I recently put out a video on the SFLaB channel where I was out in bright sunlight with a Voigtlander Bessa L camera fixed with a 12mm Ultra Wide Lens. What a combo! I love that little Bessa and lens. When I fancy something different I go wide! But this time I thought I would throw some hard hitting contrast into the mix.
Take the image above for example. This couple wearing these bright cowboy style hats where the sun was directly above. I followed them for a bit and then took the photo from the hip! Get me with all the youngsters terminology! How else would you describe taking a picture from belly height?
It's a crazy contrast image that many would say "It's too contrasty". Of course it isn't. There is no right or wrong way in photography when you are aiming for a certain look. Try telling Jaguar that their new design is awful - which it is! For me anyway. They will still sell to those who like the look. Even if the marketing is a bit strange!
So, with this bright hot sunny spell we are having lately I went out with my Bessa L combo and a few various films chasing highlights for contrast. But how did I achieve this?
Take this photograph of a disused telephone box. This scene had all the right elements I needed.
- The unit itself was shiny alloy silver.
- It had white stickers on the unit
- A white telephone sign
- Separation in the background with the white buildings.
I am chasing the highlights. But it's what I did in camera and in development that made the whole photo and the film become so contrasty. I was "pushing" the film. But not any film. This was ADOX HR-50 film. Which is already a very contrasty film.
My decision was to underexpose my photographs by 3 Stops. Naturally that will render any of my shadows and most mid-tones dark. And, with normal development, my highlights - they would be a muddy grey.
Above is a digital shot of the Bessa L with the 12mm Lens attached. On the right is the correct exposure. On the left is 3 stops underexposed. You can see how much difference it makes to the dark areas. Forget the highlights. This is digital.
So you can see what my underexposure was doing on the streets to my shadows and other mid tones.
Development
This is where I balance the underexposure. With film development the longer you develop the more your highlights build. The developer can't develop any parts of the negative that didn't receive hardly any exposure such as the shadows so these areas stay underexposed. But with extended development times those highlights in the scene continue to develop and become further dense. It's the basics of pushing film. Underexposure and overdevelopment.
The Scenes
So when I am on the street taking pictures knowing I am underexposing and with every intension to extend my development times it leads me to look for scenes with god highlights in - or scenes with shiny metal or bright whites.
Metering
How do I meter? Well, mostly - such as the photographs above, I go with the sunny 16 rule if it's a bright sunny day. If I am shooting a 100 speed film I will meter as though I have a 400 speed film inside. Or even 800 if I want to get deeper contrast. If I am using a camera with aperture priority I will use the cameras semi auto function. Or sometimes I will use my spot meter if I am shooting my medium format cameras and meter on the highlights! Not the shadows!
This photograph was taken with the same camera and lens but I used KODAK TMAX 100 and metered it at 400. The scene had the highlights conflicting against a darker tones and was a perfect recipe for high contrast. The white wall tyre in the background was totally intended. I could have gone even more had I metered the film at 800! But of course I would need to extend my development further. But this is an example of chasing the highlights for high contrast.
Development
There is often a math around pushing film and development times. Often if you are making a 1 Stop push then you would increase your development time by 15%. 2 Stops then it's 30%. But this is just a guess. For me personally I like to clip test a piece of film and develop it to see if my times are on point or if I need to increase or decrease the time.
For this I simply put my roll of film in the camera and load it in the darkroom so I don't waste much film. I then take 2 or three photographs in the same conditions as I intend to shoot the remainder of the film - I.E if it's a sunny day. I then cut the exposed shots from the camera and then develop. From there I can see if I need to add or reduce my time. Out of a roll of 36 I have probably used around 5 or 6 frames but I'd rather that than shoot the remaining frames and realise my highlights haven't built up enough for my contrasty look.
This was taken on Ilford PAN F 50 with a 3 Stop push (400). Again - I had to develop test this film also.
So that is how I achieve a high contrast look but mostly I do this on bright sunny days to achieve maximum contrast. And it's fun also! As you know film photography is very versatile with being creative. All these funky films and development and shooting techniques are there for us to experiment with.
I hope this post has given anyone interested to grab a camera and film and head out chasing highlights and pushing film.
