Actually, his "normal" exposure and development was an N-1. He rated TXP at 160 instead of 320 and developed for 5:00 at 68* in HC110B instead of 7:00.
Printable View
Doremus, you write so clearly and succinctly that I don't mind the length of your posts; instead, I appreciate them. I think you explained it in a very straightforward manner. For me, the ZS is not just a teaching tool, but a practioner's tool. I'll never forget the first time I used a Zone VI adjusted Pentax Spotmeter, set the dark shadowy side of the mountain I was photographing on Z III, and was so satisfied when the negative and print contained just the barely discernible dark textured terrain of the mountainside, with bright but detailed billowy clouds above it. I managed to capture the dynamic range the way I envisioned it, and still enjoy looking at the print of the first time I "nailed it".
That being said, I've recently been reading up on Fred Picker's MPD method, and metering for the highlights at the other end of the scale. Either can work, at least as a starting point, when deciding on exposure.
I am talking about black and white film. specifically the two I am interested in for now are Tmax and Acros (as I have about 120 sheets of it left) I got the spot meter specifically for black and white use and I also use one of these developers, PyrocatHD, Tmax or HC110. Currently I scan my negatives, but will hopefully start printing them next year in a dark room that I hope to start building next February. I have the Durst Labrador 1000CCE with a CLS450 head.
I have a good basic understanding of the zone system, more than enough to make a complete mess of things, if don't start learning it more and practicing and making the mistakes or hopefully making fewer mistakes than is possible.
I think about the zone when shooting color, but more so in how I view the scene and how I want shadows and highlights to appear if that makes any sense. I just started to visualize things in that way, once I understood the basics as well as seeing a scence in BW and also how the final crop should be if any, before I actually take the picture.
Now the kid is in a candy store with so many options that he's bewildered, and walks out without purchasing anything! But that's just the way it is. At a certain point, ya just gotta stop wiggling your toes in the water and jump in. It might cause you to revise some preliminary assumptions, but at least there aren't any alligators or crocs in the developer. There are numerous potential paths to even the Zone System. But it's basically an annoying detour when working with color film; no need for it there. And your really do need to start printing at some point. Scans can be a bit misleading.
I do like this explanation. Straight forward and to the point. I will be able to get in quite a bit of practice between now and when I can actually print. There is a place I was a member of and will join again where I can print negatives I believe until I can do at home.
Once I learn this system fully and it is second nature, I will start to incorporate it more with my color pictures. For those, I simply find the darkest shadow and use that as my meter reading or dial it down a stop or two. Maybe sacrilegious, but I do use grad nd filters to help control my highlights, especially when shooting things like the Grand Canyon at sunrise/sunset. I have found that I could have 8 stops or more between my chosen exposure and the brightest areas. As a tool I like it as it makes it easier to develop the negative. Combine this with zone system and some of the other techniques and it would seem that is quite a tool box if used properly to obtain excellent results. Of course, none of the tools makes me a great photographer, only practice and being humbled when needed.
This is also probably the best thread lately, I have participated in.
Extrapolating from Drew's point, the ZS isn't (or wasn't originally) very oriented toward color photography; it was developed by AA and Fred Archer as a black & white way of seeing the world in manageable shades of light and dark, irrespective of color. There are color applications, but master the B&W first.
A couple of thoughts relative to what Doremus has put forward . . .
He has laid out a good template for the Zone System that does not require testing. Personally, I do the testing. A good book to read consistent in many regards with what Doremus has suggested, and that covers how to test, is The New Zone System Manual by White, Zakia, et.al. As for testing, I stick with one film and one paper. So, I maybe test once every 2-3 years.
Doremus has indicated that his film speed testing has resulted in reducing the ASA to 1/3rd to 2/3rds of the recommended box speed. Whenever I've tested, I come out with 1/2 of recommended box speed, which is the average of the two. (So, that's what I use.) None the less, his recommendation of reducing the ASA by 2/3rds helps guard against underexposing, especially if one doesn't do the actual testing. (With negative film, it's more dangerous to underexpose, than to overexpose.)
Putting what Doremus has suggested in a little different (but none the less, consistent) way, if you've decided that you want your shadows to be at about Zone III, and your highlights in the scene at about Zone VII, then you have a desired difference between the two of 4 stops. However, if those two areas in the scene actually meter to be a 3 stop difference, then you'll want to develop at N+1 to achieve your desired difference. Correspondingly, if the metered difference between your selected shadow area and highlight area is the same as your desired 4 stop difference, then Normal (N) development is called for. Etc.
I've found that it works best for me if I find my Zone III in the scene and meter there. However, I won't necessarily set my desired highlight at Zone VII. I might want it to be Zone 7.5, in which case I'll have a desired difference of 4.5.
As Doremus has suggested, all you need is to identify your shadow area to determine how to expose the negative. (Expose for the shadows; develop for the highlights.) As indicated, I use Zone III for my shadow area. So, I will meter that area to determine exposure. And then, I will reduce the metered exposure by two stops! Remember, meters give you Zone 5 readings. So, if you want the shadow area to be sufficiently dark, you'll need to reduce the exposure the meter has recommended by two stops (less light to the film) to have it come out dark enough for a Zone III. What I've written in this paragraph is what is meant by, "expose for the shadows."
Bear in mind, if you then make an N+1 or an N-1 development, you will further alter the exposure as Doremus has recommended.
Be careful about reading Ansel Adams to learn about the Zone system. (Sounds counter-intuitive.) Versus exposing for the shadows and developing for the highlights, as I understand it, early on, he would expose for the shadows, and develop for the mid-tone (Zone V). This is contrary to how the Zone System is currently taught and practiced. If one takes this into account, then of course, his explanations of the Zone System can be very insightful.
As I understand it, Ansel Adams would often expose two negatives of a scene at the same exposure. Later, he would develop only one of those sheets of film. That would give him the option of fine-tuning the image contrast by developing the second sheet at a little different developing time. It would also give him a back-up sheet of film, in case something went wrong with the first.
It's good that you want to learn about and use the Zone System, which tailors the negative to the scene for both exposure and development. From my experience, if either is too far off, no amount of fiddling with paper exposure and contrast in the darkroom can compensate for that gap.