Portraiture in a 3 Developer system
My normal film is TMY, and regardless of the scene, I expose it at 400. Makes it easy for my little brain to not be overwhelmed badly in the field when I see a cool picture. I use 3 different developers with TMY, each with a specific agitation pattern, to give me the negative that will express what I want to show about the scene.
In direct sunlight, I usually use
XTOL 1+2 and minimal agitation, and the shadows are full, the midtones are right where they want to be and have very strong local contrast. The highlights are harmonious. Obviously, my world is more strings and woodwinds, not brass bands.
Indirect light, or dappled highlights,
Rodinal 1+50, with minimal agitation. Rodinal lifts the natural shoulder of TMY a little higher than does the Xtol, and makes -for me- a
normal negative.
When the light is indirect, flat, or overcast,
Edwal 12 (made with 2.5 g of glycin) lifts the highlights a bit higher than does Rodinal.
My own feeling is that tone control is more important than grain or sharpness; the balance is what I'm looking for. This 'system' is worked out for portraiture, incident reading, and Ilford paper. I need to do very little burning or dodging, and most negatives print without a filter, in a moderate contrast developer like LPD. This approach works well for me, whatever its limitations, because I'm a pretty intuitive photographer and can't begin to keep numbers in my head when it is time to make pictures. This way, I can simply shoot the pictures, knowing there is a way to develop the film, and mark the film bag when I'm done with a
+ (meaning the light was flat and the film needs Edwal) or
o (the light was hot, and gets Xtol. It usually doesn't take long to remember that no marking means Rodinal, and I have a note on the wall of the darkroom to remind me.
I ALWAYS shoot a short, test roll which gets developed first. I'm an airhead, not a fool.
The comparative curves are accurate. I normally see a threshold white with MGFB/MGFBW at a 1.5 density: I print to Zone X, not IX. Obviously I care a great deal about Zone VI, not so much about the deep shadows.
It works... FOR ME !
