The Barnet Book of Photography Part 10

Having settled upon the point of view and the lens to be used, the student should then roughly focus the image. Notice the amount of subject on the plate and how much rise is required.

If having a camera such as described, the rise is easily accomplished and the camera can then be truly levelled up. Care should be taken over this as unless you have the camera exactly level you cannot expect a true picture. The bubbles of the levels should be _exactly_ in the centre, _a little bit out will not do_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

If it is found that the rising front fails to give the amount of subject required, recourse must be made to the swings, and it is here that the swing front triumphs over the swing back.

To swing the back necessitates the shifting of the camera and tripod stand, and at once throws all the levels out of gear. Then comes re-focussing, etc. Sometimes this will have to be gone through five or six times before the desired amount of swing has been achieved.

Owing to the re-focussing required every time the camera is moved it is very difficult, especially for the beginner, to rightly estimate the amount of rise required.

With the swing front the desired amount of rise is attained easily and quickly, and it can be worked with the head still under the focussing cloth, which is a great convenience. At the same time the baseboard and back of camera always remain level.

After gaining the correct amount of rise the sides of the subject should be considered. A golden rule to remember in this cla.s.s of work is when you show a column, show the base of it, and always start the sides of plate with either half or three-quarters of a column. It looks very queer to see the bend of an arch wandering away out of the side of the picture without any apparent support. In arranging the sides it is usual to have a preponderance of subject on the opposite side to which the camera is, and to start that side with a column. Sometimes the subject fails to fit the plate nicely, in that case it is better to trim the print than to have uninteresting features present.

Of course a great deal depends upon the personal taste of the worker, what one man considers right another will rebel against; so although I advocate the use of columns to fill the sides of the plate it does not follow that that is the one and only method of photographing these subjects.

The student having carefully gone into these matters and arranged the subjects to suit his own satisfaction the question of what point to focus for arises, and indeed in very dark interiors the question of focussing anything at all comes in. A method I use myself is to roughly divide the distance from the camera to the farthest object in half, and then to focus midway between the camera and the middle of the subject. Then stop down the lens until the most distant object is sharp. In practice I have found this rule so good that I can recommend its adoption for all subjects, and if carried out correctly will always result in the production of crisp negatives.

Exposure is not a very difficult thing to overcome. Arrange the focussing cloth well over the head, open the lens out to its largest aperture and remain under the cloth until you can see the image distinctly all over the plate. Then without uncovering the head proceed to slowly stop down until you can only just see the image all over the plate. Now using a plate of the rapidity of Barnet extra rapid, an exposure of ten minutes will yield a satisfactory fully exposed negative.

The varying exposures for other plates and stops are easily obtained. For instance you find the image can just be seen all over at _f_/32 and you wish to use _f_/64 The exposure will be forty minutes.

After having used this method for over seven years, and having invariably found it correct, I can unhesitatingly recommend its adoption, and if used with a little common sense the worker will seldom suffer from his plates being either badly under or over-exposed.

In photographing side aisles, transepts, or long rows of pillars, the worker is often troubled by the unnatural way in which the floor runs up. This is more especially noticeable when there are no prominent objects in the immediate foreground. A considerable amount of this can however be overcome by the lowering of the camera to about three feet from the ground. It is here where the sliding legs of the tripod stand become of service.

I would ask the student always to use the longest focus lens possible, consistent with the effect desired.

The use of extreme wide-angle lenses has had a disastrous effect upon the public taste in respect to architectural photography due princ.i.p.ally to the abortions one sees exposed for sale in the shop windows of our cathedral cities.

It should be seldom necessary for the amateur to use very wide-angle lenses. Of course, when it is a question of getting a detailed photograph in a confined situation a wide-angle lens is of great service. But it is when you see the whole length of a cathedral photographed on a whole plate with a five inch lens that the fault is so noticeable.

In photographing exteriors great care should be taken in the placing of the camera in a suitable spot. Try and so arrange it that the short side of the building does not run off too violently, indeed, it is often much better to leave out a portion of the subject rather than to cram the whole subject upon the plate.

General views are much better if photographed when there is a little sunlight. This gives to the subject a sharp, clean-cut appearance.

Details on the other hand are better if photographed in a subdued light and slightly over-exposed.

In focussing very high subjects some difficulty will be found in getting bottom and top in focus at the same time, especially if the lens be strained by either altering the back or front of the camera.

The best place to focus is a little way above the centre of the screen, so that when stopped down the bottom of the building is quite sharp. A slight softness towards the top of the subject is scarcely noticeable in the final print.

The exposure of exteriors varies between three seconds at _f_/64 to ten minutes, and no correct guide can possibly be given. To the beginner a Watkins' exposure meter will here be of some service.

If people are continually pa.s.sing and repa.s.sing stop the lens down to _f_/64 and give as long an exposure as is possible; this will as a rule completely obliterate them. I have found that an exposure of from ten to twenty seconds entirely destroys all trace of moving objects.

