Response to what happens with REALLY long dev't times?

Paper is the limiting factor in the making of any image. Film can hold 15+ stops of usable information but paper can't. Normal papers can hold 5. You can use any of the films range but not more than 5 stops of it. So say with stand development where the film has produced all the density it is able to, you can still only use 5 stops of this density gradient. That is why most people seem to use a 5 stop range in processing their film. Anything more is just a waste of density. Why produce a 7 or 8 stop density when your printing material can only use 5? By maximizing the negative to 5 stops where we have recorded enough info for the paper we can now taylor the prints tonal range by manipulating the contrast of the paper to extend this apparent range. I think I elucidated that thought coherently enough. James

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