Shooting after reading the expuser and developing

[nasser1]

would you (Alternative process) people helping me finding the right process

for the fallowing situation:

 

I am shooting with 400 TMAX. I set my camera on a tripods, load my 8x10 film

holder after viewing the seen and adjustments and all that, take off my

exposure meter and looked at the fallowing: a big tree in the med afternoon

with too much details in its shadow that I would like to catch, in the same

time I don't want to miss the great looking buildings in the background.

 

well I am doing a negative with a great contrast to mach the tone scale of the

Pt.Pd. paper..

 

the shadow of the tree that hold the details under it falls at zone III, and

the background (the buildings)view falls at zone V.

 

what would you do guys? and how about the process mater if it would be with

Kodak D76?

[ronald_moravec1]

If I understand, there are only 4 zones, 2 to 5. Why is this a problem?

 

I would give normal exposure at zone 3 to 4 and standard development for the process.

 

If you mean the building is in 9 or IX, now there are seven and you need detail in 2.

 

Then I would put the tree shadow in 3 so it is one stop under middle grey, then develope so that 9 is printable. This is somewhere about a 2 stop pull. Try cutting the normal development 40%.

 

The problem is when you cut development that much, film speed falls so matbe you have to give even more exposure.

 

Perhaps divided D76 or d23 or divided D23 would be better.

 

You really have to work these out for yourself.

 

Make a mask so you expose only 1/4 the neg and make 4 exposures. Cut it in the dark and work out the time developing on 4x5 piece at a time

 

You can also mask a too contrasty neg before you print. Dye dodge, contrast mask on film, or thin paper perhaps with pencil work. Lots of ways to do it.

[nasser1]

Thank you Ronald,

I forgot to mantion that I am doing this for platinum and palladium printing..

I was wounduring if I could even put the shadow under zone 5!.. I am looking for a more dens negative.. and wounduring if the development could be OK for 20 mintes because both lighting are fulling between 3 to 5.. wich make the Kodak tmax (20 min development) mater is a must for what is in Dick Arnetz's book!

[ronald_moravec1]

Never did plat printing, but I do know the neg needs to have more contrast.

 

Middle tones should go in 5. Shadows go lower. If I want to see detail fully, 3 1/2 or 4 is as low as I go.

 

I would not recommend time for a process I never did.

 

If it were me, I would make various negs developed for different times and see what worked. Times others use are not necessarily transferable. Water & chemical activity vary.

 

I do have times I sent to other people and they get perfect results using my times. This means they agitate just like i do and the water is the same and their thermometers match mine or errors cancel. Who knows?