The big advantage of having every step in a test-strip cover the same area of your image is that you can place the most important parts of the image there and see how they look with all the exposure-times.
For example, every step above contains the foreground hill, trees and sky. But such a localized test-strip is hard to make because you must move the strip after each exposure and mask everything outside that exposure.
Here's an easy-to-make tool for creating such test-strips.
Start with a hanging file-folder. These are available in office-supply stores and online. Then cut it down like this.
Draw regularly spaced lines as shown above. I taped on a thin strip of white paper with lines so they would be easier to see in safelight. The diagonal sheet of paper is an example of a test-strip consisting of a 4x5 cut in half -- a size I often use when making 4x5 prints.
Hold the device on the easel with hobby magnets as shown above. If your easel lacks a steel surface, make the bottom larger so you can hold it down with weights instead of magnets.
After an exposure, raise the left flap, slide the paper to the right to the next line, and lower the flap.
Ralph Lambrecht, on pages 472-476 of his excellent book, Way Beyond Monochrome (2nd ed) tells us how to make a test-strip printer out of .25-inch-thick plastic sheets that are hinged. My printer above is a simplified version of his device.
I made it large enough to handle a 4x5 test-strip (from an 8x10 cut in quarters). I have found that 4 inches is usually enough to cover the important items in an 8x10.
Mark Overton
For example, every step above contains the foreground hill, trees and sky. But such a localized test-strip is hard to make because you must move the strip after each exposure and mask everything outside that exposure.
Here's an easy-to-make tool for creating such test-strips.
Start with a hanging file-folder. These are available in office-supply stores and online. Then cut it down like this.
Draw regularly spaced lines as shown above. I taped on a thin strip of white paper with lines so they would be easier to see in safelight. The diagonal sheet of paper is an example of a test-strip consisting of a 4x5 cut in half -- a size I often use when making 4x5 prints.
Hold the device on the easel with hobby magnets as shown above. If your easel lacks a steel surface, make the bottom larger so you can hold it down with weights instead of magnets.
After an exposure, raise the left flap, slide the paper to the right to the next line, and lower the flap.
Ralph Lambrecht, on pages 472-476 of his excellent book, Way Beyond Monochrome (2nd ed) tells us how to make a test-strip printer out of .25-inch-thick plastic sheets that are hinged. My printer above is a simplified version of his device.
I made it large enough to handle a 4x5 test-strip (from an 8x10 cut in quarters). I have found that 4 inches is usually enough to cover the important items in an 8x10.
Mark Overton