Photographic instruction book : a systematic course and illustrated hand-book on the modern practices of photography in all its various branches for amateur and professional

Front matter

PHOTOGRAPHIC

INSTRUCTION BOOK

A SYSTEMATIC COURSE AND ILLUSTRATED HAND-BOOK ON THE MODERN PRACTICES OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN ALL ITS VARIOUS BRANCHES FOR AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL

II

Room. The Choice of a Developer. Developing a Negative. Recognition and Correction of Under and Over Exposure. Intensifying a Negative. Reducing a Negative. Drying Negatives. Varnishing Negatives. Retouching. Storing Negatives. Defects in Negatives and their Remedies. Developing Cartridge Films. The Chemistry of Development. General Information.

Chapter I. The Apparatus Required

Cameras adapted for the amateur's use are divided into two classes: Hand cameras and viewing cameras. These classes are again subdivided into many styles and varieties of instruments. Before it is practicable to enter intelligently into a practical photographic training the amateur should provide himself with the necessary apparatus and he should, therefore, select one or the other of these two classes of instruments. This selection of an instrument should invariably be determined by the character of the work which the embryo photographer has in contemplation, i. e., whether his object is to provide himself with agreeable diversion and recreation or with a scientific art which may be employed as a profession to insure permanent occupation and revenue.

Upon the selection of the first instrument much depends, and while advising the novice in this respect certain considerations should be borne in mind as tending to his ultimate success and these are his personality, tastes, environment and financial ability. Yet one rule can safely be laid down. If the camera is to be used by the traveler or by anyone not having access to a dark room, a film camera should be used. An exclusively plate camera is suitable for gallery work and viewing.

For the amateur’s use it is well to have an instrument that will use film as well as plates.

Films in light-proof rolls weigh only one-twen-

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tieth as much as glass plates and the necessary plate holders ; they are non-breakable, are as easy to develop as plates and in rapidity and quality equal the best plates made.

In every kind of amateur photographic work, where it is not desired to make a negative larger than 5x7, transparent film is rapidly becoming more popular and its use is increasing daily. The reasons are obvious. Film is a thin, light, rollable and non-breakable substance. Plates are heavy, fragile glass. To the tourist, where the transportation problem is to be faced, the use of film frequently means success versus failure. Films and plates are, nevertheless, more nearly alike than those not familiar with the subject would imagine. Indeed, they are identical, except in the support upon which the sensitive material (emulsion) is coated.

When this emulsion is coated on glass we have “plates.” When coated on a thin, flexible support it is called “film.”

Neither the glass nor this flexible, transparent material does more than furnish a support for the emulsion which is to take the picture. When exposed in the camera, the results are identical, and when the pictures are made they are indistinguishable.

Whatever style of instrument the amateur may select he will require the following articles to complete his working apparatus:

Camera, complete with Plate Holder, Lens and Shutter and a Developing and Printing Outfit, consisting of Developing and Toning Trays, Graduated Measuring Glass, Printing Frame, Ruby Lamp, and if he should select the Viewing Camera, the above list must be augmented by the addition of a Tripod and Focusing Cloth.

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Chemicals for making the developing and toning solutions and paper and dry plates will also be required, particulars concerning which will be treated elsewhere in this work. The articles mentioned in the above list may be purchased separately or they may be bought in the form of a complete equipment. In addition there are many other pieces of apparatus, such as washing appliances, drying racks, plate lifters ; but they are not absolutely essential, and their purchase may be deferred until the beginner has achieved some progress and feels justified in making the additional outlay. The cost of photographic apparatus varies considerably, according to quality, but as the cost of the plates and papers used in both cameras of good and inferior quality is the same, it is more economical in the end for the beginner to provide himself with the best apparatus that he can afford.

Chapter II. Hand Cameras

As indicated by its name, a “hand” camera is one that is intended primarily to be used when held by the hands, and, therefore, except on rare occasions, such an instrument does not require a tripod as in the case of the view camera. As it is practically impossible to hold a camera in the hand with sufficient steadiness to give an exposure of more than about the tenth-part of a second, all hand cameras are provided with a shutter so as to insure quick exposure.

