Evening star., 1952-11-02
Camera Angles:
Satisfactory Prints Come
From Proper EnIorging
By Alexander J. Wedderburn
curoser Of Photography
The Smithsonian Institution

Just about the most important
piece of equipment in a photog-
rapher's darkroom is his en-
larger. This single item is the
key to satisfying prints that
do full justice to our best mega
tives. Contact prints are fine
for small albums or for proofing
but the pictures most Of us go
for are the big, full-detail prints
that can only be made via the
enlarger.
Since almost any enlarger on
the market can be counted on
for a lifetime Of steady use. It
will be worth while to know ex-
actly what to look for before
making a purchase. But before
tackling the enlarger itself, it
might be a good idea to compare
contact prints with enlarge
ments to see if we are justified
In buying what is fairly ex-
pensive machine.
The contact print, as you
might Surmise, is exactly the
same size as your negative. It is
made by placing the negative in
direct contact with the paper
and exposing by transmitted
light. This can be done either
with a so-called contact printer
or with a printing frame which
operates on the same principle.
The important thing, of course.
is the size of the film your cam
era takes.
If your camera is IS nm. then
you surely will want something
larger in the way Of a print
even for a small album. The
owner of box camera or one
of the reflex or folding jobs will
find that a contact print may
be satisfactory for album or
snapshot work. but far too small
for framing and hanging or for
salon competition. Few anna
teurs own 5x7 or 8x10 view
cameras and they may be con-
tent with prints the same size
as the film-if they have
reached the point where each
composition is perfect in all
respects.
DetoiIs Readily Seen
In a contact print fine de-
tails are lost or lose Importance.
With an enlarger, you can blow
up" your picture to any reason
able size and the details Of the
scene are readily discernible
without the aid Of a magnifying
glass. Perspective is also much
more natural and true to life in.
the, larger print-another great
advantage. Unwanted portions
of the original composition that
appear on the film can be elm
mated in the enlarging process.
All of us have had the expert
ence of seeing an exceptionally
good, natural expression on the
face of a loved one who may
be in a group picture. The en-
larger can be used in this case
to single out the individual as
the subject Of q closeup por-
trait. Another typical benefit
from enlarging is the straight
ening of converging vertical
lines caused by forced camera
tilt when making shots OF build
ings or tall trees, etc. Nothing
can be done to correct for this
fault when the print is made by
contact, but often full correc-
toin can be had by fitting the
easel Of the enlarger while the
print is being made.
Briefly described, the enlarger
consists of a light source, a
means of uniformly illuminate
ing the negative, carrier which
holds the negative in position, q
bellows to confine the light, a
lens for transmitting the image
to the paper, and an easel (usu-
ally not part of the machine)
to hold the paper. Most en-
largers will make up to an 11x
14-inch print in a vertical posi-
tion and some can be aimed
horizontally for even greater
enlargements. They are made
either as autofocus or manual
focus. The former keeps the
image automatically in critical
focus as the head iR raised or