That's a very ingenious system. Out of curiosity, how are you metering? Do "use contraction?
David,
My apologies for not 'replying' sooner, but today is the first time "I've been 'back' reading other's comments.
Placing the 'white with texture' on ZVlll+1/3 'allows' me to 'let the lower end 'fall wherever it may be"...I there's no 'white with texture I use my smal patch of white towelling from which I can get a 'reading... as long as th elight hitting my 'patch is the same s that whic I can observe on the ground glass. My reasoning is that there is 'rarely' any fine detail in the low end of the 'scale' that provides any further great amount of 'visible information' that will add to the overall information to the image's 'total' value. The hominid eye is 'usually' drawn to the 'lighter/brighter' part of the of that which is presented.... one of the reasons that so many photographers "Burn in" the low end to provide a solid 'base' on which the 'upper' values depend.
BUT.... that's what my mentor drilled onto me in my early days (some 65+ years ago) and to be 'honest' I still believe that to be the "truth"... a good 'solid foundation is what 'holds' up the information elsewhere within the 'frame' The hominid eye/brain tends to 'work better' that way.. and... I rarely ever use any 'contraction'
I prefer to provide the viewer with what I saw.. or what caught my eye to 'realise ' There's a good photograph
"There...from here" as long as I have control of the area on the ground glass (by changing lens F/L or physically moving closer, 'sideways'..... or further away... sometimes just 'giving up' with the intention of returning to 'as close as possible' to the same 'spot' when the light is "bettter" ie 'harder' or 'softer'.
I strongly believe that you have to be to be willing to 'walk away' rather than making an exposure that you will not feel 'good' about.. ie self discipline to reduce 'wasted/bad exposures
Ken (who is just an old photographer who has tried to not make the same mistake a second time( or more...and sometimes has 'failed')
Ken
Ken