Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/01/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Jim Brick wrote: > > There are four zones. > > Zone Good, Zone Bad, Zone Ugly, Zone Butt Ugly. > Jim, great advice! Actually, I'm probably using a variation of that same methodology at the moment, although unfortunately I don't get to sip single malt scotch with Ted too often. However, even though I don't necessarily want to spend time *using* the zone system (or some variation of it) I do want to *know* about it. That way, it allows me to understand better why certain things work and why certain things do not. For example, in the Zone Bad, you're increasing contrast through extended development time (although I don't know why you'd sacrifice shadow detail by exposing the film at 800 ASA), while in the Zone Ugly, you're compressing contrast through underdevelopment. Now, if I understood printing to a similar degree, I would know why my prints (on the very few occasions that I manage to find a darkroom) look like 18% grey cards regardless of what I do (it seems) and how people who know printing can get the quality they do. Rules of thumb, mnemonics, and tricks-of-the-trade are useful, but they are not a substitute for thorough knowledge of the underlying process. M. - -- Martin Howard | Visiting Scholar, CSEL, OSU | What boots up must come down. email: howard.390@osu.edu | www: http://mvhoward.i.am/ +---------------------------------------