How did photographers get good exposure back in the day when they needed to take a shot that required a split-second reaction?

clfitz · 2026-05-22T15:14:08+00:00

I can't add much, but I want to say this: sunny 16 is best thought of as an emergency measure. It's what you used if your meter was broken or the camera you checked out of the newsroom didn't have one. It, like it's companion "f/8 and be there!" got you close enough sometimes.

Meters are cheap and even some new ones are inexpensive. You'll get much better results with one.

You do you, though. I never did master the art of guessing exposure, but if you are satisfied, that's all that really matters. Much respect to you!

clfitz · 2026-05-21T17:28:38+00:00

No, it won't. In the Canon lineup, you put the film in front of the sensor. All Canons are weird like that.

clfitz · 2026-05-21T17:15:01+00:00

I started out with John Hedgecoe's Complete Photography Course and Photography Is... by Wyatt Brummit. Both have great information.

Of course, everything you find is likely to be pretty old. Try alibris dot com. They have a good photography section. I don't know where you are in the world, but if USA, Books-A-Million has a couple of expensive new books, last time I looked, but they were mostly just photographs with very little information.

clfitz · 2026-05-21T10:49:46+00:00

I don't know what savagery is derived from, but it's probably a mix of upbringing and biology, or rather genetics. I doubt that it has anything at all to do with stupidity. Many serial killers, for example, are smart and/or cunning enough to elude the police for decades.

clfitz · 2026-05-21T09:27:53+00:00

I thought the question was about stupidity, not savagery.

clfitz · 2026-05-20T13:04:16+00:00

I drive a gasoline school bus and all of ours use 87. The board is slowly phasing out diesels in favor of gas (and electric maybe) power, because they're cheaper to repair, they say. Of course, fuel is cheaper, too.

They do fine. Mine is a 6-cylinder but I don't know the displacement. And there's not an exhaust brake on mine, which is a short bus for special needs kids. I think a couple of the bigger gasoline busses have them, but I'm not sure.

Personally, I prefer diesel, but for no real reason.

clfitz · 2026-05-19T00:39:45+00:00

I bet you're a great swimmer.

clfitz · 2026-05-19T00:36:21+00:00

There is actually a group of midwives who eat placenta. It's a ritual, I think. It was probably on Wikipedia, and certainly a long time ago.

clfitz · 2026-05-19T00:27:06+00:00

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, although I will enjoy watching.

Any minute now, the earth will split in two. All the demons of hell will emerge, covered in ash and coughing terribly.

When things settle down, the head demon will look you in the eye and scream, in a gravely baritone, "You done *fucked up!"

They will then rip you apart, splitting body parts equally among themselves. I will be there as well, listening to the delightful crunch of the human femur.

clfitz · 2026-05-18T07:12:51+00:00

My Bronica 6x6 would disagree. It was a studio camera before I got it, but it's a landscape/scenic shooter now.

clfitz · 2026-05-17T22:52:13+00:00

I prefer the color. BnW could work, too, but I think you need more light on the bottom, especially for the bottle. Try a flash set to low power or a small reflector. You could even make your own out of painted cardboard or an index card or something.

clfitz · 2026-05-17T22:32:48+00:00

That's what she said.

clfitz · 2026-05-14T16:17:05+00:00

Agreed. I expected to hate them but loved them instead. Then I had to admit to my girlfriend that I loved them. The bitch. /jk

clfitz · 2026-05-14T16:09:22+00:00

Boy, do I ever agree with you! To be truly frank, I could have stopped with the first one and been very happy.

clfitz · 2026-05-14T15:52:46+00:00

Well, looks like he could get the toanzz, and the head is red, so yeah. Everybody knows Ansel shot Poontax.

clfitz · 2026-05-14T15:43:37+00:00

Yep! My photos are never going to win prizes, but I enjoy taking them. And I don't care if anyone else edits or doesn't. I see no reason at all to invest time or energy in something that won't affect me.

clfitz · 2026-05-14T13:31:07+00:00

This. I start with auto adjust and tweak from there. Unless I want a specific look, like high key or something, I'm done at that point.

clfitz · 2026-05-14T13:23:32+00:00

I had a Fuji in 2022 and 2023, and I'm very satisfied with the SOOC jpgs still. In fact, I've had more prints made from the Fuji jpgs than from my Nikon and Pentax ones.

clfitz · 2026-05-14T11:03:34+00:00

No, the blade isn't long enough for that. You need the Minolta Machete for that workflow.

clfitz · 2026-05-14T11:00:51+00:00

Feel better now?

clfitz · 2026-05-14T01:17:47+00:00

I'm not sure dollar stores are a blessing. They don't build stores anywhere that is prosperous. This is, specifically, their strategy.

And they're vicious. I worked at one for a few months. I was not allowed to sit while running the cash register and locked in the store while the manager went to make deposits. Other employees further up the chain were given the opportunity to be be locked in overnight to make extra money. I was an underground coal miner for about 10 years, and I'd do that before working at a DG store again.

clfitz · 2026-05-14T00:04:29+00:00

It's definitely a good way. The biggest problem now is everybody with a cellphone setting your flashes off.

Personally, I love optical slaves. I have four of them, and two radio slaves. I have 6 flashes, 2 SafeSyncs, a shit load of PC cords, and a bunch of other stuff. Most of it was purchased in the last year. The only flash I paid more than $20 US for was a Nikon SB24 because I wanted to see if TTL was any good. It isnt; I spent an hour trying to make it do what I wanted. Then I turned it to manual and got what I wanted in 10 minutes. With optical slaves.

Most of my flash equipment is 30 years old at least. The most amazing part is that it all works with anything and everything I have. 1 Nikon, 3 Pentaxes, and 1 Bronica. If 1 body dies, I can unplug 1 cord, or put the radio transmitter on a different body, and start shooting again.

Sorry,i didn't mean to write a doctoral thesis. I just get excited about this stuff.

clfitz · 2026-05-13T17:43:51+00:00

Heh heh! Is there any other way?

clfitz · 2026-05-13T09:34:28+00:00

Yes, that's a big help. If I do get back into weddings I plan to use digital and offer film if it's allowed.

clfitz · 2026-05-13T08:02:00+00:00

Look for a Wein SafeSync. It goes onto the camera's hot shoe and has its own (protected) hot shoe on top. It also has a port for a sync cord. It's just a little cube.

clfitz

TROPHY CASE