BW pictures in sunshine during the middle of the day

[Chuck_1686]

Maybe you could try pre-exposing the film to help control the contrast.

[Michael A.Smith]

That photograph was by Paula. I won't say that Paula photographs inside/outside photographs all the time, but she does it frequently and always manages to hold detail at both ends of the scale. Partly it is due to long-scale film (we have heard that Efke film has such a long scale), and equally importantly, the Azo paper we print on. Azo is capable of handling a very long tonal range without blocking up. If I had to come down on the side of which is more important I would say the paper is. Conrad rightly said: if you decrease development too much you lose mid-tone separation. So the trick is to give full exposure to get detail in the lowest values and develop long enough to get mid-tone separation, but not block up the highlights. Then print on Azo, which can be seen as a "cpmpensating paper." That is not strictly true, but the effect is the same as if it were.

We photograph in full sun and mid-day all of the time. We prefer that light--it is subtle, not dramatic. The tiny (rather than long) shadows perk it up just enough and there is usually a full range of tones, however hard you may have to look for them or however subtle they might be..

What light you choose to work in is really a function of your world view. I see everything as important and my photographs are structured right up to the edges--everything is considered. If everything is important, I don't want things hidden in shadows. No right or wrong in this--just personal preference.

[Francis Abad]

I concur. I perfer midday sun because I like everything in the scene to be included in the negative. My tastes dictate that there is detail in shadows and not just empty black space - detail in highlights and not just empty white space. Midday (or sun up high) shots ensure this. As a matter of fact I have just got back from such a day and I can attest to what Michael said as being true: every inch of the negative will have detail in it - in part because of Efke, Pyrocat and AZO (the choice of materials), but just as importantly, the scene was well lit.