Difficult Exposure

[daniel_wickwire2]

Hello to Everyone. I am on a month long trip to Mexico and have an

opportunity in a couple of days to shoot some photos under what I

think are going to be very difficult conditions. So, I thought that

I´d ask for a little advice. I´ll be shooting 100iso b&w with my M6

and 35mm Summicron. We´ve gotten involved with a group here that

helps families that live near and make their livelihood at a local

dump. We´re going to drive up on the dump to look at the conditions

there. It will be mid-afternoon and very very dusty and bright. I

historically have problems with these tough conditions. Any advice

or tricks for shooting small groups of people at perhaps 20-30 yards

distance in these bright conditions? Thanks much. Daniel

[h._p.]

There's a very old trick that often works in these conditions: meter off your hand. It works best with a seperate meter but can often be done, with a little care, using a camera meter. Then set the exposure plus or minus as required for the subject's skin tone - less exposure if they're lighter than you, more if they're darker.

 

Even better is just to take an incident light measurement - if it really is dusty that'll difuse the lighting so that pointing the dome behind you will generally get a reading close to correct - unless you're in the shade and they're in the open or vice versa.

 

Best of luck.<div></div>

[david_ditzel3]

Daniel, if you can tell us about the problems you have had in the past we might be able to give you a more specific answer. Your past problems may not be with your camera exposure.

[d._p.1]

Daniel, whatever you do, just don't forget to bring the lens hood. <br><br>If you want to play with shallow DOF, pull the film to 25 asa so you can still go f2.8 or f2 with 1/1000. Disclaimer; I've no experience with that myself, i'm planning on doing something alike to try the "bokeh" of my new (to me) canon 35mm f1.5 with a portrait in full sunshine. I'm also considering an ND filter, dont know which one though. Success!

[m_.]

Harvey nailed it: metering off your palm. Just make sure that your palm is not directly facing the sun as it will give you under-exposed nagetives if you do that. For b&w, I always meter my palm when it is not directly facing the sun (not completely in shade either). This way, it will give you closer to 18% grey reading.

 

But if you can't hide you palm from the sun, make sure you open up one or 1 1/2 stops with your palm reading and just shoot.

 

Most importantly, have fun and enjoy the company.

[daniel_wickwire2]

Thank you very much for the resonses. I will try the exposure trick using my hand. It also ocurrs to me that I have an old gray card stuck away in my bag. I may have overstated saying that I have big problems with this. I think it´s more lack of experience and confidence shooting under these bright conditions. I need to understand that the resulting image should reflect those harsh conditions and not have a "perfect" look to them. Thinking of putting up an image of mine to show what I mean but can´t figure it out at this internet cafe. But, if you like, here´s a path to an example: http://www.pbase.com/image/13985756

 

Daniel.

[peter_white2]

Don't forget "sunny 16".

[furcafe]

I agree w/Harvey re: metering off the hand (although your gray card, or any other object that can pass for medium gray will work, too) &, even better, using an incident meter. From your description of the lighting conditions, why not try a slower film?

[mike dixon]

The metering suggestions are good. You might want to

overexpose the film by a stop, then pull development by a stop to

compensate--that will help preserve shadow detail while not

getting too much density in the highlights.

[dan flanders]

Go down to your local used camera store and buy two or three � or better yet, several � cheap cameras in the film size of your choice that are working. Run a short roll of film through each to be sure and that you are familiar with its operation and that it will make acceptable pics. If they aren�t RF equipped find an accessory RF. Memorize the Sunny 16 rule but back it up with a small light meter you can depend on. Pack your Leicas or Nikons and leave them with someone you can trust, but DON�T, repeat DON�T take them to Mexico unless you are prepared to visit all the local flea markets and policia station the next day after they are stolen and hope you can pay ransom to get them back. Be prepared to pay a handsome reward to the officer who recovers your camera, and then don't be surprised if it happens again in a day or so. <p> If you use 35mm film get short rolls because your camera � even a cheapie � will probably be stolen and you don�t want all your pics on a long roll still in the camera. Don�t trust your film to any of the local processors and don�t leave stashes of it in our lodgings (it will be thoroughly poured over while you are out seeing the sights and smelling the wonders, and a lot of it will be ruined). Above all, be sure there is nothing intimate, personal, or conceivably incriminating on any film. Keep as much of it as possible on your person or at least in your day pack along with a compacted roll of TP (it has nothing to do with photography, but believe me, you�ll need it!). Don�t drink the water unless it is bottled, and even then only buy it from a reliable source if you can find one! <p> Shoot duplicates with a back-up camera and hope that both of them will not be stolen at the same time. <p> It�s possible that some important issues have not been addressed but you get the idea. Other than that, enjoy your vacation.

