   |
Miles --
If you have the Plotter program, and if you have a specific film/developer combination that produces the sort of image gradation you like, run those files through the Matcher to see how the various grays (zones) are distributed. When you've established that reference, then you can mix and match other materials to find alternative sets that produce the same gradation.
The key is the location of "zone V." It's nominally located somewhere around 0.75 reflection density but it typically includes a wide range of tones —— from 0.7 to 0.9 or more (which raises the question, "Which gray do you visualize as zone V?"). But materials' characteristics can shift those internal zones dramatically and zone V is usually affected most obviously.
As a general rule, materials that render zone V darker than normal (higher reflection densities in the print) will also increase highlight contrast, perhaps to the point of harshness, reduce shadow separation and contrast, and render Caucasian skin tones unnaturally dark and "greasy-looking." The film curves that contribute to these effects are typically long-toe with upswept shoulder (TXT in HC-110 is a common example); papers that tend in this direction are short toe (MC IV WT is one) and when they also have a round shoulder the effects are exacerbated (the old Agfa Brovira was a good example).
When zone V shifts in the other direction (toward light), the opposite effects occur: highlight contrast is reduced, middle values are lightened, and shadow contrast is increased. Short toe films with round shoulders emphasize these tendencies, as do long toe papers with no appreciable shoulder.
Of course materials are only part of the gradation influence. Underexposure shifts zone V toward black (with all the other effects that implies); overexposure will emphasize the film's shoulder influence, whatever it is. Development errors, of course, screw everything up. This is why we put so much emphasis on reliable testing procedures, and why we've invested so much time and effort in refining the Expo/Dev program and the metering methods.
Visualization is much more effective if you know what to expect from your materials, and printing is relatively easy if you can produce negatives that "fit" the paper. If you can get good negatives that also produce the gradation you like, photography can be great fun. That's what BTZS is all about.
-- Phil
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
