LuckyStudio 13
The Tapeless One
Any good book pertaining to the Zone System and Digital Photography out there ?? I know the system should be applicable beyond large format camera and landscape photography.
Anyone here follow the Zone System philosophy ?
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Jeff Anderson
Custom Title!
It doesnt pertain to digital but the Ansel Adams books are fantastic. I believe the titles are The Negative, The Camera, and The Print (or something like that). The system is totally applicable in all photography (and motion picture for that matter). Do I ever use it? Not spefically. I just look for using the full dynamic range but also keeping everything in the range I have to work with. Thats my short generalized version.
Jim Montgomery
Well-known member
Follow the zone system like the bible, expecially for B/W. The best one out there is Zone VI, by Fred Picker. Studied a lot with him Vermont; oh Lord, over 20 years ago.
His teaches in such a way that the technical side of photography is dealt with once and lets it become just what you do. You will know what to expose for and how ro process your film, thats right film,. That way you can concentrate on the artistic and vision side of the photgraph.
I could probably go on for ever on the topic, but will leave it at this.
Jim
His teaches in such a way that the technical side of photography is dealt with once and lets it become just what you do. You will know what to expose for and how ro process your film, thats right film,. That way you can concentrate on the artistic and vision side of the photgraph.
I could probably go on for ever on the topic, but will leave it at this.
Jim
LuckyStudio 13
The Tapeless One
Jim,
Beyond producing image with high contrast (both color & b&w) with today's DSLR camera, what is the potential of the Zone System to today's digital photography system ?
Beyond producing image with high contrast (both color & b&w) with today's DSLR camera, what is the potential of the Zone System to today's digital photography system ?
Jim Montgomery
Well-known member
Actually it still applies, less the technique for developing. The Zone system lets you know before you even press the shutter what your image will look like. If your vision of a scene is focused a person then you would meter the skin and then over expose a quarter stop for color and a full stop for B/W. Everthing else in the image would fall into its respective exposure scale. However if you did need detail in the shadows, same shot, you would meter for the shadow and then underexpose a quarter stop color one stop B/W.
All meters read at 18% grey or zone 5. Zone 6 is caucasion skin, zone 7 white with detail, zone 4 shadows with detail, and so on. The theory still holds be it digital or film.
All meters read at 18% grey or zone 5. Zone 6 is caucasion skin, zone 7 white with detail, zone 4 shadows with detail, and so on. The theory still holds be it digital or film.
Don't forget that digital capture is the equivalent of using reversal film.
The Zone System (especially without film development control) is of relatively minor value. The camera's histogram is valuable. And the blown-out highlight warning features.
As with reversal film, overexposure means lost (forever) highlight detail. Watch the highlights. You can pull up shadows (but only to a certain degree) in post. You can add contrast to flat highlights globally or locally. Etc., etc., etc. Capture with RAW file and you'll be doing that anyway. Sometimes it's better to capture flat and stretch it in post. RAW files and PS allow control we never had in the darkroom.
Fred Picker was a rigid and dogmatic technician who made incredibly boring images. The Zone System isn't a Bible, it was something Fred Archer came up with that works well with negative film and hand development. He theorized it at Art Center in Pasadena and later Adams got together with him to formally write it out. It's a system, not a religion. But it has a cult-like following.
The Zone System (especially without film development control) is of relatively minor value. The camera's histogram is valuable. And the blown-out highlight warning features.
As with reversal film, overexposure means lost (forever) highlight detail. Watch the highlights. You can pull up shadows (but only to a certain degree) in post. You can add contrast to flat highlights globally or locally. Etc., etc., etc. Capture with RAW file and you'll be doing that anyway. Sometimes it's better to capture flat and stretch it in post. RAW files and PS allow control we never had in the darkroom.
Fred Picker was a rigid and dogmatic technician who made incredibly boring images. The Zone System isn't a Bible, it was something Fred Archer came up with that works well with negative film and hand development. He theorized it at Art Center in Pasadena and later Adams got together with him to formally write it out. It's a system, not a religion. But it has a cult-like following.