Fred Picker's Zone VI Newsletter

Pitotshock · Apr 12, 2021

I have seen a number of discussions on various boards about these old newsletters and their availability for those who didn't get a paper copy. I thought I would share the link I found on the complete set of newsletters that have been scanned and posted.

https://archive.org/details/img_20170209_214736_1024/mode/2up

Old_Dick · Apr 12, 2021

Thanks.

ic-racer · Apr 12, 2021

Thank you for the link. I missed out on almost all of these when they first came out.

Dan0001 · Apr 12, 2021

Wow!! Somebody did a lot of work. Thanks. I think I have most of the newsletters with the exception of the very early ones. I was a real convert to Zone VI but as time went on I discovered split grade printing and other techniques that I am more comfortable with. Fred would have been horrified that I use a condenser enlarger in my Florida home...still use a Beseler with Zone VI cold light, and Zone VI timer and stabilizer in my main darkroom in Michigan. Also bought an early Zone VI field camera as well. He was quite opinionated and ruffled a few feathers along the way but I always respected him. He was very helpful in my early days of photography on the telephone and gave me some good advice. While I was not overly fond of his own photos...most were good but most never bowled me over like some other photographers. He did promote others in their work a lot. He had a real strong affection for Paul Strand and Ansel Adams of course.

Alan9940 · Apr 12, 2021

And, here's a PDF index that y'all may find useful.

SrMi · Apr 12, 2021

Thank you Pitotshock and Alan9940.
Now if somebody could share the Zeiss Camera Lens News #10 to #50, that would be awesome. I was able to recover #1 to #9 from Web Archive. The CLN links on Zeiss's site are all broken .

Old_Dick · Apr 12, 2021

Here is his video. If anyone cares.

john_s · Apr 16, 2021

In the years before the internet, I found Fred's newsletters very useful. Especially setting film speed and amount of development. Prior to that I followed manufacturers' recommendations and got too-contrasty negs. The Zone VI cold light head helped too. Then the VC Zone VI head which didn't really cover the grades properly. But, as he said, "we live and learn. And then we die and forget it all."

Charles O'Connor · Feb 10, 2022

john_s said:
In the years before the internet, I found Fred's newsletters very useful. Especially setting film speed and amount of development. Prior to that I followed manufacturers' recommendations and got too-contrasty negs. The Zone VI cold light head helped too. Then the VC Zone VI head which didn't really cover the grades properly. But, as he said, "we live and learn. And then we die and forget it all."

If you still have the vc lamp with the stabilizer I suggest you give it another try. The new Ilford VC papers give really good consistent grade separation between 3.5 and 5.

markbau · Feb 11, 2022

A word of warning about Fred Picker. Some of his statements were questionable at best, made to prod the reader into buying his Zone 6 products. He basically said that unless you have a cold light head you are wasting your time printing. To try and sell his print washer he made the famous statement that "fixer is heavier than water" that caused much chuckling in the photo press at the time. His modified Pentax spot meter was sold as having solved Pentax's problem of excessive flare, later on it was discovered that Picker's modified meter had more flare (but I believed they hype and bought one) He also made the absurd statement that you should avoid backlit subjects like the plague. He was a pretty ordinary photographer but a fantastic salesman. He got a big boost when his name was mentioned in an AA book which I think was AA's way of thanking him for equipping his workshop darkroom.

BrianShaw · Feb 11, 2022

Great insights. I had the same impression. Loved the catalogues as the led to lots of thinking and dreaming. In the end, though, I bought a lot of gear from Calumet. Have two Zone VI viewing filters that have been rarely used. For me they never lived up to the hype.

Sal Santamaura · Feb 11, 2022

BrianShaw said:
...In the end, though, I bought a lot of gear from Calumet...

In the end, though, Calumet bought Zone VI.

markbau · Feb 11, 2022

Sal Santamaura said:
In the end, though, Calumet bought Zone VI.

And look what happened to Calumet after they purchased Zone 6!

Paul Howell · Feb 11, 2022

I have a couple of Zone VI products, a modified Gossen Meter and a set of viewing filters that I found at a yard sale. On the whole, I was never that impressed with his approach. I recall one statement in his book that with one chance to photograph a football in flight you had to use a spot meter?

Sal Santamaura · Feb 11, 2022

markbau said:
And look what happened to Calumet after they purchased Zone 6!

Calumet's demise was in no way a result of its Zone VI purchase.

bdial · Feb 11, 2022

In the photo community here in SE Vermont and SW New Hampshire there are number of folks who knew Fred, or worked for him at Zone IV. There are a lot of stories told. Zone IV's "official" address was in Newfane VT, which is where Fred lived, but the offices were actually in Brattleboro, VT. which still has a pretty active photographic community.