The most popular size for a hand camera is 4x5, though instruments of this kind are made to take much smaller pictures ; some users are not satisfied with so small a picture as 4x5, and prefer a 5x7 instrument or even 63/2x83/2 or 8x10. As a rule, a 4x5 or 5x7 camera will be found quite large enough for all ordinary amateur work. It is not many years ago that a hand camera was regarded as a toy rather than as an instrument for serious picture-taking; but this opinion no longer exists, owing to the development of this most useful instrument from the original crude box to the present perfect apparatus.

A hand camera is even better than its prototype on a tripod, in depicting street scenes. In this class of work a tripod camera, erected in a busy thoroughfare, would not only obstruct traffic. but might in the case of some operators be objected to as rendering them disagreeably conspicuous. With a hand camera the amateur can stroll about when and where he will and take a

M ODER N PH OTOGRAP II Y.

1 7 shot here and a shot there, without attracting undue notice or inconveniencing anybody. For cyclists, too, a hand camera is most convenient, as it is compact, easily carried, and can be used at a moment’s notice during a ride.

Hand cameras may be divided into four classes, as follows:

FIG. 1. MAGAZINE CAMERA.

Class i. Magazine Cameras. (See Fig. i.) — Those in which a number of plates or cut films are stored in a chamber or magazine, the plates being changed after each exposure by means of mechanism. These are known as Magazine Cameras.

In this class the plates are usually placed in metal carriers, and as a rule each camera holds twelve plates. Several forms of hand cameras are made on this principle. This class of camera possesses the advantage of enabling the user to make several exposures in quick succession, and in many cases this feature is a decided convenience.

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FIG. 2. FOLDING FOCUSING CAMERA.

Class 2. Folding Focusing Cameras. (See Fig. 2.) — Those which are so constructed that when not in use are self contained in a neat leather covered box, but when desired, by pressing a concealed button one side of the box is caused to be lowered, forming a bed upon which the camera front containing the lens and shutter is drawn out, rendering the instrument adaptable for instant use. This style is known as the Folding Hand Camera. They are provided with ground glass screen, tripod sockets, and focusing scale and can be used either as a Hand Camera or upon a tripod as a regular Viewing Camera. In them can be used either dry-plates, sheet films or films in rolls, the various holders required being interchangeable.

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A camera of the class of style 2, with plate holders, is specially suitable when a varied range of work is to be done, as plates of different speeds can be carried in the holders and a fast or slow plate can thus be selected according to the needs of the subject to be taken. A plentiful supply of plates is not always a blessing to the hand camera worker, for he is then often tempted to spend a plate on a subject of little or no interest, whereas, if only a smaller supply of plates was available greater care in the selection of the view would be expended.

FIG. 3. FIXED FOCUS BOX CAMERA.

Class 3. Fixed Focus Box Cameras. (See 3-) — Those known as Fixed Focus or Box style, in which the plates are contained in plate holders.

The cameras in this class are usually provided with space for three double plate holders, taking six plates. In some instruments there is space for carrying all three holders in the body of the

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camera while in others there is only room for one holder, the other two being carried in the pocket. (See Fig. 3.)

FIG. 4. NO. 3 FOLDING POCKET FIG. 5. FOLDING POCKET KODAK WITH B. & L. KODAK.

AUTOMATIC SHUTTER.

Class 4. Kodaks. (See Figs. 4 and 5.) — Cameras in which flexible films in rolls are used instead of glass plates, the film being wound on spools or rollers. The action of winding up the exposed portion of the film unwinds a fresh portion ready for the next exposure.

The cameras in class 4 appeal perhaps most strongly to the tourist and holiday-maker as they enable material for a large number of exposures to be carried with very little weight. There are some most excellent instruments of this kind on the market, which are well worth attention. Many styles are made in such compact form as to permit of their being carried in any ordinary coat pocket. These are known as Folding Pocket Kodaks.

