The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 9, 1903, Page 11

1HE SUNDAY CALL, 11 HIS is the third and last of a series of articles by Charles M. Ta the famous artist, trav- eler an turer, on the uses and abuses of photography, under the catchy title, “Why My Photos Are which the talented writer, ry of the many trials and aphy,” has “launch- le volume on its career, ay aid the ambitious be- ble him to avoid the mistakes incident to ges of photography.” w Copyright, 1502 e Jacobs & Co on one side e latter po- is absolute- hade the « hat I recklessly disregard equence produce slide- in the plate- made. t The reasor a holder is door, as it th when apper, so sher the peri ulation, but ‘an : v acquired by long prac- cxperience one af the surest his point has been the ground Regulate dia- your lens and when the hotographed is reflected glass note carefully the and the time of exposure emorandum of the same for e. Thus you will gradu- mpare and judge of the f exposure demanded by es of light. example, you make your by placing in the holder s capable of very quick ex- ns is of moderate speed, photographed 1s a land- day is clear and sunny. with a magnifylng glass, n the lens, note the ight on the gr d glass and remember degree of intensity. Give the plate 1 exposure of one-half second. Make another exposure of one second PUBBEERERER PR . TENDER amera. be Focus careful place the stop Z JIAVLE under the same conditions, then another one of one and one-half seconds. It would also answer the same purpose but be decidedly more economical to use but one plate for this experiment, draw- ing out the slide covering the negative plate only a third of the way and giving this portion an exposure of one-half sec- ond. Then draw the slide out another third of its distance and expose one-half second, thus giving an exposure of one second to the first portion of the plate uncovered. Finally remove the slide alto- gether and expose another half second; you will thus have secuired an exposure one and one-half seconds for the first 1 OF OVER-LXFOSED FAATLE=- > —— ey third of the plate, an exposure of one sec- ond for the second third of the plate and an exposure of but one-half second for the third of the plate. All this, of course, must be very carefully done or your ex- periment will be a fallure. You now have three exposures under the same conditions. Develop them care- fully, and should the negative or that portion of it which has been given three seconds appear as In the [{llustra- tion you will draw conclu- sion that It has been overexposed. The various objects in the picture will be well defined, as are the trees, bridge, ete., In the accompanying plate, and quite sharp when viewed PHOTOGYAV \ NMEIMI“HW through a magnifying. glass, although the whole picture will have a dull and hasy effect. Of the two evils, over or under ex- posure, the former is to be preferred, for in that case you can restrain the strength of the developer and save the good quall- ties of the negative; but if underex- posed, there is not much hope for the plcture. I am fully cognisant of the fact that there are many formulas both for the in- tensification of underexposed plates and for the reduction of those o but I claim that it is far better to learn the correct exposure and thus secure more uniformly satisfactory results both Setelegerleleoolet H/ AP ), AR R and when the plateholder is adjusted In the same vertical position the exposure will produce the picture in correct per- spective. This shows the necessity of u?- ing a swing back to aveid this fault which cannot otherwise be eliminated with the hand camera that does not have the swing back. XVII} — INSTANTA URES. "Truly instantanecus photography s one of the most difficult branches of the art of picture taking. It requires not only a quick eye, but good as well as swift Judgment, keen perception and a thor- ough knowledge of the details of photog- raphy. To these gualities should be add- ed coolness and deliberation enough snap the shutter at the proper moment— or rather fractional part of a second in most cases. You should be neither too slow nor too fast, or you will lose the peculiar effect you desire to capture. An enthusiastic amateur attempted to make an instantaneous photograph of a Jocomotive and train of cars, which were tearing along at the rate of a mile a minute. He snapped the shutter, as he supposed, at the moment the train was passing, but the plate, when developed, oUs EXPOS- revealed only a bare track. with no trace of “the living engine and its tail Do not stand too close to the scene or object to be photographed. For Instance, 1f you wish to make a picture of a train of cars at full speed, take a position fully a hundred and fifty feet distant, and make your.exposure at an' oblique angle, say forty-five to ninety degrees, with the moving train coming towards you. The distance scale of your camera should be set at 100 feet or the universal