Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/03/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 11:15 PM 3/23/99 -0500, you wrote: >I assume that the Zone System was Minor Whites name for controlled >development of film so that it could be printed on the papers of limited >contrast range available in the days of yore. Incorrect in both points. It was Ansel Adams and another person who taught at a photo school (they taught together, actually) in San Francisco who developed the Zone System. Minor White adapted it to his own use. And it's an urban legend that Ansel tried to print only on grade 2 paper. He used many different grades and even VC paper. Early on, they believed that grade 2 paper had the ideal curve for the best highlights and shadows (and that's still at least partially true), but as Ansel matured, his printing techniques became more sophisticated, and he used various contrasts. And to think that one developing method (time) is going to give you a perfect negative that will get you in the ball park to make great prints is true for average situations, but in extremes of contrast (flat or hot) you're going to find that changing development can make a big difference in quality. Even John Sexton couldn't have done his new book on Images of Power (I think that's the name) if he didn't have his 1:14 dilution of TMax Developer RS for compensated development. Eric Welch St. Joseph, MO http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.