By compensating I mean that you specifically use the exhaustion of developer. If the solution is weak, or agitation is minimal, it tends to allow the continued (unexhausted) development of the shadow details while the mid and highlights stop development because the developer becomes exhausted. Called compensating development, AA and others have used this technique. I used to use D23 for a long time as a compensating developer, but it usually fails to fully develop highlights (they get "chopped"). See AA's the Negative, as well as references in J. Sexton's "Listen to The Trees" (I think he lists which negs were compensated at the back of his book).(posted 8575 days ago)This method also can produce a higher level of film fogging - especially evident with developers such as D23.