Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

I have been hesitant to answer

(Download)

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

It is always easier to ask someone than it is to try yourself. Mommy did it for me...............

lmTrying Loc: WV Northern Panhandle

Yes. I learned long time ago that the settings on your camera are probably NOT going to work on my camera, even if I am standing right beside you at the time you made the shot, even if we have the same camera body and lens. Light is a funny thing. We can go to the bottom of the ocean, and go to the moon, but we're still not sure exactly what light is, nor truly how it works.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

My answer
My settings are irrelevant, you situation will be different!

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

And then we would be chastised for being crabby or snide

dsnoke Loc: North Georgia, USA

I prefer to ask or answer the question of "why did you choose the settings you chose?" I want to understand or teach the questions, then the other person can work out their own answers.
Cheers.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

And if you ask that question of me My answer would be Because It works or worked for me.
I gave My GF a Pentax iSTD camera showed her how to set the ISO and use the two little wheels and she is a great photographer, and was a fantastic model when we first met,She no longer models says she is to old now.

jcboy3

Well, you clearly have the choice of sharing your knowledge and giving someone some pointers on how to take pictures, or telling them to f**k off.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

When I am asked "Waht settings did you use...etc., I simply revel them. Yes, it can be a silly, useless or irrelevant question and answer simply because that settg can be unique to the situation that I was shooting in, perhaps dependant on a particular process or post-processing procedure that would nullify that setting under another method, and, of course, various in equipment usage. On the other hand, however, my revelation may assist the person asking the question in gleanig some useful information as to the correct shutter speed to caputure action or cause intentional blur, the appropriate aperture to increase or decrease depgh of the field or to maximize lens performance.

I always encourage experimentation and trial an error in practice but a basic idea or starting point is not a bad idea.

Years ago, when I started my professional photography training, I was taught a good deal of foolproof methodologies and settings for the work I was given to perform. Oftentimes there was no time or tolerance for experimentation, however, creative people will use certain standards as guidelines and continually experiment, creating variations while foming their own style and ways of doing things. Folk who are not particularly creative or artisticallys talented will do things mechanically according to instructions or routine but may still come up with somewhat acceptable results.

There is no copyright on "f/whatever @ 1/whatever of a second" Using a suggested exposure or technique is not emulating or copy-catting a style or artistic interpretation- just like emulating the lighting perceptions of the Old Masters is not necessarily counterfeiting their work or passing it off as old masterpieces. Rembrandt and Gainsborough are my favourites.

To the OP- Your first enlarger was manufactured in my old hometown (Brooklyn, N.Y.) by the Federal Engineering and Manufacturing Co. I was abo to get one on the cheap that came off the production line with a bad paint job and I did set up a darkroom in the "toilet"! I could not afford a Rolleiflex at the time at 500 bucks (1957) so I settled for a Yashica-Mat discounted for $59.95.

I do agree that no matter how many lights are used, the results should seem that there is only ONE main directional light source. Simple and reliable lighting gear is best. Some of the newfangled stuff has too many bells and whistles and some fokls spend too much time messing around with their gear, in order to get it to work, and are distracted from concentrating on these subjects. Buff gear is fine and the company offers great service. I have had my Speedotron and Photogrnic gear for over 35 years and still in service. My last moonlight purchase was 12 years ago and the stuff is in use just about every day.

For me, exposure settings for me has become a combination of instinct, eyeballing, and muscle memory. I do use an exposure meter on occasions- making to make sure the strobes are working properly before long shoots.

ecurb Loc: Metro Chicago Area

I recall that , when asked about camera settings, Minor White would say, "the camera was used faithfully".

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

This has always been a hobby for me so experimenting was no problem and I still do some from time to time.
The A/Bs are great as long as you can let then recycle to full power for each shot other wise the color temp Can vary

Bill_de Loc: US

All the talk about settings, day in and day out, yet I've yet to see anyone mention the On/Off switch. I wonder how many people are sitting at their kitchen table looking up the price of a new battery, because their fully charged doesn't seem to work.



--

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

I do find it useful though to know if you deviated from a meter reading, by how much and why.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

LOL

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Then you should experiment !!!
I don't go by the exposure meter any more!!
I don't give a Rotund Rodents Rectum about the Histogram