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With a focusing camera the operator is enabled to compose or arrange his view on the ground-glass focusing screen ; but in a strictly hand camera this process is performed by means of a little appliance termed a view finder.

All hand cameras using rectangular shaped plates should be provided with either two view findersor a reversible finder, to enable the operator to compose both horizontal pictures and vertical pictures. Many hand cameras are of the “fixedfocus” type. This means that everything beyond a certain distance (usually about 7 to 9 feet) from the camera is in correct focus on the plate, and for the majority of snap-shot pictures a camera of this kind will do all that is required.

If the amateur wishes to go in for portraits and figure studies, however, he should obtain a camera with a focusing arrangement so that nearer subjects can be successfully taken. Apparatus of this kind is described under class 2. This focusing can be performed by examining the picture on a focusing screen and then racking the camera in or out until it appears perfectly sharp, or by judging or measuring the distance at which the subject is placed from the camera and then racking the camera front out until it is set for that distance, as indicated on a small graduated scale termed the focusing scale.

With portraits and figure studies the focusing adjustment is specially required so as to enable the figures to be taken of sufficient size.

On the cheaper kinds of hand cameras single lenses are usually fitted, and, for landscape work such lenses are suitable, but one with a rapid rectilinear lens is to be preferred, if the extra cost can be afforded.

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The shutters supplied with hand cameras are extremely varied in design. The shutter should be both set and released from the outside of the camera, and the latter operation should be performed without the necessity for undue movement or pressure. It should be capable of being adjusted for various speeds, and should have an indicator to show the various speeds at which it works. The range of adjustment should be from about one-tenth of a second to not less than one-fiftieth, and the shutter should also be capable of giving time exposures if necessary. When it is desired to give a time exposure with a hand camera, it is usual to rest the instrument on a convenient fence or post, or else on a tripod. A further point with regard to the shutter is that it should not uncover the plate when being set. For ordinary snap-shot work a shutter speed of about one-twenty-fifth of a second is generally sufficient. The higher the speed of the shutter, the greater the danger of under-exposure.

As far as possible, all the movements should be accessible from the outside of the camera and the various working parts should be easily accessible for cleaning, adjustment, and repair. A numerical indicator should be connected to the plate-changing mechanism, in the case of Magazine Cameras, to show how many plates have been exposed, and it should be possible to remove the exposed plates at any time without interfering with those which may still be unexposed.

It is now almost a universal practice among Hand Camera makers to furnish their apparatus’ complete with lens, shutter and plate holder, thus saving the prospective purchaser the trouble of selecting each item separately.

Chapter III

VIEWING CAMERAS. FEATURES OF CAMERAS.

Size of the Outfit. — Camera manufacturers have adopted a series of standard sizes for their instruments. Very large cameras may be left

FIG. b.

out of the question, as unsuited to the general requirements of amateur workers, and the following sizes may be considered as those from which a selection should be made. The figures given are the dimensions of the largest picture which each camera is capable of taking:

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Of the foregoing sizes there are two the use of which largely preponderates. These are 5x7 and 6y2x8y2. If the reader wishes to keep both his initial and working expenses as low as possible, he should content himself with the smaller of these two sizes. When he has gained some experience and is fairly proficient, he may perhaps feel tempted to employ a 63^x83/2 camera. All things considered, however, a 5x7 instrument is the best size for the beginner to commence with. By a simple contrivance known as a “kit” smaller pictures can be taken with a 5x7 or larger camera, so that if the reader wishes to experiment in a small way at the start, it is a very easy matter for him to do so.

The Points of a Good Viewing Camera. — A

knowledge o-f the features which a good camera should possess will be of service to the reader when selecting an instrument. Since the camera has to be carried about from place to place it should be as light as possible, and it should fold up into a small compass. These qualities, however, should not be obtained at the sacrifice of rigidity, for it is upon the firmness of the camera and its support, that the sharpness of the resultant picture largely depends. The front of the camera should be provided with a rising and falling adjustment, so that the lens may be moved above or below the level of the center of the plate, though it should be exactly opposite this point when in its normal position.

