Response to film for lanscape work

A few suggestions: 1) Don't limit yourself to a #25A filter. Try a #8 (Yellow) and a #15 (Orange) as well. 2) Overexposure and underdevelopment will give you better shadow detail and will tame the highlights. Don't assume that just because a film is rated at, say, 100 that it has to be exposed that way. 3) PMK Pyro is a great film developer. Cheap, easy-to-use, indefinite shelf life...and the best tonal scale of any developer I've ever tried. Available from Photographer's Formulary: http://www.photoformulary.com/index.html 4) Unless you have a very specific vision, where grain and lack of smooth tonality will add rather than detract from your images, 35mm is the wrong format for landscapes. Invest in an inexpensive medium format camera (twin lens reflex), such as a used Yashica, Minolta Autocord, or Rolleicord. Under $200. 5) Oriental Seagull graded paper is back. Try it, you'll like it. 6) IMHO, the T-Max films are problematical, difficult to develop and fix properly. Forget them. 7) Ilford Pan-F and Delta 100 & 400 are excellent films. Remember them. 8) Try Ektaflo Type 2 or Selectol paper developers. IMHO, Dektol is too harsh for anything but specialty use. 9) Use a tripod and cable release whenever possible. 10) Lock the mirror up on your SLR whenever possible. 11) Print using diffusion, rather than condenser, light sources: cold lights or dichroic color heads. 12) Use fiber-based papers for serious printing. 13) Tone all prints in *something*. An untoned print is an incompletely processed print. http://www.ravenvision.com/rvapeter.htm

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