Finding a good resource on contrast

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I have some basic experience dealing with trying to find the "right" contrast for an image. Expose for the shadows, then augment grade if the whites are not white, and that type of knowledge. Still, I am very often confused as what to do next. Also, there is probably not a single formula that is right in all situations.

What I am looking for is good resource, on the Web preferably, or a book that give some theory AND MANY EXAMPLES on how to do it, when to do it, why, etc...

Discussions on this forum are great, but I miss "real" examples; I went on Amazon.com, with some nice titles, but I cannot make my mind just based on the summaries.

Jean

-- Jean Wallemacq (jean.wallemacq@skynet.be), August 27, 2001

Answers

Actually, the formula for prints is just the opposite of that for film. When printing you should expose for the high values you want and develop for the shadows. When you do not get the depth of black you wish, you should increase the contrast grade of your paper. I learned this from reading Ansel Adams' book THE PRINT. It is a bit dated now in regard to recommendations for paper, but the theory is still perfectly valid. I haven't read their books, but two other printers I respect for the quality of their work are Howard Bond and Bruce Barnbaum.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edb@unblinkingeye.com), August 28, 2001.

Finding the right exposeur for your film and your developement will get you to a ( GRADE 2 Neg. ) Now a grade 2 neg is a neg that will print on grade 2 paper or mulity grade paper at Filter 2 and produce a good print. The rule in Photography is under expose your neg but then over dev. it to raise your contract. But I would suggest to you , to expose 4 rolls of film of the same subject at the time on the same day but Bracket you expouser by 1/2 stop from 3 stops under to 3 stops over expouser another way of saying this is to get a meter reading shoot your picture at the meter reading now take 6 more photo's at half stop brackets over exposing your film by 1/2 stop each time and again 1 photo at your meter reading then under expose for 6 more picture and shoot at least 4 roll like this at the same time . Now you are finished with half the job. the next day start dev. at suggested dev. time & temp contact print your first dev roll see if any of you prints are at grade 2 ( a good print ) if none are what you like pick the best write down that expouser and dev. time now dev another roll but add 1 min. of dev. time and check them by contact printing them and find the same neg. # you will see you have raised the contract inthat picture , now keep doing this until you get the neg. to make that Grade 2 Print you like . Now you have the right expouser ( over or under ) and the right time for developing your film to make that Grade 2 print you are looking for Good luck this is a great test do it you will learn a lot. PS this is called your ( Personel E.I ) every body is different

-- Grant A. Young (grantyoung@syd.eastlink.ca), August 30, 2001.

Jean:

Fred Picker, founder of Zone VI adresses this exact matter many times.

He says, and I have found it to be true, that the best thing to do is see lots of good prints up close and live- not on the net or in a magazine. ( By the way, Mr. Picker still sells some of his prints just for this purpose.) Most camera clubs have members who can knock out a good b&W print, so give that a try.

Be mindfull that learning B&W printing is NOT a fast process, nor an inexpensive one.

Adams "The Negative" is great, but Picker's two books "Zone VI Workshop" and "The Fine Print" I find explsin things better. "Zone VI Workshop" may be still available but not "The Fine Print". In Belgium they may be even more difficult to find. Try Picker's website.( I don't have it now but Google will find it).

Most Art Galleries have photo departments with excellent prints.

Any book of work by Sebastiao Salgado will give you as good an example of B&W printing as you will find, as will a collection of Adams, Weston etc. Robert Mapplethorpe's "Flowers" is another fantastic reference work.

"Photo Techniques" magazine sells real prints by good printers. Investing in a good print is worth it. On a visit to Yosemite, I bought a copy of "Moon and Half Dome" by Adams, printed by Alan Ross which I use as my standard reference print. After a few years, I can now use some of mine, modestly, as references.

You are correct: there is not a single formula. That is why this is an Art, not a Science.

PS. Wait you see a well made Platinum/Palladium print!!

Cheers

-- RICHARD ILOMAKI (richardjx@hotmail.com), September 01, 2001.


I was given a great 'how to' book for Chrismas called -Black and White- by Larry Bartlett with Jon Tarrant. Photographic Printing Workshop. Very detailed, lots of demos. Check it out before you buy. I really value it and have read it a couple times.

-- Tim (Thetman99@aol.com), September 05, 2001.

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