. Unlike making exposure readings for the negative where it is important to base the exposure from the shadow detail, with transparency the exposure has to be calculated from the high-light or white detail. An incident light exposure reading is recommended for this. It is ideal to use a hand held exposure meter which has a diffuser attachment, this measures the incident light that falls on your subject to achieve a high-light reading. The diffuser is normally a small translucent white dome which can be attached to a hand-held meter. The exposure method is then quite simple: point the incident exposure meter diffuser towards the camera from (the light falling on) your subject and read the settings. If you only have a reflected light exposure meter or one built in your camera then I would suggest you take a reading of a white area where you want to see some detail or texture and set this reading on a zone 8 (or open the lens by 3 stops from the white textured meter reading). For example if the white area exposure reading indicates an aperture of f22 then open the lens (by +3) to f8. This method can be very useful if the light levels are too low for your exposure meter to record an average reading (mid grey or zone 5) but where you can just make a reading from a white object. to top



In the landscape the quality of light is very variable and individuals need to assess the quality of light to suit their own requirements to create mood and atmosphere or to make dramatic or subtle images. The climate has a dramatic effect on the quality of light in the landscape. It is worth noting that a very high contrast lighting situation can be experienced when the atmosphere is clear and the sun is at it's highest point in the sky. What is significant about this, in terms of exposure, is that there will be relatively less shadow detail with clear blue skies in sunshine than with cloudy skies in sunshine. The shadow detail may be brighter with cloudy skies than with clear skies and in some cases the exposure will need to be longer for a sunny day than a cloudy day ! The higher contrast of stark sunlight can then be controlled by (reducing) development or, as a last resort, changing paper grades when making a print. to top



With experience, I have found that I do not normally need to use an exposure meter with an average Northern Europe landscape between April and October, except for the hours around sunrise and sunset or if very cloudy. When using negative film rated at ISO 80, with a yellow filter (x2 or 1 stop) over the lens: in sunlight I set my camera to 1/30th second at f11 and is equal to the same exposure as 1/125th at f5.6. (Without the yellow filter I use 1/60th sec. at f11). Using shorter expo sure settings will often results in a loss of shadow detail. If the weather is cloudy and bright, with the yellow filter, I set the exposure to 1/30th at f8. I would recommend that these exposure times are used in conjunction with my processing guide. to top



The zone system is an ideal method for processing individual sheet negatives where exposures take account of shadow detail and the contrast (measured by the white detail required) is controlled by development times. These notes are of particular use to roll film users and should be read in conjunction with the chapter on exposure. Film manufacturer's recommended developing times tend to give a negative of high contrast for general landscape scenes. I use development times much less than the recommended times. If you use a particular combination of negative film and controlled development and your results consistently produce prints of an unsatisfactory contrast when using exactly the same camera and enlarger on a normal grade of paper - then alter the development times for your negatives to achieve your normal development time. If you find that you have low contrast prints on your normal paper and you have shadow detail in the negative then increase the development times when processing your film - start by increasing the development times, initially by 10%. If, on the other hand, the contrast is too high then decrease the development times, initially by 10%. Increase or decrease the development until you can fine tune the development times which gives the best result for you. Remember to keep the temperature and agitation methods consistent. Be careful not to use development times less than half of the manufacture's recommendation or less than 4 minutes - as even development and exact contrast control will become difficult. This simplified zone system may seem complicated at first but practice makes it much clearer. Understanding the principles of the zone system will help you enormously when faced with varying subjects and difficult lighting situations - as it will help you to pre-visualise the tone and contrast of the finished print. to top



There is a wide choice of B&W negative developers but there are two main types, characterised by the fine-grain developer and the high-acutance developer. The fine grain developer creates a "softer" grain, where the grain structure is not as well defined and gives the appearance of a finer grain. Typical general fine grain developers are Ilford's ID 11 or Kodak's D 76 and HC-110. The acutance developer gives a sharper grain structure by increasing the contrast between areas in the image, known as the "edge effect". The grain size and the overall contrast is more pronounced with these developers. Agfa's Rodinal is a typical acutance developer. There is a variety of developers with combinations of these two characteristics. I use ID 11 and I dilute this developer 1 + 3. The increased dilution of the developer will increase the film's acutance. to top