Response to rating film

The ISO rating on the film box is what the manufacturer comes up with after testing. The Exposure Index (EI) is what you come up with after testing the film and tailoring exposure and development to suit your taste. It may be faster or slower than the ISO setting recommended on the film box. If you find setting the film speed slower gives you the negatives you like & they print well for you, then do so. Tailoring this EI rating and the processing will give you a 'normal' development time. For you, in one developer, with one agitation method. This isn't pulling or pushing the film, but fine tuning it so your results are what you want and like. The development times from the maker are suggested times, not cast in stone. Your camera, lenses and water used to mix the chemistry are different than that used in film testing by the manufacturers so it makes sense to test a bit and fine tune it all for the best results for you. The big benefit we have with Ilford & The Yellow Peril lies in the consistent high quality of the film they sell us. We can tweak to our hearts content and it is seldom that their products miss the mark of quality results. It is true that many photographers, especially those who take great care with their images from start to finish, end up downrating the film for the sake of greater detail (and control) in the shadows by exposure while tweaking the developing times (and developer dilutions) to control the highlights. You can get away with dense highlights, but shadows that are clear on the negative (clear means NO detail at all) will not give you what the film did not record. "Overexposing" by downrating the film as you find a personal exposure index that works for you can help in assuring good shadow detail where you want it. (as opposed to overexposing & hoping for the best) It is pretty simple in theory but the search for this control has spawned so many books & theories it can make you dizzy. The old photo adage of 'expose for the shadows & develop for the highlights' is a simple way of stating it. At any rate, it works well and only takes a few sheets or rolls of film to get the idea.

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