Another method of making an exposure where there is much traffic past the building, and perhaps people standing about whom you cannot very well ask to move, is, to break the exposure as many times as possible. Expose for two seconds, then wait until the traffic has somewhat altered; then give another two seconds and so on until finished. By this means I have been able to photograph buildings in the centre of a crowded street or thoroughfare without a trace of anybody showing.

It is often interesting for the student to be able to successfully tackle the photographing of drawing-room, ball-room, or other apartments either of his own or friends' houses.

This work is considerably more difficult than it seems; and it is in such subjects that the taste of the operator becomes manifest. A great deal depends upon the point of view chosen and also upon the arrangement of the furniture.

If a long room, the camera should be placed at one end at about a quarter of the width of room away from one side and from the end wall. Keep the camera parallel with the sides of the room and use the sliding front so as to obtain more of the opposite side of the room. This will give the ceiling a true square appearance and the side of the ceiling will not run off with an unpleasing effect.

In some subjects it is perhaps necessary to include one or more windows. This can of course be accomplished by the aid of backed plates, but it is always better to block those particular windows out. This is usually done by covering the outside with black cloth or brown paper or pulling the sun blinds down. To get the effect of the windows you must remove the paper or cloth at the end of the exposure for a few minutes, three minutes being generally sufficient. By this means it is possible to show the landscape as seen from the window. Do not place your camera too high. Four feet to four feet six inches is quite sufficient. If the camera is higher you look over the immediate foreground objects, touching the ground past them, which is undesirable.

In arranging the furniture be careful that round or oval objects are not placed so that they appear on the edges of the plate which gives them an exaggerated appearance.

In exposing on all such interiors I would strongly recommend a very full exposure, the object being to flatten the subject. A great thing to study in this branch of work is the careful lighting of your subject. This can be largely varied by the use of the inside blinds, also by the sun blinds found outside many windows. It is _not_ advisable to draw the blinds up to their fullest extent. By so doing you accentuate your cast shadows thrown by tables, chairs, etc. In fact, the softer the light in the room coupled with a corresponding exposure, the better the result. Another point to notice is that a comparatively dull day is often the best for interior work, the light being much softer and subdued. As a slight guide to exposure I would suggest that an additional twenty-five per cent. be added to that recommended for church work.

_John H. Avery._

_The Hand Camera and its use._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

What is the best form of hand camera? How often this question is asked, and yet how impossible to give any definite reply, the conditions of use, and requirements of each worker being so widely different. One, desires a form of apparatus, capable of being closed up into the smallest s.p.a.ce, weighing but the least possible number of ounces, the necessary movements, confined to touching a spring, or pressing a b.u.t.ton, and the total cost not to exceed two or three pounds, while others do not care so much as to its possessing these qualities, if by a little increase in bulk, weight, and cost, it is capable of use in a less restricted manner, on subjects of wide variety, and under such conditions of light, and atmospheric effects, as, when shutter exposures are being given, call for the _maximum light pa.s.sage_ to the plate.

a.s.suming the camera to be intended exclusively for use without a tripod, then it becomes not a difficult matter to point out its essential features. First and foremost, it should be characterized by simplicity in construction, and every part be easily accessible, complicated movements being rarely found necessary, except perhaps, to raise the price of the instrument. When being employed in the field, the camera and its working parts ought not to need the slightest consideration, each movement, whether they be few, or many, being made, without requiring troublesome attention at the moment when every thought should be devoted to the subject.

The component parts of an instrument, complete and effective for this cla.s.s of work, may be taken to be a good lens capable of covering at _f_/8, a shutter, some simple means of focussing, adequate finders, and the means of carrying plates either in some form of magazine, or ordinary dark slides.

Each system of holder for plates possesses its own distinctive advantages, which are preferable, depending entirely on individual needs, or tastes. Some admire one method, and some the other.

When plates are carried in one of the many forms of magazine which cameras are nowadays fitted with, it is _important when re-charging it_, that care be taken to see _each sheath and plate is laid true_ in its place, as the slightest irregularity at this point, means certain trouble when changing a plate after exposure, indeed, perhaps fifty per cent. of the misfortunes which occur when out at work, from failure to act of the changing arrangements, _are directly caused by carelessness when laying the plates in the magazine_. Given reasonable care in this matter, almost any of the modern automatic changing methods, may be relied on to answer satisfactorily. When however the slight additional bulk, weight, and it may be increase of cost is not objected to, then there can be no denying separate dark slides possess many and important advantages.

