Zone System film development

[Bill Burk]

A lot of good information here. But I did not see this point: the whole reason for using a zone system is to get a good print on the first exposure in the darkroom. But the first step in developing a zone system for yourself is to determine the density range your enlarhing paper has with a particular developer and time. You then test and test until you figure out what your expsure and development times are with a given film/developer settings to get a N expsure. Then you continue testing for N+1, N+2, etc etc.
Of course after all this testing you may still have to dodge or burn some areas until you get a print you are satisfied with.

You're right that Zone System is a tone reproduction system intended to fit subject luminance range through film characteristics to paper characteristics, hopefully to arrive at a full scale print.

And Paul Howell is also right that departure from normal is encouraged and taught.

 

[Paul Howell]

Thinking about it, AA trained to be concert pianist, although he read music as a pianist he was taught to bring his own style and interpretation to each work. Phil Davis taught drawing at Michigan State school of architecture. He taught future architects how to draw a realistic rendering of an existing building or how a building will look after completion. It might be a bit simplistic but Phil Davis played the score as it was written, while AA the score was just a starting point. Although I took the Minor White Zone System class in the 60s as an Air Force photographer then later working for the wires, I played the score, little room for impervious. When shooting LF sheet film I only use the ZS about, maybe 40% of the time.