Wow, this is a lot more response than I had hoped for! Thanks all. Phil was wrong on one point, the priest didn't leave out the film speed, I did! I did ask him that in our discussion and he mentioned he was using 200 speed with a 1/125th exposure. The point the priest was making was that all of the shots were candid, catching people in their real persona.
So, Phil, let me know if I'm right: If I find the proper exosure time in the provided light, I would just have to count the number of stops from the faster exposure I use to find out how many times to increase the development.
EXAMPLE:
Given: 1. Development time is recommended at 6 min.
2. Picture shot at 1/125
2. Picture shot at 1/125
3. Meter reads 1/4 @ 3.5
Am I multiplying 6min times five or ten?
Philip Wayner <pwdloge@earthlink.net> wrote:
Hi:
The information you received from the priest leaves out one very
important piece of data, what was the film speed?
Depending on the exposure needed to record low levels of light the film
speed, exposure time, and rate of development are the factors to
consider.
You mentioned that the Priest used "extended development", this is know
as "Push Processing". Any developer can be used for this kind of
processing. The amount of film speed gain is controlled by the
percentage of extended time based on the normal developing time.
Normally an increase of 100 percent, one lens stop, is
two times the normal development time.
As you increase the film speed and extend developing times the contrast
of the negative is increased over normal results and there is a loss of
shadow detail and an increase in grain size.
The "faster" the original film speed the less increase in extended time
is needed. A film speed of 125 would need much more increased
developing time then a film
rated at 3200.
The activity of the developer formula also has a part in increasing film
speed. This is a matter of the chemicals used. As one person suggested
you could use a paper developer which is much more active than most film
developers. However the results could be very high contrast to the
point where the highlights are blocked.
The "trick" to low light photography is to learn what exposure is needed
and then determine exposure and development. The limitations then
become what is the
slowest speed for sharp hand held exposures and when is a tripod needed
to get the shot for the film speed used. If it is known before hand
that light levels will be low the obvious thing to do is use the fastest
film speed available. Then if needed, to push process the film in
developing using an active developer or extending the
developing time of the normal developer used.
Since temperature is also a factor in developing results it is necessary
to have information as to the change of time based on temperature.
There is always a suggested time /temperature combination for a specific
temperature. When developing times are less than 4 minutes due to
increased temperature or chemical activity there is the danger of uneven
development.
As for trying an experiment with just candle light, this can be done
using a tripod and a time exposure or using a slow shutter speed with a
large f stop. The correct exposure will be based on how the exposure
reading is made and the speed of the film. If done correctly the use of
normal development will work.
D 76 is a very good formula, it is soft working and can be used for push
processing. The T Max developer is a much more active formula that is
very sensitive to changes in time, temperature and agitation. It can
very quickly reach a point of too much contrast or density with little
changes , thus is not a good choice for extended development.
Phil
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