Village Idiot
No longer a newbie, moving up!
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2008
- Messages
- 7,269
- Reaction score
- 406
- Location
- Shepherdsturd, WV / Almost, MD
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos NOT OK to edit
I can always tell when someone has used N+1 or N-1. The photos look awful.
OK, I'll make it simple.
Kodak researchers took thousands of photographs and made all sorts of adjustments in exposure and contrast and showed them to observers. They asked them what looked best. They said, overwhelmingly, that: 'normal mid-tone gradation looked best'. This is a scientific approach, you see, not what Adams did. Adams pulled the zone system out of his ass. If you significantly alter the development of the negative to try to expand or contract the scale to fit the Scene Brightness Range, you end up with a cure that is worse than the disease. Read the quote until this sinks in.
Couldn't help to get your elitist opinion in there again, could you? It comes down to your own personal aesthetic. Why do you have such a difficult time admitting you don't like the zone system and Ansel Adams because you don't like the aesthetic? Why do you have to try to prove that you are right? You have all the hallmarks of an elitist who knows that his minority opinion is right and will do whatever it takes to prove it.I can always tell when someone has used N+1 or N-1. The photos look awful.
OK, I'll make it simple.
Kodak researchers took thousands of photographs and made all sorts of adjustments in exposure and contrast and showed them to observers. They asked them what looked best. They said, overwhelmingly, that: 'normal mid-tone gradation looked best'. This is a scientific approach, you see, not what Adams did. Adams pulled the zone system out of his ass. If you significantly alter the development of the negative to try to expand or contract the scale to fit the Scene Brightness Range, you end up with a cure that is worse than the disease. Read the quote until this sinks in.
Scientific eh? What was their sample size? How many observers? How did they select their observers? Were they all company men? Were they photographers in a specific genre? Were they laymen? These are questions that an informed person must ask if we are to believe a study done by a company that has product to sell. Or do you believe the tobacco industry scientists that proved smoking cigarettes are good for you? It's amazing the power of corporations to make people believe what they want them to in an effort to sell product.
Couldn't help to get your elitist opinion in there again, could you? It comes down to your own personal aesthetic. Why do you have such a difficult time admitting you don't like the zone system and Ansel Adams because you don't like the aesthetic? Why do you have to try to prove that you are right? You have all the hallmarks of an elitist who knows that his minority opinion is right and will do whatever it takes to prove it.I can always tell when someone has used N+1 or N-1. The photos look awful.
I've admitted that AA's photos hold sentimental value to me. I've admitted that it's my opinion that he takes great photos. I have admitted my bias. I have nothing against someone who has a differing opinion. I do have something against people who believe that their opinion is fact, and simply can't admit that their opinion is just that, an opinion.
I wore out my welcome to this thread last night. I realize that what I'm doing now is tantamount to banging my head on a brick wall. Petraio Prime obviously knows what he's talking about. Reply if you'd like, but I've proven my point.
The fact that you don't know something doesn't make it false.
This was brought up in the other thread, and you ignored it there too. The fact is that the zone system, by itself, is pretty useless. But it's a tool, just like anything else. It's a tool, just like the light meter in my camera. It doesn't always tell me what the proper exposure is, but it helps me to find it. I rarely go 100% off what my meter says. The ZS cannot be used by itself, and Adams never said you should do this.This is done by burning in and holding back parts of the image and by using selective contrast filtering with VC paper. Ansel Adams, one of the developers of the Zone System often did a great amount of manipulation of his prints. He writes about this extensively in his various books.
The fact that you don't know something doesn't make it false.
Funny, considering I never said your theory was false. I simply asked you to back up your claim.
I've read through that, and although I don't think it totally supports the zone system, it's definitely not saying it's a 'disaster' of a system that the great Petraio Prime says it is. You even boldfaced a very important quote that proves that. Once again, everything fall on what your particular aesthetic is. It's obvious by the work Adams has produced that he didn't just use the Zone System and nothing else. It was a tool. Just like dodging and burning. Just like using different developers and papers. Just like using color filters, and flash. Just like any other dark room/in camera manipulation. You forgot to boldface an incredibly important part of that quote (though I'm surprised you left it in, because it kinda undermines your argument a bit).
This was brought up in the other thread, and you ignored it there too. The fact is that the zone system, by itself, is pretty useless. But it's a tool, just like anything else. It's a tool, just like the light meter in my camera. It doesn't always tell me what the proper exposure is, but it helps me to find it. I rarely go 100% off what my meter says. The ZS cannot be used by itself, and Adams never said you should do this.This is done by burning in and holding back parts of the image and by using selective contrast filtering with VC paper. Ansel Adams, one of the developers of the Zone System often did a great amount of manipulation of his prints. He writes about this extensively in his various books.