The bellows should be made of leather or bellows cloth, and may be either parallel or tapering in shape. The latter kind is known as a “conical” bellows, and is generally preferred on account of the saving in weight which their use allows. (See Fig. 6.) When a conical bellows is

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fitted, the purchaser should satisfy himself that if the back of the camera is moved close up to the front, as is the case when using a short-focus lens, no part of the picture on the plate is cut off.

It is essential for good work that the camera should be provided with what is termed a “swing-back,” and the amateur will also find it of great advantage to have a camera with a reversing back, that is a back which will fit in both a horizontal and a vertical position. As will be seen from the foregoing list of standard sizes the plates are made oblong in shape, and the reversing back enables the plate to be used either vertically or horizontally, as required.

With a 6)4x8)4 camera, sufficient adjustment should be provided to enable an extension of not less than 16 or 17 inches to be made. The woodwork of the camera should be of well-seasoned mahogany.

Features of Cameras. — In the foregoing pages the terms : swing-back, view-finder, etc., have been used and the reader will derive a full comprehension of a definition of the meaning of these terms from the following detailed explanation : The Swing Back. — In making pictures of buildings or of any subject other than purely landscape ones, the sensitive plate should be in a perfectly perpendicular plane with the subject in order to obtain good results.

The purpose of a swing-back is to keep the place always absolutely perpendicular. (See Fig. 7.) To include the top of a tall building or church spire, or secure more of a subject than can be obtained with the camera in its normal position, it is often nec-

FIG. 7.

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essary to tilt it, and under such conditions, with a rigid back, the lines of the resulting photograph will converge more or less at the top, as the plate will be at an angle with the subject. If, however, the back of the camera is made to move or “swing” independently, then, even though the camera is not level, the sensitive plate can be placed parallel with the subject and straight lines secured — or, in photographic parlance, there would be no distortion, but a perfect rectilinear effect. A swing-back is not absolutely essential for hand work and in fact is not used to so great an extent with 4x5 cameras as with larger sizes. Nevertheless it will be found very convenient for tripod exposures, and indispensable under conditions noted above.

The Rising and Falling Front. — The purpose of a rising and falling front is to shift the lens

Fig. 8. Rising and Falling Fig. 9. Double Sliding Front. Front.

above or below the center of the sensitive plate — its normal position — in order to include more or less foreground. (See Figs. 8-9.) It will also be found an aid in securing the upper part of a building or similar subject, which could not be covered by the lens if at the center.

The Reversible Back. — A reversible back camera, to the casual observer, does not differ in appearance from the ordinary type, but it has decided advantages. The back frame which carries

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the sensitive plate can be placed either upright or horizontal at will — without changing position of the camera — a decided advantage, especially when making tripod exposure. Fig. 10 shows the camera back with a plate in a horizontal position; a portion of the subject being cut off. By reversing the back the plate will be vertical, as in Fig. 11 — the whole subject included, and often a more artistic effect obtained.

Rack and Pinion. — This is a metal roller device working in a milled track used on the bed for moving the front of camera, to which lens and shutters are attached, backward or forward, until the proper focus is obtained.

In the cheaper apparatus this is accomplished by means of a lever or hook ; but this method is inconvenient as compared with the use of the rack.

The View Finder is in reality similar to a miniature camera, consisting of a lens and reflecting mirrors. Its purpose is to give an exact reproduction, in miniature size, of the view as it will appear on the negative. Finders are made in various forms, adaptable to use upon either folding or non-folding cameras, as the case may be.

The Ground Glass or “Focusing” Screen. — At the back of a tripod camera there is a frame in

2 8

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which is fixed a sheet of ground glass. This glass is termed the “focusing screen.” On this the picture to be taken is arranged and focused. When the camera is first set up and pointed at the object to be taken, the picture will probably appear very indistinct and fuzzy. The amateur may be surprised also to find that the picture appears upside down on the glass ; but this is the natural result of the action of the lens, and is a peculiarity to which he will soon get quite accustomed. The front of the camera is then moved in or out by means of a rack and pinion movement until the picture appears sharp on the ground glass.

