Light is a wonderful thing. It is made up of gazillions of photons, particles of pure energy produced in Stars. It is the energy we rely upon to see and to keep warm. It is also the one thing we have to be able to read in order to take a decent photo. To do this we need a system that can read the ambient or reflected light. Most "modern" cameras have a light meter built in to help us, but not all the cameras that I use have that luxury. I have to use an external light meter and the first type is something we all have, Mk.1 Eyeballs.
Our eyes are designed to detect photons that are emitted by and stars and reflected off everything in our universe. To read the light simply look around. If it's dull, your iris' will open up to let more light through your pupils and into your eyes. A camera lens works exactly the same way, open the aperture on your lens and more light can get through to your film or sensor if you like digital witchcraft!
To help us there is something called "Sunny 16". This a simple system we can all learn for those days when our chosen camera has no working built in light meter, or indeed, one at all. We look at the conditions, we watch the clouds, we observe. If it's bright and sunny with no clouds in the sky, set your camera lens to f/16, set your camera shutter speed to 1/500th of a second and have fun. I use Sunny 16 a lot and generally it works out fine. It teaches you a lot and you learn to adapt to your local conditions all year around. I have learned that here in Wigan we get a lot of 1/250th at f/11 kind of days in summer and on dark winter days it's more like 1/60th at f/8.
What do you do if the conditions are variable, sunny for a minute or three, then the clouds move in for a bit? I am notorious for forgetting stuff courtesy of my brain injury, so I went hunting for a simple memory reminder that I could keep in my pocket and bring out if I wasn't sure what settings to use. Andy's Handy Exposure Calculator is a simple, sliding scale you can make at home from paper or card. I took a leap of faith, gave it a try and it has helped me enormously over the years. You can find it at Andy's Handy Exposure Calculator where there's two versions. I use the mini and, though it may look a little "Heath Robinson DIY", it works.
On the other end of the tech there are a multitude of apps for smart phones, both Android and the infernal iPhone. I use Light Meter Free that I found on Google Play and it's a handy thing to have as a back up. I don't like reaching for my phone every time I want to take a film photo, but it was free, doesn't take much space on my phone and it's there if I need it. You can find a light meter to suit your needs in the App store and Google Play.
Most days you will see me using my Gossen Trisix selenium light meter. Selenium is a wonderful substance that creates an small electrical charge when it is exposed to light. Clever people in the 20th century learned how to use selenium to power a circuit that moves a needle and tells you how much light you have to work with. My Gossen Trisix was a gift from my friend Owen, but it is going to fail at some point. Entropy is our nemesis so I went hunting for a more modern solution that wont look out of place on my vintage cameras.
After a lot of thinking I bought a TT Artisan Meter II that fits on the shoe mount of my camera or can be hand held and hung around my neck on lanyard looped over the shoe. Made from Aluminium, it has a battery operated light meter circuit that uses Cadmium in a CdS cell in much the same way that my Gossen Trisix uses Selenium. The difference is Cadmium needs an external power source to start it's light metering capability. A CdS cell does not degrade and will last as long as batteries to power it are available.
The meter is easy to operate.You can set your meter to your film speed, point it at what you want to photograph and there's a basic three light indicator. Red Positive means over exposure, Green Dot means you have the right exposure and Red Minus means it's underexposed. Adjust the dial on the left for your aperture and the dial on the right for your shutter speed.
It's also important to remember to stay within the maximum shutter speed on your camera and the aperture range on your lens. There's no point using a shutter speed of 1/1000th if your camera only goes to 1/200th like my Agfa Isolette or 1/300th like my Balda Baldax. The TT Artisan Meter has a shutter speed range between 1 second and 1/2000th with an aperture range between f/1 and f/22 so there's plenty to work with.
You just know I had to test all of them to see how the modern TT Artisan compares to my Mk.1 eyeballs, Andy's Handy Exposure Calculator and my Gossen Trisix. I loaded a roll of Rollei 400s into Baldy and my Olympus 35RC, and headed into the countryside near my home.
I took photos of trees, bushes and interesting shapes I found in them. I metered with the TT Artisan and my Gossen Trisix and they confirmed what Andy's handy Exposure calculator and my Mk.1. eyeballs suggested, it was a 1/250th f/11 kind of day with the odd sojourn to 1/125th and 1/60th at f/8 and f/5.6 for closer shots in the shade. I also managed to confuse myself a time or two and produced a couple of howlers.
We shall speak no more of them, I was having fun and, after finishing my roll of Rollei Retro 400s in my 35RC, I fished Baldy the Baldax from my pocket and carried on. I finished that roll too and by that time, I was done in, both mentally and physically, and headed home for a well earned rest.
I developed my film a couple of days later using my rapidly dwindling supply of Kodak HC110 1+31 dilution B for 10 minutes at 20 celcius, as per the handy table on the film box, and soon had it hanging to dry. I digitised both rolls with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi film holders, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.
I wish January wasn't so dark, wet, cold, dull and gloomy here in darkest Wigan. I got a couple of nice photos, but the rest are, well... dark, wet, cold, dull and gloomy. At least the sky was moody. I'm glad to say my new TT Artisan Light Meter handled it rather better than my Mk.1 eyeballs did.
Note to self, in winter, start using auto-focus cameras! My eyes aren't what they used to be and they weren't great to start with. I was able to save some of the slightly less blurred ones, but overall they are a good indication that this new meter is accurate and I'm happy with my purchase. Nw I need new spectacles. It never ends!
Here's a few photos of my light metering kit and some photos that I took on my walk. I can control most things, but the weather is a law unto itself here. We have had days where it was sunny at the front of our house and absolutely chucking it down with rain in the back garden. Mother Nature has a rather wicked sense of humour, but she has given me a couple of things to explore for an upcoming 'Zine I would like to contribute to. I hope you enjoy them.
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