I go back to my previous post. Why is it so difficult for you to admit that it is an opinion that the ZS and Adams work is terrible, and not fact? It's obvious to everyone here, besides you, that this is the case. Please stop trying to say that you are right and 70+ years of photographic theory is completely wrong. Adams obviously did something right. Adams' aesthetic was obviously well loved and adored. The fact that it wasn't loved and adored by you isn't a big deal. It's your opinion, and an opinion can't be wrong. However, if you're making it out to be fact, then it can be wrong because this is something that isn't factual. Just because Petraio Prime says something is bad, doesn't make it so.
Nothing you've posted really gives me any impression of a talent beyond what a parent with a p&s camera is capable of.You're really not very good.
At what? LOL
You do realize, if you're talking about photographs, that I have been doing photography for quite a few decades, don't you? The few I have shown here are not necessarily the 'best ever' and are not intended to be anything other than a small sampling, because I have so many photos that have never been scanned. I have neither the time nor the interest in 'showing off'.
Nothing you've posted really gives me any impression of a talent beyond what a parent with a p&s camera is capable of.You're really not very good.
At what? LOL
You do realize, if you're talking about photographs, that I have been doing photography for quite a few decades, don't you? The few I have shown here are not necessarily the 'best ever' and are not intended to be anything other than a small sampling, because I have so many photos that have never been scanned. I have neither the time nor the interest in 'showing off'.
Of course you do. You're hanging on every word posted here. You tried to impress people, failed, and now feign aloofness. The timing of your activities on this forum in general and this thread in particular are clear giveaways.Nothing you've posted really gives me any impression of a talent beyond what a parent with a p&s camera is capable of.At what? LOL
You do realize, if you're talking about photographs, that I have been doing photography for quite a few decades, don't you? The few I have shown here are not necessarily the 'best ever' and are not intended to be anything other than a small sampling, because I have so many photos that have never been scanned. I have neither the time nor the interest in 'showing off'.
You forget I don't respond to such taunts, nor do I have the slightest interest in your opinions.
Of course you do. You're hanging on every word posted here. You tried to impress people, failed, and now feign aloofness. The timing of your activities on this forum in general and this thread in particular are clear giveaways.Nothing you've posted really gives me any impression of a talent beyond what a parent with a p&s camera is capable of.
You forget I don't respond to such taunts, nor do I have the slightest interest in your opinions.
You missed the point I was making, which was that extreme global contrast manipulation (which is what the zone system is all about) results in ugly photos.
You missed the point I was making, which was that extreme global contrast manipulation (which is what the zone system is all about) results in ugly photos.
Finally! Some meat. I don't even need to read past this.
Ugly photos, to whom?
Now you see my point. I couldn't care less about why the zone system is supposedly bad. I couldn't care less that it ignores the mid-tone contrast. You keep hammering in that point, but I get it. The fact remains that the aesthetic is in the eye of the beholder.
Let me disprove your above quote with a simple statement of opinion:
I do not think the zone system, by itself results in ugly photos.
My opinion contradicts what you keep treating as a fact. This makes your "fact" false since you insist on treating subjective language as fact.
If you, or Kodak, or Richard Knoppow think that the zone system results in ugly photos. That's great. But the vast majority of people out there absolutely adore the photos AA did using the zone system. If the zone system truly did result in ugly photos, no one would know who Ansel Adams was. No one would still be teaching the zone system today (which it's obvious they are, because of the OP's post). You are totally entitled to your opinion. And I will respect that opinion...if you'd just admit that's what it was.
It is your opinion that the zone system creates ugly photos. You can quote as many people as you want, but saying it is ugly is extremely subjective. It's amazing how you quote scientific studies that somehow prove that the zone system makes for ugly photos, since science is about objective thought. In reality, all those studies really prove is that the zone system ignores mid-tone contrast. They cannot confirm the zone system makes ugly photos, because that would be a subjective statement.
Answer me this question. Is it an opinion or is it a fact that the zone system results in ugly photos. You don't need to explain yourself, it's a simple "It's an opinion" or "It's a fact." Nothing more, nothing less.
You missed the point I was making, which was that extreme global contrast manipulation (which is what the zone system is all about) results in ugly photos.
Finally! Some meat. I don't even need to read past this.
Ugly photos, to whom?