Chapter IV. Lenses: Diaphragms Or Stops

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED IN DESCRIBING LENSES.

Lenses. — The next member of a complete photographic apparatus to receive attention is the lens. Lenses of many names, mystifying in the extreme to the novice', are advertised ; buLthese may be divided into five classes, four of which are in general use. The fifth (the Tele-Photo) is at present but little understood. The four in general use are: First, the Single Lens (single

combination) ; second, the Rapid Rectilinear Lens (Double combination) ; third, the Wide Angle Lens (Double combination) ; fourth, the Portrait Lens (Double combination).

Single Lenses are made in two forms, meniscus (see Figs. 12-13) and piano convex. The meniscus form is always employed except in the cheapest class of cameras. These lenses are always mounted behind the diaphragm Fig. 12. Fig. 13. which controls the amount of Plano- Menis- li^ht to be admitted through the Convex. cus. jens

A Single Combination lens, as its name implies, contains but one “combination, a combination being two or more glass elements cemented together with Canada balsam. The chief advantage which the single lens offers to amateur workers is that it is considerably lower in price than the other types

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and is used in cameras making pictures 4x5 inches or less in size. For landscape photography and for figure studies, a good single lens will prove very satisfactory. To the amateur, however, who wishes to do as great a variety of work as possible with one lens, the single type has a great disadvantage in that it is entirely unsuited for taking any subject where straight lines have to be included, such as in photographs of buildings, copying drawings, etc. ; for in such cases it distorts the straight lines into a more or less curved form, hence this type of lens is not suitable for making pictures larger than 4x5 inches.

A Rapid Rectilinear or Double Achromatic Lens is composed of two single achromatic iens combinations mounted one in each end of the lens tube, placed face to face. (See Fig. 14.)

When a stop is placed in front of a single lens the image produced is “barrel shaped,” and when the stop is placed back of the lens the image is “pin-cushion” shape. The stop in the rectilinear lens being placed between the two

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combinations is, of course, in front of the back, and back of the front combinations. It is very evident, then, that the distortion of the one would be counteracted by the distortion of the other, and hence the result — a straight line. This defect of the one being counteracted or corrected by the defect of the other permits of a large aperture being used in comparison with that of the single lens, hence the name Rapid Rectilinear.

Undoub t e d 1 y the best kind of lens for all-round work is the rapid rectilinear, as the pictures taken with a lens of this type are absolutely free from distorted or curved lines.

A further advantage of this lens over the single lens is that it is much quicker in working. A rapid rectilinear lens may be used with good results for any of the following classes of work :

Landscape, architectural subjects, copying, portraits, groups, and figure studies. It is also very suitable for instantaneous and snap-shot pictures.

Rapid rectilinear lenses are made in many grades and of many types, and are marketed under various names, such as Rectilinears, Anastigmats, Symmetricals, etc., the double Anastigmats being the highest grade.

The Stigmatic and Anastigmatic Lenses (See Fig. 15), of which there are a number of different series manufactured, are a new form of lens of comparatively recent invention. They are cer-

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tainly of the highest plane to which the photoraphic optician has obtained. They are made of the new Jena glass and the various series are composed of from two to eight lenses.

They are of convertible form and they may be used with either front or back combinations separately. By so doing three different focal lengths are obtained and the possessor of these lenses has in reality three lenses combined in one.

The Wide Angle Lens is very similar in form and the same in principle as that of the Rapid Rectilinear; the chief difference being that the lens combinations are mounted closer together and the curvature greater in the same focal length of lens.

Fig. 16 represents one of the most common forms of wide angle lenses. It will readily be seen by the construction of the lens-mount that it will permit of a very wide angle of view.to pass through to the plate, while in the Rapid Rectilinear (Fig. 17) the angle would be cut off by the length of the barrel.

