Tonal Talking

Sometimes, you need to channel a little Ansel, or Imogen, or Edward—the tried and true Sixty-fours. The day hits just right. The air is clear, the sky is deep and blue, there is just enough wind to remind you that you are restless, and the tones singing through your photographer's soul are black and white. A Bach fugue starts to play somewhere in the distance. And the moment is ready.

It doesn't matter which camera you are using. Shutter, aperture, ISO, focus. The basics are always there, your trusted companions which combined with a little math make perfect exposure a matter of science. You reach into your photographer's knowledge and pull out a folder marked "Z" for Zone System. Camera mode set to "M" and meter set to "Spot." The world spreads itself before you in a breathtaking fractal cascade of tones from pure-black zero dancing up in neat ballet steps to blinding-white ten, all shimmering feather-like in the sun. Your play place. Your happy place. After that, photos start flowing like so many neat tetris blocks clicking into their perfect place. You're in the zone, zoning in the zonal zone-system wizardry you have internalized and is as natural as breath; you are the zone, the camera disappears and you're all and nothing but Adamsonian Art and Science flowing out into a beautiful crisp world of tone and texture, contrast and camera clicks.

And then your feet make their way back down to good old planet earth and you realize it is time to go edit, or if you are very lucky, step into the darkroom and mix up some chemicals.