Now you see my point. I couldn't care less about why the zone system is supposedly bad. I couldn't care less that it ignores the mid-tone contrast. You keep hammering in that point, but I get it. The fact remains that the aesthetic is in the eye of the beholder.
Let me disprove your above quote with a simple statement of opinion:
I do not think the zone system, by itself results in ugly photos.
My opinion contradicts what you keep treating as a fact. This makes your "fact" false since you insist on treating subjective language as fact.
If you, or Kodak, or Richard Knoppow think that the zone system results in ugly photos. That's great. But the vast majority of people out there absolutely adore the photos AA did using the zone system. If the zone system truly did result in ugly photos, no one would know who Ansel Adams was. No one would still be teaching the zone system today (which it's obvious they are, because of the OP's post). You are totally entitled to your opinion. And I will respect that opinion...if you'd just admit that's what it was.
It is your opinion that the zone system creates ugly photos. You can quote as many people as you want, but saying it is ugly is extremely subjective. It's amazing how you quote scientific studies that somehow prove that the zone system makes for ugly photos, since science is about objective thought. In reality, all those studies really prove is that the zone system ignores mid-tone contrast. They cannot confirm the zone system makes ugly photos, because that would be a subjective statement.
Answer me this question. Is it an opinion or is it a fact that the zone system results in ugly photos. You don't need to explain yourself, it's a simple "It's an opinion" or "It's a fact." Nothing more, nothing less.
Extreme global contrast manipulation results in ugly photos.This is a fact of human perception. The 'use' of the zone system is not the issue. The problem is the result of extreme global contrast manipulation (which is the method embedded in the zone system). Do you understand the distinction? If you're using the zone system and don't end up either compressing or expanding, you're simply wasting time. You end up with a 'normal' print. You don't need to use the zone system to produce a normal print.
If you don't end up with a 'normal' print (i.e., you expanded or contracted), you end up with an ugly photo.
Get it?
Finally! Some meat. I don't even need to read past this.
Ugly photos, to whom?
Now you see my point. I couldn't care less about why the zone system is supposedly bad. I couldn't care less that it ignores the mid-tone contrast. You keep hammering in that point, but I get it. The fact remains that the aesthetic is in the eye of the beholder.
Let me disprove your above quote with a simple statement of opinion:
I do not think the zone system, by itself results in ugly photos.
My opinion contradicts what you keep treating as a fact. This makes your "fact" false since you insist on treating subjective language as fact.
If you, or Kodak, or Richard Knoppow think that the zone system results in ugly photos. That's great. But the vast majority of people out there absolutely adore the photos AA did using the zone system. If the zone system truly did result in ugly photos, no one would know who Ansel Adams was. No one would still be teaching the zone system today (which it's obvious they are, because of the OP's post). You are totally entitled to your opinion. And I will respect that opinion...if you'd just admit that's what it was.
It is your opinion that the zone system creates ugly photos. You can quote as many people as you want, but saying it is ugly is extremely subjective. It's amazing how you quote scientific studies that somehow prove that the zone system makes for ugly photos, since science is about objective thought. In reality, all those studies really prove is that the zone system ignores mid-tone contrast. They cannot confirm the zone system makes ugly photos, because that would be a subjective statement.
Answer me this question. Is it an opinion or is it a fact that the zone system results in ugly photos. You don't need to explain yourself, it's a simple "It's an opinion" or "It's a fact." Nothing more, nothing less.
Extreme global contrast manipulation results in ugly photos.This is a fact of human perception. The 'use' of the zone system is not the issue. The problem is the result of extreme global contrast manipulation (which is the method embedded in the zone system). Do you understand the distinction? If you're using the zone system and don't end up either compressing or expanding, you're simply wasting time. You end up with a 'normal' print. You don't need to use the zone system to produce a normal print.
If you don't end up with a 'normal' print (i.e., you expanded or contracted), you end up with an ugly photo.
Get it?
Guess I'm not human then.
And I do understand the distinction. Keep your elitist attitude away from here.
Ugly is a subjective word. Subjective means that it's up to the viewers interpretation.
A fact, but it's nature, must be objective. Objective means that it is statement of fact, that cannot be refuted through opinion.
I do not think that Global Manipulation of contrast necessarily results in ugly photos.
If you say that it does, then that is your opinion. IT CANNOT BE A FACT. DO YOU GET IT? This is so incredibly simple that my friends 7 year old son understands.
:banghead:
You're obviously the greatest photographer in the world, and I cannot argue with you. Continue believing that because you think a photo is ugly, no one else can think it's beautiful. Keep that elitist, arrogant mindset, it's really working well for you. I now bow out.