A FEW NOTES ON EXPOSURE. 



The unknown quantity in photography for 

 the amateur, the pit into which we all stum- 

 ble at first, and some of us all the time, is 

 the question of proper exposure of the nega- 

 tive. We may have the finest lenses, the 

 most expensive of cameras, all the latest 

 ideas in dark-room fixtures and apparatus, 

 but if our knowledge of exposure is of the 

 hit or miss kind, we shall never, except by 

 accident, produce passable pictures. 



The plates or films which we are able to 

 buy have, luckily, a very great latitude in 

 exposure, that is, they are so prepared that 

 within reasonable limits a fairly good nega- 

 tive can be obtained from an under, as well 

 as from over-exposure. But it must be re- 

 membered that an under-exposure negative 

 will only give us hard prints, showing the 

 shadows without detail, and the high-lights 

 too strong, with a consequent unbalanced 

 look. An over-exposed negative, on the 

 other hand, will yield a flat looking print, 

 with both shadows and high-lights dull and 

 lifeless. We can to considerable extent 

 remedy an over-exposed negative by suitable 

 reduction, but it is not easy for a beginner. 

 An under-exposed negative can only be im- 

 proved by a lot of hand work, masking, etc., 

 hence it is always best to err on the side of 

 over-exposure. But better still, it is to get 

 correct exposure — or normal, as it is some- 

 times called — in the first instance. This is 

 easily accomplished if we make use of one 

 of the many exposure meters that inventive 

 minds have produced for amateur photog- 

 raphers. An exposure meter or time meas- 

 ure is really a most useful instrument to the 

 beginner, especially when exposure is a con- 

 sideration, for it will save lots of spoilt plates 

 and much weariness of spirit. They can be 

 bought from ten cents up to two or three 

 dollars, the more expensive ones being, as in 

 most cases, the most reliable and the best 

 in the end. An exposure meter is, however, 

 not absolutely necessary if we will but ex- 

 periment a little at the start and make notes 

 of our results. One manufacturer of dry 

 plates gives the following advice, and it holds 

 good for all makes of dry plates or films. 



For beginners, an open, sunlit landscape 

 is a good subject for the first exposure. Three 

 exposures should be made, one at i-i,oooths, 

 one at i-50th, and one at i-25th of a second, 

 if the shutter on the camera is arranged for 



these exposures. In some cases all three ex- 

 posures may give good negatives, owing to 

 the big latitude of the emulsion, and in other 

 cases no one of these exposures will give a 

 decent result, but, generally speaking, enough 

 can be learned from these three exposures 

 to get a good line on the correct time. If 

 the shutter has but one speed, or is not re- 

 liable, the same experiment may be tried by 

 starting with the lens wide open, and reduc- 

 ing the stop or diaphragm one size each 

 time. The light varies in intensity from 

 hour to hour during the day and from month 

 to month during the year. In the winter 

 months exposures at noon should be from 

 two to four times longer than at noon in 

 June. Exposures near sunset should be five 

 to ten times longer than at noon. On hazy 

 days, when, the sun casts weak shadows, ex- 

 pose twice as long as on very bright days, 

 when the sun casts a deep black shadow. 



On very dull days, when the sun casts no 

 perceptible shadows, expose four times as 

 long as for bright days. Even at best the 

 picture will be flat on dull days, but if under- 

 exposed it will also be weak and thin. If a 

 landscape has dense foliage in the foreground 

 double the exposure. Marines and snow- 

 scenes require but half to quarter the time 

 given landscapes in the same light. 



The old rule was always to expose for the 

 shadows and let the high-lights take care of 

 themselves. This rule is a good one, but 

 not to be followed blindly. 



In pictures of trees, running water, surf 

 views, it is a great mistake to make the ex- 

 posure too rapid. That may yield a good, 

 crisp negative, but it will give a frozen ap- 

 pearance to the leaves or the spray of the 

 waves. The exposure should be just short 

 enough to give the effect of motion. 



PHOTOGRAPHING FLOWERS. 



In photographing flowers, a 5x7 camera 

 with a long extension of bellows, is the most 

 serviceable. The lens should be of compar- 

 atively short focus, say 6 inches for a 5x7 

 plate. This will secure good depth of defini- 

 tion without excessive stopping down. It is 

 not a good plan to use too small a stop as 

 equally sharp focus on all the blooms is un- 

 desirable. Isochromatic plates and a color 

 screen are essentials, if anything like true 

 color values are sought for. The background 



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