But most of the time Roman numerals are used, so we have to make that
extra mental calculation. And my pique at the affectation of those absurd
Roman Numerals has erased the zone system from my mind on several
occasions.
But the system is also very flawed. As I understand (or fail to
understand) it, what's lighter in the negative is darker in the print and
vice versa, so you get to stop and calculate if a zone IX, for instance is
a dark or a light. And by the time you get that straight, the sun has set.
With the 21-step (or the 31-step, or whatever) the numbers are written
right on the tablet. You learn them through all the senses -- by speaking,
reading and seeing, not just by a mental calculation. By seeing *and having
printed one million times* this little strip I have its values -- in
transparency and in the print -- readily in mind, or my mind's eye. I see
them in cyanotype, in different sorts and colors of gum, in platinum, etc.
If the Zone system came up with such a tablet it would be a help -- but
also redundant, because it exists already and with *real* numbers. As I
understand (or misunderstand) it, the major benefit of zonism is plus or
minus development. Which is easily done without all the other baggage.
So when digital takes over the world, it may end that business of
"subtract VI from XI for V stops," proving that every cloud has a silver
lining.
Cheers,
Judy