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Thread: Bracketing...

  1. #1

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    Bracketing...

    Just curious how many of you shoot more than one sheet for a single image? Years ago when I first started shooting, I shot 3 sheets per scene: metered and bracketed -1 and +1 stop. Over time I dropped to two sheets. But what I’ve noticed is that my metered (or determined) exposures are always the ones I use, while I find the bracketed shot of little value. other than to confirm my metered shot was right on. I shoot mostly 4x5 but occasionally 8x10. So as not to be a film waster, I’m thinking about not shooting that second bracketed shot, and if a negative doesn’t turn out as expected, go back and shoot another.

    So, who shoots just one sheet, and who shoots more via bracketing? And is there an advantage, given that I’ve almost always used the metered exposure, to having the second sheet? Looking for a little insight into this small corner of my madness!

    Thanks,

    Brian

  2. #2

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    Re: Bracketing...

    Dear Brian,

    I expose one 8X10 negative, but I do expose a second negative when I believe that the wind caused the camera to move unexpectedly and, or I believe my subject blinked...

    I develop my film accordingly, once I determine what the exposed dynamic range happens to be, after I set and make the exposure with purpose.

    jim k

  3. #3

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    Re: Bracketing...

    I bracket for development... shoot 2 negatives the same and then if I need to tweak development I have a spare sheet to play around with.

  4. #4

    Re: Bracketing...

    only one. if your'e careful that's all that you need. especially with 8x10

  5. #5
    Land-Scapegrace Heroique's Avatar
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    Re: Bracketing...

    The more “important” the shot, the more likely I’ll bracket. If lighting happens to be complex too, I’ll often take 2 or 3 more. And if it’s transparency film, I might even take 3 or 4 more. I’ve been in situations when all apply, and I’ll blow through even more sheets! (And just for the sake of exposure; this is of course only one reason why bracketing might be a good idea.) Later, I often find that many of these “insurance” shots have an interest of their own that I wouldn’t have anticipated. The reason I calibrated my field gear & darkroom equipment was to “get it right” the first time, but the more I think about it, the less I believe this has actually “saved” me film, time or uncertainty. (BTW, I think uncertainty, to some degree, is a beneficial attitude to have in the field. Not the distracting type that accompanies being unprepared. But the productive type that naturally accompanies active thought and pre-visualization.)

    Short answer – by far I take only one shot per composition.

  6. #6
    Resident Heretic Bruce Watson's Avatar
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    Re: Bracketing...

    Quote Originally Posted by bvstaples View Post
    So, who shoots just one sheet, and who shoots more via bracketing?
    I never bracket. I learned how to use a 1 degree spot meter and the Zone System. After my first couple of months I weaned myself off bracketing. I've very seldom missed an exposure since, and then not by much.

    I do on occasion make more than one exposure however. Usually to try different f/stops for DOF (I usually can't judge the difference between f/32 and f/64 on the ground glass -- just not enough light for these old eyes). Sometimes for motion, like wind induced motion blur, or moving clouds.

    But the vast majority, like 98% of my exposures, are a single sheet of film. But if bracketing works for you, then by all means do it. Whatever helps you put forth your vision is fine with me.

    Bruce Watson

  7. #7

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    Re: Bracketing...

    I never bracket with MF and LF film. However, I sometimes bracket when shooting 12X20 or 20X24 film and plan to print the negatives with wet processing. There are two reasons. One, shooting the large formats is technically more challenging than smaller formats and there is a greater risk of failure due, and second, you can process the first negative to see how it looks, an then make adjustments in processing to get exactly the contrast needed.

    Sandy King
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  8. #8

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    Re: Bracketing...

    I feel really comfortable with the zone system now, so I never bracket or take digital or polaroid test images anymore. So, the only time I take more than one exposure is...

    - It's likely I can't return to the site without a great deal of difficulty if something bad happened to the first shot I didn't know about. In this case, I take a second shot, but I start from scratch and do everything the same way.

    - I want to play around with a different interpretation of the scene, exposure-wise. This is different than bracketing, to me at least as it is another purposefully zone-metered shot.

  9. #9

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    Re: Bracketing...

    I usually take two shots of each scene. They usually differ by a filter or by an f-stop, rather than just exposure. There are scenes with difficult exposures where I take two shots. This is almost always a high contrast scene where exposing for the shadows will give me a really dense negative. I will often shoot a second negative with less exposure, just to see if it works. Sometimes it is the better negative because the loss of shadow detail is more than offset by better midtone separation. The second negatives also give me a backup, since both are usually good.

  10. #10
    ki6mf's Avatar
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    Re: Bracketing...

    I never bracket. When its a negative with an extreme contrast as measured with a 1 degree spot meter I will sometimes shoot a backup negative and leave it unexposed and will decide to change development time to change contrast after the first negative is developed and printed.
    Wally Brooks

    Everything is Analog!
    Any Fool Can Shoot Digital!
    Any Coward can shoot a zoom! Use primes and get closer.

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