As a relative newcomer to zone system control of exposure & development I've tri ed, rather incompletely, to understand the strong emphasis placed on making nega tives that will have a range of values supporting the visualized result, printed on "normal" grade paper.
In particular, I see repeated caution against an approach that ensures all impor ant values are contained in the negative, with final contrast control left to se lection of paper grades. This form of approach, I've repeatedly read, (without satisfactory explanation) is inferior to manipulating contrast in the negative d evelopment stage.
Why is this so? In fact, in my limited experience, it may be better to resist e xpansion development of the negative, for example, in order to control grain. N ormal development with expanded contrast in paper grade selection can produce eq ually compelling results, no?
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