----- Original Message -----
From: "Shel Belinkoff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: June 4, 2001 9:39 AM
Subject: Re: Spotmeters (Was: Learning To make a Photograph)
> William Robb wrote:
>
> > I have seen hand held light meters with "spot" attchments.
These
> > give about 5� angle of acceptance, hardly a spot meter at
all.
> > Dont discount incident light readings. Metering the light
> > falling on the subject, rather than the light reflecting
fron
> > the subject is far more accurate.
>
> Maybe ... but essentially I disagree with that statement. If
the
> scene is an average scene, then an incident meter can be
useful.
> However, add some deep shadows and some very bright
highlights, and
> you're not going to get a reading that will allow for the best
> exposure, i.e., relying on what the incident meter tells you
won't
> give you the opportunity to place shadow or highlight values.
> Further, there will be little opportunity to really learn
about
> light and exposure. With a 1-degree spot meter you you can
meter
> every part of the scene, and know exactly where the values
will be
> and what you have to do to properly expose the film and what
> development will be needed.
Pleas allow me to obfuscate further, the muzzification that I
was attempting to induce in your less than obtuse mind.<G>
For me, there is pretty much always a SUBJECT in the photograph.
If I can walk up to that subject and stick a meter in it's face
and get a reading, then I know exactly how much light is falling
on it.
I am about to admit to the world, something that I probably
shouldn't admit.
I don't give a rats ass about metering.
I meter the subject, I decide where on the film curve I want it
placed. I look (not meter, but look) at the subject in its
context and decide what development strategy to follow with the
negative I am about to expose.
I then set aperture based on needed DOF and my shutter to give
what I figure will give me a nice fat negative to play with.
As I get older, I find that fat isn't so bad.
I carry three empty film boxes with me. One is marked "-", one
"N" and one "+".
"-" gets 20% less development, and "+" gets 20% more, than
normal.
Sometimes. I will put the film sheet from one side of the film
holder into one box, and the other into a different box.
Sometimes I just expose one sheet, sometimes I expose a dozen on
the same (exactly) scene and spread them indiscrimanately
through all the boxes.
I like to be where the fish are.
Sometimes, I cast my hook and get a mermaid.
Sometimes, just an ugly old carp.
When I was younger, a pretty carp would pass as a mermaid.
This is no longer the case.
The only way to get better is to raise the bar above your head.
>
>
> > Cheap light meters are not a good investment, IMO. The have
a
> > tendency to not be accurate, not have good linearity and not
be
> > colour blind (a fatal flaw in most light meters).
>
> I agree 100%.
>
> > As an aside, spot meters are not the easiest things to learn
how
> > to use. It is not enough to just point the thing at a spot
on
> > the subject and transfer the reading to the camera. You have
to
> > be able to estimate accurately where on the tonal range of
the
> > film the area you are metering will fall, you have to know
if
> > your meter shows colour bias towards what you are measuring,
and
> > if so, how much so that it can be accounted for.
>
> And that was my original point in suggesting that some
knowledge
> beforehand (Adams' Zone System, for example) is an important
> consideration when using a spot meter. The spot meter makes
more
> demands of the user, but, in time, the user will better
understand
> light and exposure.
Personally, I think that anyone who wants to learn
"photography" (Latin for "painting with light") needs to use
completely manual equipment. This is the only way to get to know
what you are doing to the point it is second nature.
Exposing film is not rocket science. It is driving a car, or a
nail. Eventually, you can do it without a lot of concious
thought.
I suspect that the reason I am so lassez faire about my
technique is because I know light.
William Robb
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