[marco_hidalgo]

Daniel: I live in Mexico, but I can't give you any better advice than

the previous posts. Light is difficult here, but not as difficult as

these people's lives. they are called PEPENADORES, which

comes from the spanish verb pepenar, which means to grab.

They look thoroughly into the garbage to pick things up like any

recyclables or precious metals. There is a hole mafia involved

around these people, as there are some bosses who deal with

authorities and sell whatever the pepenadores can pull out from

the dumps. Interesting work Daniel, good luck with your photos.

By the way, May is the hottest and driest month in Mexico.

[john_perkins2]

Use a lightmeter. In direct sunlight ignore your meter completely, unless you're taking

readings off your hand. And get closer than 20-30 yards of your subject, smell or no

smell. I wouldn't worry too much about exposure, at least you don't have to shoot slide.

[Aoresteen]

I'd use a yellow filter to darken the skies & drop the EI to 50. Here's where a hand held incident meter shines. It will give you better exposures.

[marco_hidalgo]

Daniel:

Harry is a little bit paranoid, there is nothing different from Mexico

than say any major city in the U.S. Just keep a low profile, I have

travelled throughout the world and can tell you, there are many

places in the U.S. or Europe that are more dangerous. About the

water issue, we mexicans can even get sick drinking U.S. or

European water, it is just a matter of biology. if your body is not

used to the local microbes you will get sick, no matter from

which country you are and no matter to which country you are

going. ( just drink bottled stuff ).

If you need anything just let me know.

[john_elder1]

You say you will be shooting small groups at 20 to 30 yards. Is this a self imposed limit, or are they fenced in, or is it private propery where you are not allowed? If you can get closer , by all means do so. The 35 cron at 20 yards will make the people very small in the picture. If you can't get closer, try and pick up a thin 90mm tele-elmarit.

[daniel_wickwire2]

Thanks again for all the posts. They help a lot. Harry´s comments above are a little worrisome. But I´ve been to Mexico (actually PV) about 25 times over the past 10 years...my wife works for an airline! I´d never leave my cameras at home. I bought them to use them and if they´re ever stolen I´ll just have to deal with it. I keep the leica and favorite lens on me at all times. If all the other pieces disappeared my life would just get simpler. In response to one of the other comments.... the 20 yards or so is somewhat self-imposed. We may only have 10-15 minutes or so there and my hosts in the volunteer group have made some comments about being sensitive to these people's privacy. I´ve already gotten some good portraits (at least I hope they will be) of children living next to the dump when I´ve walked in those areas. I may also use my 50 or 90 Tele-Elmarit but I don´t think I´m going to want to switch lenses up there because of the dust. Anyway, thanks again for the posts. I´ll keep these in mind while taking these photos. Daniel.

[Rob F.]

If you don't mind my questioning your intention to use ISO 100, I might suggest Tri-X for its excellent exposure latitude. I'd set the meter to 320 instead of 400, and keep the development moderate. That, plus the suggestions to meter off the hand (better yet meter off a small gray card) or use an incident meter, should make your exposures bulletproof.

[roberto_watson_garc_a]

So fifteen minutes, such a far journey to take only that time.

 

I can imagine those people can be easier to shoot getting closer and show you care about what they do, and use a 35 or 28, at 2 or 3 meters, try to do so and you´ll be sorprice of what a good reaction that can be. In this situation I recomend a hand incident meter. If near Mazatlan and need any help, will be a pleasure.

[daniel_wickwire2]

Thank you Roberto and Rob. I do have some Tri-X with me so I´ll think about using that at 320asa. Also, we are volunteering at a school in this area. This is allowing my wife and myself to get involved with the local people at least durng our short stay. We do come here often though so it may grow into a continuing relationship. We are especially enjoying the children--we´re going to help with teaching english two days a week at the school for the next month. They also provide food during these days to the poorest families. They are teaching english and computer skills to kids in the 2nd-8th grade to help them get jobs in the tourist industry here in Vallarta. For photographing up on the dump itself there are just some constraints in place (tough to get up there, concerns by our hosts, etc) so I think it´s going to be a quick thing. I´ll have to play it by ear to see what seems appropriate and what I personally feel comfortable with.

 

Thank you to everyone for posting. It´s probably hard to connect the photo results of this trip with this thread but I´ll post a picture or two when I get them processed if there are some notable ones. Thanks again. Daniel.

[patricks]

BLH, meter off the hand and open up one stop, perhaps get a ND filter that darkens the scene by e.g. 3 stops.

 

i'm also concerned about shooting all the images at 20-30 yards with a 35mm focal lenght. Got a 90 in the bag as well?

[dan flanders]

Some people are content to bury their heads in the sand and ignore the things that happen in their own society until they, themselves, become victims of the organized theft, blackmailing, drugs, and other corruption that surrounds them. Paranoia is a phenomena that affects us all at times, but it is most heavily manifested among those in denial.