San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-08-02
COLOR IN PHOTOGRAPHY.
REPRODUCTION OF THE BEAUTIFUL
SHADES OF NATURE.
The Science Still Far from Perfect-Prog
ress of the Orthochromat,c Branch OF
Photography-Coior of Hair, Eyes and
Clothing Obtained.


raphy is the nearest approach which photog-
raphers have yet made toward producing the
beautiful and various color shades of nature
in the camera. Wecan photograpl the color
values in almost n true relation, but as yet
the problem to photograph exactly the col
ors themselves remains unsolved.
Perhaps no other branch Of photography
has received so much attention as this. No
other is so interesting or so full of promise
1t has been the dream Of photographers to re-
produce with their cameras the beautiful
colors Of nature as accurately as they are
able to depict its form and lights and shadows
ever since Daguerre, the ambitious young
scenic painter of Paris, exclaimed, on success.
fully completing his first wonderful photo
graphic experiments: why cannot l retain
these inimitable woniers which the suns rays
draw TO the focus of my lensa Why cannot
l fix the image, engrave it foreveri'
Experiments have been numerous and con.
tinuous in this direction ever since the birth
of photography, fifty-one years ago. Often
it has been announced that at Last the great
secret was discovered, but always to result
only in disappointment, for as yet there has
been found no way by which the colors them
selves can be photographed.
SOME ADVANCEMENT.
Much has been accomplished, however,
even if the natural colors themselves cannot,
as yet, be exactly reproduced by lens and dry
plate. We can photograph yellow, green
and red so that they can easily be distin-
guished in the finished picture whereas, for
merly, no difference whatever could be seen
between these colors in the photograph. In
like manner, blue, violet and indigo may now
be photographed so that difference is shown
in color values, instead Of reproducing them
all perfectly white which was formerly the
case.
A bright yellow color on the old ordinary
plate was always photographed a dull black,
and very dark and dull blues would appear
clear whites, though in the natural subject
they were much darker than the yellow,
which appeared quite black in the photo
graph. This unique result was obtained on
the old plate because yellow, like green and
red, are non-actinic, or photographically in
active colors while blue and the colors at the
other end of the spectrum are very powerful
in actinic rays.
1t therefore happened that the non-actinic
colors, whether bright or dull, impressed the
sensitive plate but feebly and in the same de-
gree, because so little Photographic light was
transmitted from these colors; while the blue,
the violet and the indigo shades, no matter
how dull they might appear in nature, being
very active photographically, impressed the
sensitive plate TO a great degree and came
out in the photograph much brighter than
the yellows and reds, which were in reality
more brilliant colors.
HOW COLOR is OBTAINED.
So it was that the beautiful tints Of autumn
foliage or the glorious colors of an October
sunset could not at all be accurately depicted
by the camera. For the same reason paint
ing could not be truthfully copied; and a
great defect was apparent in process other
wise quite perfect.
The problem was to prepare a sensitive sur
face so that the different colors, while not i'm
pressing their exact shades on the plate, would
at least impress themselves differently, and
in way that they could be distinguished one
from another This has at last actually been
accomplished.
There are several methods by which the
correct values of natures beautiful coloring
may be preserved in a photograph, but per-
haps the most effective as well as the simplest
process is the one perfected by Professor
Charles Ehrmann, Of the Chautauqua School
of Photography, and associate editor Of The
Photographic Times. BY his method any
plate may be rendered orthochromatic, or
color sensitive, by simply bathing itin certain
solutions and exposing it in the camera, with
a color screen interposed between it and the
lens. The process originated in Germany,
but was greatly improved by Professor Ehr-
mann.
Two solutions are required: One, n prelimi-
nary bath, consisting Of one dram of ammo
MIA to seven drains of water; and the other,
the Color bath, which contains one and a
half drains of erythrosine-a dye-two drains
of ammonia and five and half ounces of
water
The plate is first immersed in the prelimi-
nary bath and allowed to remain therein for
about three minutes. 1t is then removed from
this solution and allowed to drain. Without
washing it is then plunged in the coloring
bath, where it is allowed to remain not longer
than seventy-five seconds. The plate is then
set up in dark, dry place until ready for use.
CARE OF THE PLATES.
1t may be exposed in the camera while still
wet, il necessary, and will be found to be
more sensitive while in that condition ;sbut as
a general thing it is safer to wait until the
plate has become perfectly dry before expos
ing it in the camera.
Plates thus rendered color sensitive are de-
veloped in the usual manner and fixed and
washed in the ordinary way; but being ex-
tremely sensitive to red, orange and yellow
the colors which ordinarily do not impress
the Photographic surface-great precaution
must be taken in preparing and developing |
these plates, to have the light very much
subdued and of a dark brown color rather !,
than red A light suitable for working or
thochromatic plates is easily made by cover |
ing a ruby lantern with several thicknesses