Re: Stouffer step tablets & gold

Terry King (101522.2625@CompuServe.COM)
16 Oct 96 16:43:28 EDT

I think it was Risa who said:

' Driving home from work I had a great discussion with myself about how
creating contrast
with light differs/relates to creating contrast thru development. '

The basic fact is that one exposes for density and develops for contrast.

This is because there is little light in the shadows which leads to little
silver in the negative which is developed to the full quickly. There is a lot
more silver in the highlights to the extent that over development could make the
film becoming opaque. So the longer you leave the film in the developer, the
greater the contrast. This leads to the old saying ' Expose for the shadows but
develop for the highlights'. One may even come across old timers who will claim
that before the zone system was invented this system worked just as well.

Stouffer and other step wedges, as Pete says, are very useful for demonstrating
this principle and for helping students achieve the appropriate density range
for a particular printing process. ( I can remember Peter Marshall demonstrating
this very effectively ). This is so whether it be for a thin positive for a
gravure or a thin negative for a chrysotype or a punchy one for platinum.

I am told that somebody on television the other night said that the one colour
one could not expect from a chrysotype was gold. I have a golden coloured
chrysotype sittting in the dark room at the moment. Should I be concerned ?

Terry King