Evening star., 1949-12-04
= Camera Angles
ADVANTAGES of Home Printing and Enlaren.
By Alexander J. Wedderburn
Curator Of Photography
The Smithsonion Institution

/ Now that the days have length
ened and the evenings grown chill
and no longer conducive to out
door strolls and drives. many
l camera fans are turning to base
ment darkroom and bathroom
lab. The summers crop Of mega
tives wait that metamorphosis
from film to print. from snapshot
to salon winner-for startling
growth from midget to giant pic
torial.
Many amateur photographers
are wondering whether it Is worth
while to install their own dark
rooms. Will the cost be prohibi-
tive? And, If not, what are the
advantages over work turned out
by the commercial photofinishers?
We would answer the questions
this way. First. by asking a
question in turn. How interested
are you in photography as a
hobby? II you only take your
camera out once or twice a year
on special occasions, we would not
suggest that you go to the expense
OF installing your own darkroom.
II your camera activities are fre-
quent or constant. then we say go
ahead and shoot the works fore we
believe that you will save money
in the long run and your work will
improve with every roll Of film
you expose.
Nothing will make good
photographer Of you like working
in the darkroom with your own
fllm. And nothing will make your
pictures turn out the way you
expect like developing and print
ing them yourself. Let's see why.
Learning the Answers.
II you continue to let your
camera be a mystery to you and
consider it as a little box that
holds roll of Aim, and takes
pictures simply because you press
button. then you will continue
| for the rest of your life to wonder
why certain of your shots are
blank, others are dark, and still
others are light. You may find
few of the answers by reading
book or a camera column but
unless you carry out your picture
work from exposure to print. you
will never be sure where the fault
lies when you are disappointed
with results from a roll of film.
We all know that the photo
f1nisher does the best job that he
can-or he wouldn't stay in busi-
ness very long. And his work is
probably good enough for the
casual snapshooter who takes a
dozen or so shots at vacation time
and Is satisfied.
But most real camera fans look
forward to seeing good pictures
as a result Of a days shooting.
They are disappointed If prints
come back to them in any way.
different from what was expected
It can't be blamed on the photo
flnisher. because he simply does
not have the time to give in
dividual attention to each roll Of
film that comes his way. Nor can
the photographer be at fault every
time. There are times when
weather and other conditions
make it impossible for the
cameraman to expose his film
under the best conditions. i
Expert Care Needed.
. Which brings us back to our
original position that only the
man who takes the picture is fully
in q position to treat each roll OF
film with the expert care that 1t
deserves. Let's say. for instance.
that we have exposed a roll Of film
on a rainy day, knowing that the
film has been somewhat under
exposed. Perhaps the lens wasn't
fast enough under the conditions
or it may be that we happened to
have roll Of slow-speed film in
the camera. -,
At any rate. if we send that
particular roll Of film of to be
developed along with hundreds of
others we can be certain that our
negative will be thin and the
pictures unpleasantly dark--per-
Ihaps unprintable. But If we have
our own darkroom, knowing these
same facts. we can at the very
least save the roll Of film by
giving it a bit Of personal atten-
ton and developing it for longer
period of time than would nor
mally be given by stranger who
doesn't know the whole story.
Another thing-no one in the
world other than yourself can
positively know what you were
shooting for when you took a
particular picture. If your dark
room work is handled by some
one else, he will have to take for
granted that whatever is on the
film is what you wanted to know.
He cannot know that you couldn't
get closer to the composition that
you actually were after and had
to include lot of scenery that
didn't mean a thing. Therefore
he will print your films just as
they are. OF course. you can al
ways send the negative back with
a cropped print to guide the
f1nisher on his next attempt. but
this is a waste of time and a waste
Of money.
Again. you may see a picture
within your original picture after
it has been taken. If you process
the film yourself you need only
place the film sin your enlarger
and, in no time nat, have just the
composition that you want, CROP
ping out, during the enlarging.
the scenery that you wish to ex-
clude.
Or you may come up with q
negative that is very good except
for one portion that is burned
up" by an intense spot OF sun