Digital BW, The Print

I get tired of hearing about
> the "zone system."  It was mostly developed for a time before there
was even
> graded printing paper.  As such, the negative had to be fit to the few
> printing paper contrasts that were available.   

Paul, I know your comments about Zone System are well-intended, but
they are not fully correct and, more importantly, miss what I think is
its point.

You teach good methods that are temporarily appropriate for current
digital technology, but that will become obsolete within a couple of
years, as the technology gets more intuitive...unlike the heart of the
Zone System.

MOST of the Zone System's development occurred DESPITE plenty of
readily available paper grades (6 from Agfa) and infinite variability
from the excellent Dupont Varigam. 

Those who were influenced directly by Ansel and Minor, and Minor's
many students, were not "limited" by all those paper grades, but
instead determined to use only one or two of them so as to avoid the
crudeness of product orientation and last minute  "saveing" of dubious
negatives by juggling paper grades. 

Most of the fundamentals of the Zone System were worked out not by
Ansel (though he gets popular credit), but in partnership with Minor
White, during their joint instruction at San Francisco Art Institute
one Summer. Ansel's initial version of the system predated that Summer
(and yes, did have to do with limited paper grades), but it wasn't the
fully conceived, teachable system previously, and it continued to be
refined for two more decades for the purposes of roll film.

Many of "us" developed our skills FOR a favorite grade or two, moving
zones around to our hearts content on an internalized (uncharted) and
disciplined (like jazz) Zone System basis...that was the most basic
goal of the Zone System, as taught by Minor. Ansel was a classical
pianist, not a jazzer. 

Connecting the Zone System too firmly to charts and quantification
(which were part, but not the heart) anchors it too firmly on Ansel's
analytic side of the brain, removes it from Minor's artistic side. 

Minor was hip, meditative, a Zen Buddhist and Gurdjieff disciple,
while Ansel thought like an engineer, was commercial (a good thing)...
there was a difference at that level. 

I believe both would be excited about digital photography (as Ansel
was about Polaroid, his commercial sponsor), but I suspect Minor might
have stayed with film longer. 

disclaimer: A half-dozen of Minor's students were my friends in San
Francisco in the Sixties, whereas Ansel was just my customer.