It must not be understood that because one is the possessor of a wide angle lens he will be able to obtain the angle desired on any size of plate he may wish to use. A wide angle lens is so called because its angular capacity is large in proportion to its focal length. But if we have a lens of, say, six inches focus, with an angular capacity of 100 degrees and a 4x5 plate be used, it will readily be seen that we do not utilize the full capacity of the lens, and hence only a comparatively narrow angle of view is obtained. In Fig. 18 the lines ab and cd indicate the angular capacity of the lens. A 4x5 plate being used, the base line, or 5 inch side, H K represents the angle obtained, which is less than half the capacity of the lens.

A wide angle lens is intended for use in confined positions, and for photographing high buildings in narrow thoroughfares, for interiors of small rooms, and for similar work, it is almost indispensable. A disadvantage attaches to its

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use, however, in the fact that the perspective of the view so taken appears exaggerated and displeasing to the eye; but since there is no means of taking many subjects except by the aid of such a lens, this alteration in the appearance of the perspective must be accepted.

The Portrait Lens. — A Portrait Lens may be considered one of the crowning successes of the photographic optician. Although invented a number of years ago, no photographer’s outfit of the present day would be considered complete without one. They are specially designed for very short exposure and are from four to six times as quick working as the ordinary rapid rectilinear lens. They cover a very small plate in proportion to their focal length and consequently possess a narrow angle. The image produced is very soft and pleasing to the eye and the most artistic results in portraiture are produced with them. The lenses of the back combination are separated by an air space which, together with their extremely large apertures, produce the fine soft effect.

Lenses of this type are intended for Portrait work only and they are of little use for any other class of work.

The Tele-Photo is a distinct type of lens of which a brief description is given on account of its distinction from the other lenses and its usefulness in the production of longdistance views. It is composed of two individual combinations ; a collective or positive combination and a dispersive or negative combination. The office of the collective lens is to collect as many as possible of the rays of light which are reflected from the object to be photographed, and to focus them within the radius of

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the dispersive combination, which projects an enlarged image upon the plate. In this manner a large image of a distinct object may be obtained with a comparatively very short bellows draw. They are very useful in photographing distant mountain scenery, vessels far out at sea and various animals for the study of naturalists, pictures of which it would be impossible to obtain at close range.

— j

Fixed Focus Lens. — The repeated mention of this lens in catalogues and advertisements has created an impression that it is some distinct kind of lens, with the extraordinary power of focusing all objects near and far in one plane. There is no inherent quality in any lens that makes it “fixed focus” ; it is such when it is immovable and that is all. Any lens can, therefore, be made “fixed focus” but the extent t.o which it will focus all objects in one plane depends upon its length of focus and size of stop or diaphragm used, and upon that only.

The reason for this is that the rays of light from near and far objects do not focus at the same point. For instance, we will assume that B, in Fig. 19, is the point at which objects one hundred feet distant will focus and that A is where objects 10 feet distant will focus. Now the distance between A and B will vary in ratio to

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the focal length of the lens. In a lens of 3 inches focus it is ascertained mathematically to be 3-16 of an inch and in one of 12 inches focus, ij4 inches. Hence if using a 3 inch focus lens the sensitive surface is placed between A and B the object at 100 feet and beyond (all objects beyond 100 feet come practically within one focus) and objects 10 feet distant will none of them be more than 3-32 out of focus, which, with the size of stop ordinarily used for snap work, creates so slight a blurring of the image that it cannot be detected. Experience has shown that the limit of focus for a lens which is to be employed for snap shot work with the focus fixed is under 5^2 inches; in other words thata3^4X4*4 plate is about the largest that can be used to advantage under such circumstances. It is probably true that for cameras of this size and under, nothing can be gained by having the focus adjustable and that, on the other hand, better average results will be obtained with a fixed focus, owing to the fact that there is no adjustment that will allow the lens to be put out of focus by a mistake in measuring distances.