Re: [Leica] Grey Zone

[Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@bayarea.net>]

>Why not just pick the brightest part
>of the photo in which you want to see detail, and the darkest part, and make
>sure they are no more than five stops apart?  If they are more than five stops
>apart, you have to decide which end to sacrifice.  Simple.  Why bother with
>zones?
>...
>Furthermore, since you really have no control over the lighting of a scene
>outside a studio, wouldn't it be simpler still to meter for the most 
>important part of the image, and then just let the rest fall where it may?

The Zone System in its formal process was designed for sheet film 
photography where you might not have control of the lighting of a scene 
but you could control the film's response curve through processing. The 
notion was to understand and manipulate your materials, one exposure at a 
time, to achieve the very best negative possible.

In simplified concepts, use of the Zone System in 35mm photography is 
much as you describe. What's important is that it provides a common 
language for analysis and discussion of exposure between photographers. 

Those people who ascribe religious fervor to a process of analyzing 
exposure and who deify its creator are simply being foolish. Ansel was a 
good photographer and a great technician, and the good thing was that he 
was verbally expressive and managed to convey his ideas pretty clearly. 
That's why people are so fond of him and his exposure evaluation system: 
because he gave them a way to talk about it clearly. Not that it's useful 
in all cases or for everything. 

Godfrey