Suggestions on These Prints?

I posted one of the graphs specifically to clarify the relationship between film exposure and its resulting density OVER A WIDE RANGE OF EXPOSURE AND DEVELOPMENT.

Yes. I realised that the curves were of film taken to its extreme of exposure and development, but they clarify nothing. They're of purely academic interest and only serve to confuse in this context.

Those curves will never be of any practical use to a photographer, and thus they're ridiculous. If a high gamma or density is needed, there are specialist emulsions and developers available for that. You just wouldn't set out to use T-max 100 and D-76 for graphic-arts or lithographic purposes.

Sorry to have brought in the graphs; I didn't see that this was the "beginner's forum."

 

But I note that you are now beginning to read about the "Zone System." After you gain some understanding about it you may want to revisit this thread. People learn in different ways; some have a hard time deciphering graphs while others find it an effective way to understand something. If you can deal with the graphs you might realize that each curve is, in essence, a complete set of Zone System film test exposures. Except that they are not limited by the "blockiness" of the Zone System, which is the result of discrete exposures, each 1 f-stop apart. On the curves that rodeo_joe and I have posted, every side-to-side shift on the exposure axis of 0.30 is equivalent to another zone.

 

Best wishes with your studies.

Thanks Bill C for this, and simply because your technical contribution went beyond my understanding, that says nothing about their merit. I'm still struggling to produce a decent print of course, and hope my reading and note taking here and elsewhere will soon result in something wall worthy, at least for home!

I'm still struggling to produce a decent print of course, and hope my reading and note taking here and elsewhere will soon result in something wall worthy, at least for home!

Like I said before, I think you did an ok job on the first print. The real problem, in my view, and assuming that you wanted to show texture in the foreground concrete, was mostly in the scene itself.

I know you said it was not in direct sunlight, but the hard shadows I see tell me that it IS direct sunlight, coming from just over the upper right of the camera. If not sun, then perhaps an on-camera flash (from the upper right). This is how you would light it to make the texture disappear. If you could catch the light coming from the side, then this would exaggerate the texture.

Best of luck with it.