sasaki@harvard.ARPA (Marty Sasaki) (08/05/85)
There seems to be a bit of confusion about what the Zone System is all
about. Here are my opinions of the Zone System. Be warned that I
studied with Minor White (one of the major Photography as Mysticism
teachers).
The main point of the Zone System is previsualization. It is not just
exposure with spot meters and special development. It is not contact
prints from 8x10 negatives. The Zone System is knowing how you want a
print to look and then applying whatever is necessary to acheive the
finished print.
Ansel Adams usually printed on the same grade of paper because he had
a system to expand or reduce the tonal range of his negatives so that
he could print on the same grade. With roll film (and 35mm) you cannot
use the same grade of paper because you can't control the individual
tonal range of negatives by development. You can use different grades
of paper to acheive the same results.
Anyone who does a lot of photography will do things that fit within
the Zone System, even though they don't know it. Most serious
photographers will come up with a personal film speed for the films
that they shoot most often. The development of film is also played
with until the contrast is right (allowing printing "normal" negatives
on "normal" graded paper). Glance through Adams' "The Negative" and
you will see that determining film speed and normal development are
important first steps in the Zone System.
If manipulation of a print is important to acheive the previsualized
effect, then you should do it. Burning in, dodging, using hot
developer, bleaching, etc., these are all important tools in realizing
the final image.
Bill Pierce, a well known magazine photographer, once wrote an article
in Camera 35 on the Zone System where he said, "I would rather drop my
pants in Times Square than use the Zone System. He then described how
he did things. Guess what? He described a system remarkably like one
described in the "Zone System Manual".
--
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Marty Sasaki net: sasaki@harvard.{arpa,uucp}
Havard University Science Center phone: 617-495-1270
One Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138barad@brand.UUCP (Herb Barad) (08/09/85)
In article <286@harvard.ARPA> sasaki@harvard.UUCP (Marty sasaki) writes: > >Anyone who does a lot of photography will do things that fit within >the Zone System, even though they don't know it. Most serious >photographers will come up with a personal film speed for the films >that they shoot most often. The development of film is also played >with until the contrast is right (allowing printing "normal" negatives >on "normal" graded paper). Glance through Adams' "The Negative" and >you will see that determining film speed and normal development are >important first steps in the Zone System. Marti's short article was excellent. I just want to emphasize how important the above paragraph is. For myself, I use Tri-X Professional (120 size) film that Kodak rates at 320 and suggests 9 minutes development. Using the methods to determine your personal ASA and time, I got an ASA of 800 and a developement time of 10 minutes (HC-110 B). That might sound like a lot off of Kodak's specs, but I now know that I was previously overexposing my film. Then I would print down and it would be flat. Now, the my exposure is no longer pushed up into the top part of the curve, but I now have the full range. I also get an extra stop to use! This is not to suggest that anybody else should use my specs, just that you should check this out with your own equipment and your own developement. -- Herb Barad [USC - Signal and Image Processing Institute] ...!{lbl-csam,trwrb}!trwspf!herb or ...!{lbl-csam,trwrb}!trwspf!brand!barad
george@sysvis (08/21/85)
[] The ASA ratings and development times published by anyone are "best averages". Each camera has a different amount of flare (internal light reflection) which affects the published "average". Deriving a different ASA and development time should be EXPECTED for EACH different camera, and for each LENS put onto that camera if you are a hair splitter (different lenses will allow light to escape into the camera body at different angles, affecting the amount of flare inside the black box area). I only say this so that no one expects his own situation to be exactly like the experience of others. The zone system, as detailed by Ansel Adams in all five of his major books on the mechanics of photography, is fertile enough territory for anyone who is interested to study and practice for years without exhausting all of its nuances. There also are some very practical and easy ways to utilize pieces of the "zone system" to improve any individual's photo- graphic mechanics during his learning processes. Just reading the books will probably allow anyone to improve from his current level. Most of all, photo- graphy is fun. Enjoy it while improving your mechanical skills gradiently and don't forget to improve also your artistic values of content and composition.