I am new to the world of Black and White and am very interested in photographing at night. I would appreciate any suggestions dealing with the light source and time. (any other suggestions are always appreciated)

-- Patricia Hart (xamott@collegeclub.com), October 02, 1998

Answers

Beware of bright, glaring light sources. Overexpose, then undevelop in a compensating developer. There's about a half-hour of twilight when the light is perfectly balanced. Reciprocity will be a factor when the light is very dim and your exposures are over one second. T- Max films have good reciprocity characteristics; you might want to start there. There are many approaches: long exposures on a tripod; fast lenses and film hand-held. Flash is an option too. You can even "paint with light" using multiple flashes. Trial and errorlots of error!will be your guide. Night photography is tough. If you have any specific questions, e-mail me.

-- Peter Hughes (leonine@redshift.com), October 02, 1998.

Patricia,

In black and white night photography, many of the same principles of black and white will still apply. First, expose for your shadows and develop for your highlights. Second, choose a film with excellent reciprocity characteristics--the T-Max Films would certainly be an excellent choice. I would also consider our T400 CN Film which can be exposed as long as 120 seconds without a correction. From there, I generally recommend that you examine your scene to get a feel for where your values will fall. Think about what you are exposing for, what your 'subject' is. A good tripod and a cable release are a must for night photography. We also have some excellent literature available on existing light photography or visit our web site at: www.kodak.com

Have fun!

Michael D. D'Avignon - KODAK Professional

-- Michael D. D'Avignon - KODAK Professional (l638708@mso.kodak.com), October 14, 1998.

I always shoot with tmax 400 with licht sources around try this, Set your aparture at 8 and time at 8 sec. then develope in tmax developer diluted 1 to 4 for 6.5 min. 24 degrees and you will be suprised.

-- jos de Bat (info@photographics.nl), September 08, 1999.