Digital BW, The Print

Daniel,

>you commented in an earlier message that the zone system is obsolete 
>now that we have histograms. you are right when the procedure 
>you describe here works.

For some the ZS helps in visualization.  So, that's real useful.  I just
don't think in those terms, having trained myself more in terms of
characteristic curves and spot meter readings.  I think the old Kodak F5
publications on B&W film are about the best, most concise treatment of the
realities of how film and paper deal with dynamic range compression and
expansion.

> but in many cases, the dynamic range of the scene extends beyond 
>the dynamic range that can be recorded.  in that case, information 
>at one end of the dynamic range must be sacrificed.

Of course that's true if you're talking about many films and shooting
procedures.  On the other hand, I'm reminded of an old (Norwegian, I think)
saying that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.  Not
only do I capture 12 stops per frame on B&W film, but I also bracket
exposure and put the frames together in PS.  So, I don't find there is much
of a limit on the dynamic range I can capture these days.

> my understanding of the zone system is that it addresses exactly 
>this issue: not how to get the whole dynamic range on paper, but 
>rather how to select the exposure to 'focus' on the 
>part of the image you care about. what ansel adams showed us was 
>how to make that selection reliably. a histogram alone won't help 
>you do this: 

>at the very least you need a spot meter to determine the 
>luminance of particular points in the scene.

Even though I don't always use one now, I think the use of my 1 degree
Pentax spot meter was a major learning tool for me.  I even taped a small
graph of my film's characteristic curve on the top of it.  That way I knew
exactly where on the density scale each spot was going.  It's a tremendous
learning tool that I highly recommend to all.  I've often said that I think
there are 2 basic exposure techniques:  (1) spot metering and (2) guessing.


Paul
www.PaulRoark.com 

________________________________





/daniel

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark"
<paul.roark@v...> 
wrote:

> With the histogram, the basic idea is to fully utilize the 
>dynamic range of the file and printing medium without clipping off 
>the highlights or shadows...
> If you want to fully utilize the dynamic range of the medium 
>(and I do and so did A. Adams), prints should have some pure black 
>(0 on the 0-255, 8-bit digital scale, but also referred to as 100% 
>in terms of the ink load) and very little pure paper white 
>(255 on the 8-bit scale, and 0% ink).
>...