The age-herald., 1901-03-24

It was not intended to make the query column the leading Item of this depart ment but now cometh Mrs J. H. with question which leads right into what l wanted to write about this week. She says: ''I send with this two negatives which have made very bad pictures. I placed my friend, who Is very pretty, on the edge of the porch on d bright day, and held the shutter open nearly a second and l can't. from the pictures tell wheth- CT it is a white colored person--looks more like negro. Can you tell me where l am wrong?'
 Yes l know the programme. Of course 1t was your first experience with d cam era and you were crazy to try it. If l am not mistaken you wanted to load your plateholder by daylight just to see" Your dear friend was at your el- bow and what more natural than to make d pretty picture of pretty young lady. In the first thing she Is gracefully posed, half sitting on the balustrade of the porch. which shows that you can do that part of picture making. You placed your camera close to the wall of the house, looking toward the light with the sky for a background Now, if it were night and you wanted to see this friend, would you place the lamp behind her? Of course not: for there you could not tell whether 1t was white or colored person." And do you think that a poor
 
 a bromide of silver retina, could see any better than bright young lady, whom 1 am sure is worth at least her weight In gold. Remember always that the camera IS an eye and d rather poor sirt, too. that cannot see nearly as well as you do, for you have two eyes, and if you wanted to see your friend in some unfamiliar dress you would not place her between you and the light. You would turn your own back to the light and let the light fall on her at various places which you wished to examine Before you photo graphed her you knew every color and line In both her dress and face and for got that the camera Is altogether unfa- miliar with everything and takes only what it sees. and with her back to the | light 1t saw only indlstinct blotches of shadow against dazzling light. More over the eye of the camera is much more easily blinded by light than the human eye Strong light falling on the plate through the lens goes through the film and is reflected back by the glass side of the plate and causes what Is known as "halation." In the case of single lenses an added trouble Is liable to occur known in England as flare" and in this country called a ghost" which Is cir cular spot about twice large as the lens opening, which Is lighter than the rest of the picture. Therefore, for the present 1t Is peter that you should con fine yourself to pictures with the light in front of your subject. When you have more experience you may try the light behind in a modified way.
 If you had put the camera where your sitter was placed. and the sitter In the former location of the camera, the result would have been much better Do not make the mistake of having the light fall full in front of the view which you are taking, whether it is portrait or land scape-thst is poor practice It is not as bad as thh light behind and has it's uses, but the novice should begin with using the light more or less from one side or the other
 cannot find much fault with the anna teur for rushing at once Into figure work instead of landscape. The latter Is very fascinating and it's pursuit Is most ben eflcia1 to noise-racked city nerves; but after all mans most interesting study Is the opposite sex of his own specie with babies good second. and his or her own sex well in the race. What though the failures many, the successes are worth all the trouble; and just as the | amateur has revolutioniZed and brought | landscape photography to its high level | in the British Islands so I believe the amateur will modify the stereotyped bil- lard ball style of portraiture at present in vogue. The influence Is at work and Is very sensibly felt In the larger centers. Let those who elect to do figure work strike out boldly on whatever line seems right and await the verdict of time. Since your bread and butter is not imme- diately involved you can afford to walt.
 The Work of the Amateurs.
 A hurricane at sea with the wind blow