No need to fear a wasted day, caused by some plate sticking, and rendering further work impossible, without having recourse to a dark-room, which probably is miles away; and again, one must not overlook the opportunity they give of carrying plates of different degrees of sensitiveness, a matter of service, when subjects to be dealt with are varied, such as, say, clouds and water, landscapes and figures. In the first case, when light is fairly good, the ordinary speed plate will be found amply quick enough during the daytime, and fifty per cent cheaper in price. When open landscapes are being taken, during summer time, medium rapid plates generally will be quick enough, but many opportunities, for pictorial work, arise under conditions of atmosphere and light, in which to obtain fully exposed negatives with a shutter, demands a plate of extreme sensitiveness, and if for no other reason than that they offer this opportunity of carrying a varied a.s.sortment of plates, many workers prefer dark slides, to any form of magazine.

There are advantages, and disadvantages, with both systems, and it becomes simply a question for each worker to consider which fulfills his requirements best.

_The Lens._--Good work can be, and is done, with cheap single lenses, but the opportunities offered are considerably restricted, what is needed, being such a lens as may be used at full aperture of _f_/8 or _f_/6, and will then cover the plate from corner to corner, sharply. This is necessary not only because the actinic quality of light is not always over good, but that moving subjects demand the shutter should be working with rapidity, sometimes indeed with considerable speed: under which conditions two factors are absolutely essential, a large working lens aperture, and a rapid plate. It is well, therefore, to _buy the best lens you can afford_, it more than pays in every way. For 1/4-plate work, a _rectilinear_ of 5, or 5-1/2 in. focus, working say at _f_/5.6, and with iris diaphragm, by one of the best makers, will allow work being done under any condition of weather, or other circ.u.mstances, when shutter work is possible.

_Finders._--Years ago, the question of whether finders were necessary, or not, in a camera of this kind, was a matter on which some at least expressed very different opinions, from those now held by most workers. Further experience has shown that when certainty in working is desired, some kind of finder is an absolute necessity as part of the working mechanism. It usually takes the form of a small camera obscura, what is required being, that it should not be too small, should give a perfectly discernible image, and be so adjusted, that only so much of it is shown, as will be projected on to the sensitive plate, when the exposure is made. The reason of its importance is that it _enables the subject being arranged_ tastefully, as well as ensuring that the whole of it is on the plate.

Where no attempt at pictorial work is intended, and the important matter is simply that the object being photographed should be in the _centre of the plate_, then it is only necessary that the finder should show as wide an angle of vision, or a little wider than the lens being employed inside the camera. But when something more is aimed at, _viz._: _Tasteful composition over the whole plate_, then it is necessary to block out on the finder all excess of view, beyond what will be received on the sensitive plate.

_The Shutter._--What particular form may be best is a matter of doubt, but whatever it be, exposure must be possible without vibration, it should give greater exposure to the foreground than the sky, and ought to allow of being regulated for exposures ranging from 1/4th of a second up to perhaps 1/100th for ordinary work.

Where shutter work has to be done, which demands anything less than 1/100th of a second, then special shutters for the purpose are needed, but after having used hand cameras of one form or another for the last nine or ten years on such cla.s.ses of subjects as are ordinarily dealt with, the occasions on which any greater speed than 1/30th of a second has been called for have been extremely rare. It may be said this would not allow of taking subjects such as a close finish of a cycle race and such like, which is quite true; did occasion arise for so doing, then a shutter such as the focal plane would be employed as a matter of course. But by far the greater amount of work done with hand cameras would be the better for receiving a longer exposure, better because light action on the sensitive plate would be more thorough, and far better because when slowly moving objects, such as waves rolling sh.o.r.eward, are given 1/10th instead of 1/100th of a second, we get less of "_petrified naturo_," and a more natural appearance in the resulting photographs. As a general rule it is well to give the _slowest exposure possible_.

_The Focussing Arrangements._--These need be only very simple, and generally are done by scale to distances. As a rule with the lens working at _f_/11, and the scale set at 15 feet, it will be found that the depth of focus is sufficient for most ordinary work, and any alteration in the focussing seldom necessary, when dealing with subjects where figures are included, that are not required to be approached much closer than the distance mentioned.

So far as may be necessary for _hand-camera work_ simply, the instrument should be without complications, is better for having a _good rectilinear lens_, needs a shutter easily adjusted for exposures ranging if possible, from a 1/4th of a second, up to say 1/100th, properly adjusted finders, some means of quickly altering the focus of lens, one or other method of carrying the plates or films, and for _purely hand-camera_ work, there is _no need_ for any other addition to it.

Pa.s.sing away from the camera to its use, one is faced immediately with the fact, that in spite of the mult.i.tude of such instruments now in use, the _general average of results_ produced by its means are, in quality, unmistakably below those done with a camera and tripod, nor is the reason for this far to seek. In the latter case, a plate of medium rapidity is generally employed, such an exposure given, as makes no serious _strain_ on the developer used to bring the latent image fully out; the action of light having been ample, and the plate not so easily spoiled, as one of higher sensitiveness, there is not that call for such skilful treatment, as where light action on a highly delicate emulsion, has been but brief, and needs to receive careful handling, before good, well-graded negatives may be produced.