Ansel Adams / Fred Archer created the zone system as much as George Eastman invented roll film ( one might want to talk to Mr Houston about that, ... and come to think of it, he probably used something like the zone system).
Ansel Adams / Fred Archer created the zone system as much as George Eastman invented roll film ( one might want to talk to Mr Houston about that, ... and come to think of it, he probably used something like the zone system).
Last edited by jnantz; 14-Aug-2022 at 08:09.
The most popular recounting of the story that made into most of the books is that he couldn’t find his meter fast enough, but there is another version in which he did meter the scene (not that meters were great in those days). Exposure uncertainty aside, his preference where possible was to make backup exposures for various reasons - processing, dust etc.
Originally Posted by koraks
Some people seem to misread/misunderstand the Zone System and come away with the impression they can know exactly what they will get. There’s evidence of that in this thread (and many others). On the other hand, negative films typically have quite a lot of latitude on the overexposure side.
Two accounts of Moon Rise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pe9gsbSqLI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8ZaD0W3yms
Ansel was rushed to make this single image on B&W negative film.. while not ideal, the negative was good enough to work with (telling of Ansel's optical printing skills) in the darkroom to produce the prints we see today.. Having seen the original Ansel prints of moon rise, there are several variations of this print (Weston gallery, museum exhibits, &...) depending on when the specific print was made.. Given the conditions of how this image was made, bracketing exposure was not possible due to the rapidly changing light ala "magical hour"..
It is an example of doing the entire process.. from loading film to mounting the finished print. B&W negative film is more error forgiving compared to color transparency film which is FAR less error tolerant. Back in the decades past, color transparency film was only used under highly controlled lighting conditions and for very specific reasons. Typically color press print process (highly preferred by the litho and color printing folks back then) or Ciba-ilfordchrome prints.. Otherwise it was color negative film.
Back in 2001, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art put together a 100 year exhibit of Ansel Adam's images:
https://www.sfmoma.org/press/release...ng-new-look-a/
Part of this exhibit had reproduction prints of famed AA prints.. made by Tim Hall at Color Three Lab. Tim and me chatted about this project. The curator and organizer of this exhibit noted how excellent Tim's reproductions were of AA's images.. Much care was put into creating these repro exhibit prints. This print making process involved contrast masking to control the exhibit print's contrast ratio..
Amateur.. comes from the Latin word amator = Lover.. Some of the best artistic work done was created by "amateurs". They create what they create out of passion and love for what they do.. or zero lesser.. than so called "professionals" that get paid for what they do. That is the only essential difference.
Difficulty with making color transparency images during that magical hour is the rapidly changing light.. the image that is recorded is often full of uncertainty. Applying any tools or methods that can achieve your image goals is what matters. This means running an entire roll of film, using a light meter or color meter or sunset/sunrise chart and other information/tools to aid in achieving your image goals.. What matters is the image results.. the means are mere tools and methods to achieve this.. There is indeed joy and satisfaction in serendipity and discovery.
Bernice
Thanks for that link. Ansel had constant midday lighting in that video clip. He had plenty of time to get the exposure where he wanted. However, shooting color chromes during magic hour with quickly changing light is harder, especially for an amateur photographer like me. I need all the help I can get.
When Ansel shot his famous Moonrise, he had to shoot it fast because the light was changing so quickly. He got it a little wrong (overexposed?) and had to correct a lot in the darkroom. Maybe bracketing would have helped him had he had the time.
https://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...1&action=click
I just watched Sister Bertrille bracketing exposures from 100 feet up above San Juan it was magnificent ! The images are in the convent ..
Hi John. I think Michael wrote “latitude”, not “altitude “. LOL. Is Sr Bettrille still cute?
Another.... Sally _?_
Bernice
ahh .. she can sing, roller skate and teach kindergarten .. and bracket what could be better ?
Let's see .... walk into the steak house and order, can't make up your mind. What's gonna taste best ... well done, medium rare, rare, downright bloody? So order one of each; that strategy should work. The only problem is that then you have to pay for them all.
Ansel resorted to water bath development on that moonrise negative. Ever seen what a straight print of Moonrise looks like? Quite a splotchy mess in the sky, and very difficult to correct by just dodging and burning. So the strategy behind the later intensification of the neg probably wasn't simply to create more contrast for sake of pictorial drama, but to allow certain portions to print near black, to disguise that lack of evenness. I have read that, given the trickiness of the shot, he was hoping for a spare neg; but that doesn't necessarily mean he was going to bracket using a different exposure. Moot point - too late anyway. And that is often the case in the field, especially with the slower mode of working which sheet film imposes - the fleeting nature of the lighting itself has the say, and you get only one crack at it.
did you order a cheeseburger ?!
https://kintronics.com/technical-jokes-and-cartoons-17/
does it matter ??
I certainly couldn't care less what ansel adams did ..
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