From: donl@glass.esd.sgi.com (donl mathis)
Subject: Re: Zone system
Reply-To: donl@glass.esd.sgi.com (donl mathis)
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 22:59:50 GMT


In article <BtAnou.Bw5@nntp-sc.Intel.COM>, rwu@ismdqa.intel.com (Ronnie
Wu ) writes:
|> 
|> 	Hi,   Can any one give a short description of what is 
|> 'zone system' ?  or is that possible ?
|> 	I am looking at this book by Ansel Adams - 'Negative'
|> (1 of the 3 bookset). I like to know how complicated this 
|> topic is before I spend $35.00 for it. I guess I could read it
|> at the book store ;-)

The zone system is a collection of principles and techniques for
producing high-quality black and white prints that conform as closely
as possible to your idea of what they should look like.  If you know
what you want to accomplish, the zone system provides the way to get
there.  (If you don't know what you want to accomplish yet, reading
Adams, and studying other photographer's work, might be a good way to
try and figure it out.)

The system consists of several principles:

	1) When you're standing in front of your subject with your
	camera, you should have an idea of what the print of the
	subject should look like.  You can learn to "see" the final
	print if you practice at it, but it's hard for some people at
	first, and they give up.

	2) You should know how your materials behave, i.e. your film,
	paper, and chemistry.  You should know your precise film speed,
	which might be different than the one printed on the box, and
	how to control the film's contrast.  You should know how to
	match the film's contrast to the paper.  The zone system has a
	set of procedures that are lovingly referred to as "testing" to
	find all of these answers.  Many writers have tried to come up
	with ways to simplify or enhance testing; Adams' methods are
	still the only right way to do it.

	3) You should be able to measure the brightness of different
	parts of your subject, since the whole job of making the
	photograph is translating the various subject brightnesses into
	the final print densities.  To measure brightnesses accurately,
	you'll need a spot meter.

	4) Putting the above three steps together will give you a
	high-quality negative.  You know what the print is supposed to
	look like, how the materials behave and how they can be
	controlled to accomplish that, and how your subject should be
	treated during exposure and development of the negative.

	5) Making a fine print from the high-quality negative you've
	produced is a matter of further controlling local and overall
	contrast through the paper, its exposure, and developing and
	toning.  This is an iterative process of starting with a simple
	print, and then controlling contrast and local exposure through
	dodging, burning, paper contrast choice, and development.  It
	takes time to learn these techniques, but they are the essence
	of making really good prints.

You see that there are several aspects of the zone system that require
some time to learn, and because of this, people often quit before they
really get started.  Others tend to concentrate so much on the
technical side of things, such as materials testing, that they never
develop their artistics skills and craft.  If you are motivated to
produce the highest quality black and white prints you possibly can,
and are willing to spend some time working at the various parts of the
zone system, you will eventually overcome these obstacles and gain the
necessary skills.

Adams said that the best students of the zone system, those that had
the easiest time picking it up and figuring out how to make it work,
tended to be those that didn't already have a lot of experience.  In a
sense, it's a "new way of thinking" about making photographs, and
people with established techniques tended to get confused because they
weren't really willing to just listen to the principles in their
simplest forms and use them.  I maintain that whether or not the zone
system seems "complicated" is based firmly on the attitude of the
photographer.  If you approach it right, it is quite simple, really,
even though there is work to do.  If you just *listen* to it, it's not
so deep, dark, and mysterious as it seems.  And you have to be willing
to think for yourself about what you want to do, and practice,
practice, practice!

There are other ways of producing fine prints; I would say the next
best method is "lots of experience".  This seems like an inefficient
way of doing things, and the photographer may never really come to an
understanding of why things are working they way the do, nor really
have a complete mastery of the medium.  He may find himself saying "I
don't know about that stuff -- I just know what works." Personally, I
couldn't be satisfied with an approach like that.

- donl mathis at Silicon Graphics Computer Systems, Mountain View, CA
donl@sgi.com
Newsgroups: rec.photo