Evening star., 1950-04-30
exonder J. Wedderburn
Cvsoses cE Photography
The SFvifhsenion iNstifu,lca

The Smifhsonscn insfifv''oa
Since the last question and an
swer session, other queries on SUBJ
jects Photographic have piled UP
and We take this opportunity To
publish replies in the hope that
they will prove helpful TO other
beginners. The fact that many OF
the questions set right down 10
the basic fundamentals OF pho
tography is a good indication that
the ranks of the amateurs are
growing daily. Even the expert
.enced cameraman needs a men,
ory Jog occasionally-so here
we go.
@. What film should / use in
my camera?
A. This will depend upon the
kind of pictures that you intend
to take. Fast action will call for
IA high-speed film, particularly II
your camera does not have a fast
lens. But if you are making ordi-
nary snapshots Of people out of
doors a medium speed Aim with
a rating Of about so will be salts
factory. Still-life shots, table
tops, portraits and scenic pictures
of landscapes. etc. where little or
no motion is involved. can be
taken on very slow film. Por-
traits OF men are better on ortho-
chromatic film, but portraits OF
women should be made on pan
Ichromatic film which, being Sensi-
tive to red. will not record lip
suck and rouge in sharp contrast
to the normal skin tones.
Color film should also be selected
with care. Color film which is
designed for use under natural
lighting conditions will not do for
indoor photography without spe-
cial filters. The reverse is also
true. Don't waste money by shoot
ing color film when monochrome
will do just as well. If the subject
is not colorful enough TO warrant
the use of color film. shoot in
black and white. But don't neglect
the use of color film when a sit
uatlon so warrants.
Q. What is 'hypo" and how is
1t used in photography?
A. Hypo is a chemical. sodium
hypoSulflte. which is used as a
bath to stop the action of the
developing agent in the case of
both films and prints. 1t also
serves to remove the unexposed
silver halides. a visible procedure
in films known as clearing"
Q. What IS a short stop bath?
A. The short-stop bath is a solu-
ton OF acetic acid and water
which most darkroom workers use
before placing a film or print in
The hypo- fixing bath. The acid
Short-stop is a fast working solu-
ton that instantly kills the ac-
ton of the developing agent. It's
use Will prolong the life of the
hypo bath. but it is not vital to
the processing of either films OF
prints. An intermediate bath OF
plain water will act as a fair sub.
stitute and will carry off much
OF the developer. Some pho.
tographers who do not plan te
use the hyo solution again or only
have one or two prints or Aim
to process dispense entirely with
the water or short-stop bath.
@. How can I take closeup por-
traits with my box camera?
A. BY using a portrait attach
ment on your regular lens. This
lis an inexpensive meniscus-type
lens that will enable you to shoot
extreme closeups with box cam
era and still get them in focus.
This supplementary lens is we'll
worth the small cost for 1t will
enable you to take all kinds of
closeups such as flower shots, etc,
that would be impossible to photo
graph with the normal box cam
era lens.
@. Should I use flash or food
lamps for portraiture?
A. If you have not had con-
siderable experience with the use
Of flash it would be highly ad-
visable for you to use f1oodlamps
for this kind of work. Floods
can be moved around while you
study their effect until you have
a perfect lighting. Only an ex-
perienced photographer can place
flash reflectors and obtain the
same results.
Q. Why. in your column, do you
keep harping on the subject of
tripods and exposure meters?
A. Because they are both essen