July, 1905.] 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



185 



Photography AbrooLd. 



Ca.mera. Work for Travellers. 



Doubtless a larg-e number of the members of the 

 British Association who will g-o to South Africa, pur- 

 pose taking- cameras with them in order to bring home 

 records of their visit. Many of them will be experienced 

 photographers who know exactly what they want and 

 how to gfet it, but there will certainly be others who 

 have done little if any work of this kind before, and 

 some may hesitate as to whether it is worth while to 

 run the risk of failure, seeing the expense and trouble 

 that would be incurred. Accordingly it is to the inex- 

 perienced that these notes are addressed. 



The uncertainty and difficulty that used to beset 

 photography abroad have almost disappeared. The 

 experience by which we are now able to profit, 

 and the efforts of manufacturers to make every- 

 thing easy, have reduced the practice of photography, 

 such as is here referred to, to the simplest of opera- 

 tions wherever it may be carried on. No one, therefore, 

 need hesitate to take a camera for fear their trouble will 

 be wasted. 



But it is necessary to note that apparatus and 

 methods that would well serve, and, indeed, best serve, 

 if photography were the primary object of the visit, 

 would not only be out of place and a constant source of 

 annoyance, but quite impracticable under the existing 

 circumstances. 



Appciraliis, its Weight and Bulk. — We have often been 

 told by persons about to travel, that weight is scarcely 

 worth consideration, and that bulk, too, is a minor 

 matter, because the luggage is carried by servants; 

 but that rough usage must be guarded against, for 

 packages are sure to be knocked about. In the present 

 case, however, these circumstances will be reversed. 

 Each will carry his own camera and be able to take 

 reasonable care of it; therefore, weight and bulk be- 

 come very important items. This at once excludes 

 all box cameras and non-folding apparatus; except, in- 

 deed, for the enthusiast regardless whether his photo- 

 graphy prove a burden to himself, and perhaps also a 

 nuisance to other people. There are many very small 

 cameras that may be exceptions to this generalisation, 

 but we have in view the production of photographs not 

 smaller than about quarter-plate size, 4J x 3J inches. 



In judging of weight and bulk, it is important to con- 

 sider two distinct things, namely, the apparatus that 

 has to be carried about when in use, and also the 

 apparatus and material that will be left at the hotel, 

 such as the stock of sensitive material, developers, and 

 so on. Concerning the latter, little need be said, but 

 purchasers are often deceived as to the portability of 

 the camera and what must be taken with it whenever 

 it is to be used. There is no gain in having a com- 

 pact and light camera if it has to be carried in a large 

 and heavy case. Tlie apparatus must be judged of 

 \\hen in exactly the condition in which it will come into 

 play, with everything ready for making a series of ex- 

 posures. If any part is loose, such as a changing box, 

 backs, or other contrivances for carrying the plates of 



films, this part must be included. If glass plates are 

 to be used, a full stock, six, or a dozen, of the.se should 

 be added, for their weight is far from negligible. 



The Camera. — Having regard to the circumstances 

 enumerated, the apparatus that may be considered the 

 most suitable is an entirely self-contained camera of the 

 folding kind, arranged to take spools of rolled films. 

 A folding pocket Kodak for quarter-plate pictures 

 that we ourselves use is but little over an inch 

 and a half in thickness, and a very substantial leather 

 case provided for it is under two inches in thickness. 

 Such a package is no burden, and is absolutely self- 

 contained. Tliere are other similar cameras to be 

 obtained, and if the thickness may be increased a little, 

 folding cameras of greater scope and of more general 

 applicability, though probably not more useful on such 

 a visit as this, are available. 



The Lens. — By paying three or four pounds more, a 

 first-class lens may be substituted for the ordinary one. 

 This, of course, would be an advantage, but in the 

 present instance so small a one that we do not recom- 

 mend it, except for those who' know that the work they 

 mean tO' do will be benefited by it. The gain in using a 

 costly lens is a better definition at the margins of the 

 picture, with the possibility, therefore, of using a larger 

 diaphragm and consequently giving a shorter exposure. 

 But under the ordinary conditions that may be expected, 

 the diaphragm of the cheaper lens may be small enough 

 to secure good definition at the same time that the 

 exposure is as short as is likely to be desirable. 



Other Apparatus. — As to a tripod, if one be taken it 

 should be a light one. Some metal stands are perfect 

 in every way, compact and light, but the sliding parts 

 of the legs if bruised are likely to become fixed or 

 irreparably damaged, therefore a wooden one is prefer- 

 able. But if a tripod is taken it will probably not be 

 used, for experience shows that on such occasions .1 

 stand is so seldom wanted that it is not habitually 

 carried with the camera, and that when the need for it 

 does arise, it is not at hand. It may also be noted that 

 It takes much longer tO' mount a camera on a tripod 

 than to use it in the hand, and that when accompanying 

 a party there is often no opportunity to take things 

 leisurely. 



It is a distinct advantage to have an " everset " 

 shutter, because the "setting" of the shutter that is 

 otherwise necessary is the one operation most likely to 

 be forgotten. The only apparatus that it is desirable 

 to carry besides what the word " camera " in its inclu- 

 sive sense signifies, is an exposure meter or actinomeler 

 for use as described below. There are several kinds of 

 these, some as small as a locket, the essential feature 

 being that they contain sensitive paper that darkens on 

 exposure, and gives an indication of the intensity of the 

 light by noticing the time necessary to expose it for the 

 production of a colour equal in depth to a standard 

 tint. 



Development. — In hot countries and trying climates 

 it is not safe to keep exposed films long between ex- 

 posure and development. It is possible to send them or 

 bring them home for treatment at leisure, but it must be 

 remembered that sensitive material is much more liable 

 to injury from adverse climatic influences after than 

 before exposure, and that any delay incurs risk and is 

 practically certain to cause deterioration. The best 

 method is to develop as soon after exposure as possible, 

 that is, within a dav or two, and here it is that the 



