Digital BW, The Print

Johnny,

>... I still think you are using the Zone System basically; ...

Yes, you and the others are correct.  I just prefer language that is more
directly related to current technology.  Part of my post was intentionally
non-PC (for traditional B&W types) and a reaction to what I think is an
excessive deification of certain past masters in our niche.  But, of course,
I have virtually every book AA wrote.  Even though I never met the man, I
consider him one of my primary mentors.

>for how is the histogram produced but by exposure. Proper exposure 
>is the exposure that produces the desired tones (histogram values).
>...an initial exposure must be made that will contain 
>the values for you to manipulate in Photoshop or another program.

Exactly.  I call this my "information capture" stage.  One must capture
enough of it -- which includes the highlights to shadows.  I'm a fan of the
1 degree spot meter, but the modern cameras virtually do this automatically,
and if people have good digital cameras (I don't), I think they can examine
the histograms right on the spot to be sure they have not clipped the ends
of the range.

>Another feature of learning the basics of the Zone System is that you 
>can previsualize the final print,

This is where I think the Zone System never helped me much.  It reminds me
of some of the composition talks I give and the relevance of the "rules of
composition."  I love Weston's comments on them: "To consult the rules of
composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of
gravitation before going for a walk."


>...All of us must develop 
>some kind of discipline to enable us to relate to the scene before us 
>to produce the final print.

Yes, I agree.  It is a very personal and individual thing.  If the ZS helps
one, that's great.  I find a necklace with orange and polarizing filters
hanging on to be my most valuable tool.  I used to also have small framing
masks on that necklace to block out the context that will not be seen in the
final photo.  But if the camera viewfinder is handy, that works, and that
plus fingers is what I now use to do an initial "framing" of the scene.

Some think the Zone System is also an aid to communication.  It helps us
talk about the different levels of brightness in the scene or print.  Here,
however, we already have conflicting language -- for example, the 100%
(black) to 0% (white) ink load versus the 8-bit 0 (black) to 255 (white)
scale.  The "Zones" are yet another system, and one that is less directly
related to the current technology.  I see it as a potential source of
confusion for new B&W printers.

True, next week a new technology may come along and make what we are doing
this week obsolete, but I think I'll worry about that next week.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com