Correct way to meter a landscape

[Alvaro Bertoni]

WOW,

Thank you all very much for taking the time to help me.
I was quite taken by the amount of responses piled in my inbox.
I read every single reply twice and I'm definitely better suited now than I was a couple of days ago; seriously. I'm even more inspired to get out and shoot now. I am absolutely thrilled by the amount of activity and knowledge present here.
You have all made me feel welcome.
This is the first time I have posted and it definitely wont be the last.
I was so naive to think that Large Format Photography was scarce.
THANKS A MILLION.

[calbee]

To meter a landscape or any shot done in available light it all depends on the contrast of your scene. if your sceen is a 5 stop range between your hightlight (with printable detail) and your shadow area (with printable detail) your golden, that's a normal exposure. So to meter this scene get the f-stop of of your zone III and the F-stop of your zone VII and set your lens at zone V. Although none of this really means shit unless you have a densitomiter and do a parametrics test for your correct development time at least down to +/-10 seconds or so.

RULE #1 of photography...
expose for you shadow
develope for your highlight

[Ralph Barker]

The old rule of exposing for the shadows and developing for the highlights is really a gross over-simplification, and only works for B&W. Even for B&W, it should probably read, "expose for your processing-adjusted shadows and develop to gain control over your highlights." And, while the advice has some relevance for color, color processing doesn't respond in the same manner, contrast control-wise, to adjustment. Thus, the application of the old saw can vary, I think, based on how it is interpreted.

Even without the use of a densitometer, however, I think the basic metering concepts of the Zone System can be used to advantage for both B&W and color. Understanding that the reflective reading is the exposure that will render the metered area as a medium gray (or, its color equivalent), and that the area so metered can be "placed" up or down the scale by varying the exposure (or, the lighting ratio in the studio) is a huge step forward - even assuming "normal" development.

Other adjustments to the old saying can also be applied for color work. For color transparencies, for example, it might be better said as, "expose for your highlights, and augment the lighting for your shadows" - particularly if you are shooting for magazine reproduction, where the values need to be held to a 3½-4 stop range.