Sal Santamaura said:
Calumet's demise was in no way a result of its Zone VI purchase.

A few of the former Zone IV folks I've known don't have the best opinion of Calumet due to what they see as the damage Calumet did to the Zone IV name. Products were cheapened and they didn't live up to their support commitments, so I understand.
Both are gone now, so I guess it doesn't matter much.

markbau · Feb 11, 2022

Sal Santamaura said:
Calumet's demise was in no way a result of its Zone VI purchase.

I was being flippant!

juan · Feb 12, 2022

I subscribed to the newsletter when the only other large format information generally available was Ansel’s five little books and the larger Camera and Lens. I found the newsletters very valuable in teaching one should be systematic in approaching photography. I think too many people get caught up in exactly how Fred did things when they should have been learning to develop a system and follow it. I get out the newsletters and read them about ever five years.

Alan9940 · Feb 12, 2022

bdial said:
Zone IV's "official" address was in Newfane VT, which is where Fred lived, but the offices were actually in Brattleboro, VT. which still has a pretty active photographic community.

Fred actually lived in Dummerston; I was at his home several times over the years. The base of Zone VI's business in the early VT years was either in Putney or Newfane, but not sure which as I never visited the business location. It all could have been run out of Lillian Farber's home in Newfane. The Brattleboro location came later and, I believe, was the last home of the Zone VI business.

Peter Schrager · Feb 12, 2022

surprising people always have strong opinions about Fred one way or the other. I was a disciple for a very long time but eventually found my own way.
Fred was very dogmatic in his approach which to me only meant that you did it till it worked or you figured out why it didn't. most folks want the shortcut method.
I was fortunate enough to attend a Zone VI workshop in 1979 and it was one of the best accelerators of my personal journey in photography ever. I actually made a real negative and a print with full tones which to me was a revelation. no one yelled at me for being a neophyte; just wanting to share and help another photographer.
In context there was no internet. you could not go to YouTube and learn something on video. most professional photographers did not share their info on how to get from here to there. Kodak etc. had lots of manuals or info on using a grey card. The ZoneVI newsletter was different from the magazines which only served to sell camera gear.
I still believe the ZoneVI manual book that Fred wrote is a gem. if you go through the exercises you'd probably know more about photography than 95% of photographers. He's up there somewhere in photo heaven just laughing his butt off. criticism is a good thing and he certainly is still causing it!

Alan9940 · Feb 12, 2022

Peter Schrager said:
Fred was very dogmatic in his approach which to me only meant that you did it till it worked or you figured out why it didn't. most folks want the shortcut method.
I was fortunate enough to attend a Zone VI workshop in 1979 and it was one of the best accelerators of my personal journey in photography ever. I actually made a real negative and a print with full tones which to me was a revelation. no one yelled at me for being a neophyte; just wanting to share and help another photographer.

Much like the wonderful folks who live there! I was fortunate enough to call VT my home for 18 years, but life moves on. I was at Fred's workshop in 1979, too...great to meet an alumni. A high point for me was when Fred said "That's a good workshop photo", after viewing one of my images made during the workshop.

john_s · Feb 19, 2022

Before the days of the internet, people would write to Fred with a question like "if I use this developer with that film will I get better results?"

He would send their letter back to them with a big red stamp "TRY IT"

Trask · Feb 19, 2022

I read Fred’s publication on and off in the 1970’s and profited from it — “on and off” because I spent several years out of the US. I was just leafing through the online resource OP pointed us to (thanks for that, Pitotshock), and enjoyed reading about Fred collecting funds to help Gene Smith get medical care, apparently prior to returning to Japan to complete his work on “Minamata.” I would have welcomed the opportunity to give Gene a hand — but would I, as Fred suggested, have sent one of my photos to Mr. Smith for his pleasure and edification?!

Deleted member 88956 · Feb 19, 2022

Calume

markbau said:
And look what happened to Calumet after they purchased Zone 6!

t collapsed because it was a half ass operation well before Zone VI and even more so after. They looked like alternatives to BH and Adorama but they never were contenders, just large outfit with catalogs I kind of liked, but not buying from.

George Collier · Feb 22, 2022

I subscribed to Fred's newsletter, still have the binder and maybe most of the issues (manually typed and probably photocopied, or cheap litho), at least after beginning to take it.
Calumet - when they started to carry something more than stainless steel sinks and view cameras (after the 60's up into the mid 70's as I recall) I bought some Caltar rebranded lenses (Schneider at the time) and began to order darkroom supplies. I found them to be courteous and knowledgeable, for the most part.

Fred Picker's Zone VI Newsletter

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