focus. Contemplate the approaching train with calmness and when it appears in finish and in the harmony of light and shade In the nexative. XVI. UNDEREXPOSED PLATES. As a process of education, it is well to look upon & picture which has the fault opposite to the one just considered. In the underexposed photograph shown in the {llustration you will observe that the detalls are not sharply defined as in the one printed from the overexposed plate. An undertimed picture has the appear- ance of fog—it has what is called a “measly lpok.”” This effect is more diffi- cult to counteract than that of overex- posure; and even when every means to improve the picture has been used it is not satisfactory. The amateur should strive to learn the methiod of correct exposure, and practice it. Hapharzard manipulation may succeed in some lireés of work, but it is rarely successfu) in photography. XVII-PICTURES IN WHICH PERPEN- DICULAR OBJECTS LEAN, OR HAVE THE APPEARANCE OF TOPPLING OVER. This is one of the most exasperating results that can come to the amateur pho- tographer. Often the picture is correct in every other respect; the focus is good, the exposure {s right, and the develop- ment s satisfactory. Why then, after all, 1s the picture so disappointing? Why do the trees, bulldings, fences and other per- pendicular objects lean as if about to fall to the earth? It is caused by wrong perspective, and any lens will show it regardless of the price—the wide angle lens even more than others. Any photograph of & high bulld- ing, when taken from the ground, will show this defect in the result. no matter what lens {s used, unless the camera has a swing back which enables the photogra- pher to adjust the ground glass to a ver- tical position. By examining the image in this vertical position it will be noticed that the image is correctly portrayed, 'SENTIMENT IN MARVELOUS TONES—“THE OLD ARMY CHEST”—PICTURE FREE WITH OBJECT {fove~s FASTER HE” THAN gHU d in full view upon the center of your cam- era finder snap the shutter. Hold the camera firmly and do not hesitate or de- lay action for even the hundredth part of a second. To obtaln the best results in this ‘clase of work, patlence and experience are nec- essary. Should the object taken move faster than the speed of the camera shutter the result on the negative will be as shown in illustration. The speed of the shutter must exceed the speed of the subject pho- tographed. Study the best effects, even in instanta- neous work; if it appears that the en- gineer of the passing train is about to blow his whistle or make a signal, wait as long you can for the more artistic picture. If the subject Is a carriage in motion, choose the point of view which Ppresents the most attractive background. ettt If you fail to get this artistic masterpiece with your paper next Sunday, please register a vigorous complaint with your carrier right away. TZLIULT OF WIranc TLES/ZEC771P 2. All these detalls should be considered and with care can be made to count In the finished work. o 02 » DON'TS FOR BEGINNERS. Don’'t—Photograph sagainst the sun, Don't—Pose a group in the sun, if & shaded spot s accessible. Don't—Be in a hurry. Take time Don't—Become excited. Keep cool. Don’t—Draw a slide from the holder or return one to It unless the holder is cov- ered by a focusing cloth. Don’t—Stop your lens down toe much on dark and cloudy days. Don't—Purchase second-hand cameras when new ones can be obtained almost as cheaply. Don’t—Purchase a camera or lens unless the dealer allows you ample opportunity for testing the same. Don't—Make two eXposures oo ene plate. Don’t—Leave your plate holder or lens exposed to bright sunlight; it warps t one and injures tne other; also fogs the negative. Don’t—Recetve instruction from any one who cannot give authentic informition. Don’t—Take flims or plates on the ocean or into damp climates unless protected by tin’ boxes, hermetically sealed. Don’t—Be discouraged over faflures. Don’t—Belleve all you hear about phe- tography, but rely on your own judgment and experience. Don’t—Think only chance. Don’t—Taks a subject unless the pose or view is car fully studied as to the best effect. Don’t—Forget your red lamp when pack~ at the best results are Y)/ ing your camera outfit for photographie tours. Don't—Forget to dust glass plates be- fore placing in plate-holder; otherwise the negative is likely to show “dust spots.” Don't—Keep photographic fims er plates In a damp plaes. Don’t—Forget to filme o plates of ons emulsion when possible. Don’t—Breathe when photographing, if the camera rests against your body, as you might thus move it out of position. Don’t—Think you are perfect in your work even if you have made s number of successful pictures. There is always much to be learned In the art of photog- raphy. Don’t—Promise picfures to your friends, unless you intend fulfliing the obliga~ tion. Don’t—Expect your eameras to accom- plish more than you know. 'NEXT SUNDAY CALL