Confusion about push/pull

[brucep]

Can someone explain in terms that a 3 year old idiot would understand about over exposing / pull processing and under exposing / push processing.

Assume this 3 year old idiot has searched the forums and got themselves even more confused than they were before, but regardless, they have got up before the birds to go and take a sunrise on the beach and in a half asleep state, have left all their filters at home. To make matters worse, they have run into a deer on the way and arrived after the sun has come up over the horizon!

The sun is now too bright, but the shadows in the rocks are too dark and the only film available is Fuji Velvia 50.

To capture the full contrast range do they under expose then push process or do they over expose and pull process?

Confused

[vinny]

"The sun is now too bright, but the shadows in the rocks are too dark and the only film available is Fuji Velvia 50."

You're fuct.

Push/pull processing doesn't work with transparency fill nearly as well as with color neg or b+w. Still, you'd over expose and underdevelop (pull). I normally rate velvia @40 anyways but in this case you could try 32 and -1/2 stop pull. You'll get color shifts as well if you go any further than that. That said, I don't recommend it with velvia.

[Robert Hughes]

Fill lighting is your friend. Bring a big white card and shoot it again.