[Leica] Re: Grey Zone - no zone zone system

[Jim Brick <jim@brick.org>]

Actually, I think exposing B&W without thinking about "zones" is not
difficult. As Ted says, the KISS philosophy seems to work just fine. With
your camera meter, under normal conditions, meter normally. A mix of light
and dark. Mid grey. Turn the dials until the lights come on, point at the
subject, push the release. Develop the roll normally. If the conditions are
overcast, haze, fog, or other very low contrast conditions, still meter as
you normally do, giving a bias toward the lighter areas. Lighter than mid
grey. Then develop your film 20% longer. For very high contrast situation,
meter giving a bias to the dark areas, shadows, etc. Then develop the film
20% less time.

Or alter the ASA on your meter to accomplish the same thing without using a
single "grey" matter cell.

This does not need to be exact at all. This is a generalization that is
subconscious. Just something I automatically do when out photographing. I
always carry a "Sharpie" or "Stabilo Permanent" pen as I quite often use
Fuji MS 100/1000 or E200 at 50, 200, or 800 and need to mark that on the
cassette. With B&W, I mark the cassette +, -, or no mark, depending upon
the situation.

For at least 2/3 of the year, mornings along the mid California coast is
usually foggy, up to perhaps 20 miles inland. It burns off around noon, and
is bright and contrasty in the afternoon. You need neither rocket science
nor calculus to keep different conditions under control. This manipulation
of exposure and development ends up working without any extra thought. No
zones. No numbers. No sweat.

The technical description is... Normal light, normal exposure, normal
development. Flat light, underexpose, over develop. Contrasty light,
overexpose, under develop. The over and under exposure are relative to what
your "normal" exposure under normal conditions would be. No one can tell
you what this is. You have to work it out for yourself.

This works with transparency film as well! I actually use it with slide
film a lot. How you meter is more important with transparency film. No slop
factor available.

Everything I have just said assumes that you know enough about photography
to understand how exposure and development work, to be able to know where
to point your camera meter (or any meter) when photographing something.

Jim

>Ted Grant wrote:
>><Snip> hooting a 36 exposure roll in all kinds of light.
>> 
>> I'm sure someone will explain how a 35mm shooter can use it in some
>> fashion,maybe by using six Leica's at the same time. One for each zone of
>> light or shadow?
>> 
>> ted
>> 
>> Ted Grant
>
>Mark Rabiner wrote:
>
>Well walking around saying "Oh what a nice zone 6 tree!" could get on the
>general nerves.
>"Well it's a zone IX day today!!! Check out those highlights! Where's my
shades?"
>Having Zone system implants in you brain doesn't mean you have to develop
each
>exposure to place the highlight tone differently from where it falls
according
>to your meter as most peoples understanding of the zone system doesn't even
>involve that. Different Paper grades and paper grade filters changed the
>absolute need for that.
>But it's good to know when your going to be needing a higher or lower
contrast
>paper from the beginning.
>It's great to have definite ideas as to where your thresholds are in a
numerical
>sense so you can count on your fingers.
>For me its textured shadow is 3 
>texture highlight is 8 
>8 is 5 steps (F stops) up from 3. I have a 5 stop range for black and white.
>If the 8's turn out to be more that 5 up from my 3's I've got to rethink
my 3's. 
>Clear as mud!
>You have your own names for your thresholds and you have determined where
they
>are and it works for you!
>Mark Rabiner
>