Notches to indicate binary numbers filed in the edge of the loading flap can be keyed to external labels. Like many old system it still works well today.
Notches to indicate binary numbers filed in the edge of the loading flap can be keyed to external labels. Like many old system it still works well today.
My holders are numbered by sheet, i.e., one holder has two numbers: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, etc. The holders are simply numbered with permanent marker in the small space provided. Each holder has a set of notches filed in the flap that corresponds with the sheet number. This is a Roman numeral system: small round notch = 1, V-shaped notch = 5, square notch = 10, slender vertical notch = 50, large round notch = 100. I don't need more than that. The notches imprint on the rebate area of the film when exposing.
I keep a field notebook with exposure records. Each set up gets at least one record, which contains title, location, date, sheet number(s), film type, exposure info, development info, lens used, filter(s) used, a worksheet for bellows and reciprocity corrections, notes, etc. These I use to organize everything when developing. Later, they get filed together with the negatives and the proof sheets in my negative storage binders.
Best,
Doremus
I can’t resist a question for those keeping extensive notes for each exposure: what do you use them for? For myself, the only thing I do is use post-it stickies to mark the rare sheets or holders that need significantly differing processing (N- or N+). Since I use only one film (HP5+), that simplifies things, and I don’t know why I need to remember which lens I used or other settings. But I’m always open to learning better procedures.
I used to use a form sold by zone vi for exposure but as time went on it became an exercise that was wasted time
I now develop by inspection and most of my exposures are n+1...I do keep a notebook with the date and location
Does one really believe if someone looks at your art that they care if you used the super deluxe woof n poof lens
Never once have I seen it listed in a gallery
Lenses are for taking photos not bragging rights
Peter Lewin, that's right with the way I think, too. Also, keeping track takes time. I'd rather make an extra image per day. And as you do, I don't mark "Normal", only odd ones. If exposed and unmarked, then I assume normal. This came about one day when I didn't have a pencil.
For when someone asks what lens and f/stop did I use for an image 30 years ago.
PS...got to do something during a 30 minute exposure -- might as well write the notes. LOL!
"Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China
Definitely to make developing decisions — but also to maybe understand what went wrong with some particular photo.
Beyond that, notes can really clarify whether that subject may not be sharp because of wind or because of miscalculating the aperture, or overexposed for some mistake.... to me it helps learning from mistakes, and also learn from your equipment: that holder is consistently having some leakage issues, that lens is consistently giving me really sharp or great microtonal pictures, that lens is not as sharp as that other one, that filter really works in getting the effect I’m after, etc And your style: what focal lengths I use most, what movements I use and how well executed are they, what decisions do I make in the field in deciding b&w vs color, was that a safety shot, random find, planned, etc
There’s a lot to learn and improve if the notes are written down to give you good information. But in my mind they’re only useful to the photographer him/herself.
I have a diary of my photographic efforts...searching through my notebooks (yellow Rite-in-the-Rain field note books, 4.5"x7") for info about a image I made, for example in Yosemite sometime in the 1990s maybe, becomes a small expedition through my personal history...tho I did not start keeping such records until the mid-80s.
One really does not need notes if everything's the same all the time. But change processes, try a different printing style or subject matter, experiment a little, and so forth, then notes come in handy. When I find myself out of my backyard (under the redwoods) and in new light, having the SBR of each scene helps as I develop each sheet (or group them into Expert Drums) for what the final printing process will be (usually pt/pd or carbon transfer).
My volume of exposed negatives is relatively low -- a full day of photographing in the field with the 8x10 and perhaps 3 holders exposed (perhaps 4 to 5 different images) would be a very productive day. So I never feel note-taking slows me down -- and in changing light, the exposures have the right-of-way over note taking, and I'll record from memory ASAP.
"Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China
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