LeitmotifIt has come to my attention that some people want to keep better track of their exposures, if they use film, I do, its about disipline, but thats not the point of this entry. The point is how to better help those that want to keep track. So with that said this is what I recommend doing.
Purchase a small composition book, one of those 4.5x3.25 (11.4x8.2cm) ones, the mini ones, maybe cost you a dollar something, nothing too much. Have a good pen, I once took an exposure and wanted to write it down and my pen ran out of ink. Irkable to say the least. Have a watch on you. Its good to know the date. More on this later.Now to explain what is going to be written in this book.
At the top of the page, write what film you are using, so you can see the effects if you change films at some point. Below that write if you have done anything to the film, such as pushing it a stop or more. Shutter Speed 1/## (if under a second) 10/## (if more than a second)* Aperture f/##, f.##, and f## will all do Date how ever you best understand it Time Same as above Sky Condition Clear, Partly Cloudy, Over Cast, Raining etc.Remember to number your exposures in the book to better find the exact exposure the information pretains to in a timely manner. Take notice how your camera does its exposure count. Either it counts up to the final exposure or counts down, number accordenly.
I also suggest getting a loupe, to examine your negatives in fine detail over a light table. An 8x loupe from Agfa cost around $7 dollars (USD) nothing thats going to break the bank really. If you take a photo and it is over exposed, look at that negative, look at the information you wrote down about it and figure out why it was over exposed. A single stop could have possibly corrected it.
I hope this helps you better keep track of your exposures and allows you to learn quicker as you progress in your photographic knowledge.
-Thomas S.
*Note on exposures of 1 sec or more. You can simply write down how many seconds it was or use the method I do. I write 10/##, I assume the 10 stand for a whole minute or something, not really sure on this matter, but what I am sure on its the numerics that come after it, shutter speeds after one second and subsequently during that time can be written as such.
10/1 (1 sec), 10/2 (2 sec), 10/3 (3 sec), 10/4 (4 sec), 10/8 (8 sec), 10/10 (10 sec), 10/15 (15 sec), 10/20 (20 sec), 10/30 (30 sec), [aB]** 10/40 (40 sec), 10/60 (1 min), 10/120 (2 min), 10/180 (3 min), 10/240 (4 min), 10/360 (6 min), 10/600 (10 min), 10/900 (15 min), 10/1200 (20 min), 10/1800 (30 min) and finally 10/3600 (1 hour).
**aB is how bulb is sometimes written, and most modern cameras allow for a open shutter up to 10/30 beyond that, bulb setting would be inacted. Those settings are when a cable release is strongly advised as is anything that is stationary and below 1/125.
Love you Jessica.
Devious Comments
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Adam Maraschky
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Today is yesterday's tomorrow - K. R. Proctor.
Film at the top of the page, camera body used
date # (exposure number) mm (focal length) f/ speed subject/notes (filters)
1/21/06 1 50 22 1/8 Waterfall K2
Except they're lined up. It's hard on the computer.
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Adam Maraschky
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Today is yesterday's tomorrow - K. R. Proctor.
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Today is yesterday's tomorrow - K. R. Proctor.
As for your overly complicated use of fractions for long exposure shutter speeds... why not just use 's' for seconds and 'm' for minutes?
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Today is yesterday's tomorrow - K. R. Proctor.
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