Transcriber’s Notes:
Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_
in the original text. Small capitals have been converted to SOLID
capitals. Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up
paragraphs.
LITTLE BLUE BOOK NO. 1139
Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius
Photography
Self Taught
Lloyd I. Snodgrass
HALDEMAN-JULIUS COMPANY
GIRARD, KANSAS
Copyright, 1926,
Haldeman-Julius Company
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. INTRODUCTION 5
Simplicity of Photography—Early Stages.
II. MATERIALS OF PHOTOGRAPHY 7
Types of Cameras—Lenses—Stops and Shutters—Films
and Plates—Printing Papers.
III. MAKING THE PICTURE 24
Loading the Camera—Choice of Subject and Viewpoint
—Steps in taking the Picture—Making the Exposure—
Exposure Tables—Home Portraiture.
IV. DEVELOPING THE NEGATIVE 38
Chemical Process—Tank Development—Tray Development
—Negative Defects.
V. PRINTING THE PICTURE 46
Printing Papers—Printing Process—Enlarging—Toning
—Finishing the Picture.
VI. MOTION PICTURES 56
Importance—Principle—Pictures in the Home—Ciné-Kodak
—Film Libraries.
VII. SCOPE OF PHOTOGRAPHY 61
Business—Scientific Investigation—Illustrations—
Color Photography—Color Printing Processes—Other
Advances.
PHOTOGRAPHY SELF TAUGHT
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Of all the fields of applied science, there is perhaps no other that
has such a universal appeal as photography. While a science in the true
sense of the word it enters so intimately and frequently into contact
with our daily lives that we hardly realize its scientific aspect.
Photography is simply the making of permanent images of natural
objects on suitably prepared surfaces by physical and chemical means.
The process is easily understood and the actual making of good
pictures is simplicity itself. The light reflected from the subject
being photographed passes through the lens and forms an image on the
sensitive material at the back of the camera. An exposure of only a
small fraction of a second, if the light is good, affects this material
but not to the extent of forming a visible image. The actual image is
brought out later by a chemical process called “development.” After
being “fixed” so the image won’t fade, the “negative,” as the film
or plate is now called, is washed and dried and is then ready for
printing. This is done by allowing a given amount of light to pass
through the negative onto a piece of sensitive paper with which it is
placed in contact. After being developed, washed and dried, this paper
is the finished print or picture.
Photography had its early beginning back in the fore part of the 18th
century[1] when the “Camera Obscura” was devised.
[Footnote 1: See Photo-Miniature No. 60: _Who Discovered Photography_.]
This was a box equipped with a lens at one end and a piece of ground
glass at the other, used by artists to trace a picture on the glass.
Some time later various experiments were made to find something to
replace the ground glass which would permanently retain the image.
Eventually it was discovered that silver chloride would darken upon
exposure to light and that _hypo_ would remove the unexposed chemical,
thus fixing the image more or less permanently.
Later came the daguerreotype and the wet plate process. The latter
was very cumbersome, but many beautiful pictures were made by it, as
witnessed by Brady’s collection of Civil War pictures. These were
succeeded by dry plates which in turn have quite largely given way to
films.
Photography as it exists today covers a very broad field, and many
books have been written on the subject as a whole and its various
phases. In compiling the material for this Little Blue Book, an
attempt has been made to include only those topics which will be
of interest and assistance to the average amateur photographer.
Scientific processes are explained in such a way that the beginner,
with no previous experience in the making of pictures, should be able
to understand the various steps as they are taken up, and to get good
pictures. The last chapter is devoted to the scope of photography, its
practical applications, and to some of the developments that are now
taking place.