In making photographs where distant views of hills, trees, buildings, or harbors, etc., are included, as well as in construction work, it will be found that the use of a ray filter, for instance, the K-2 or G, is a wonderful help when used in conjunction with yellow-sensitive plates or films, as it cuts out the blue haze, thereby giving better distance, and also a much better general color value.
Another great help in outdoor, as well as indoor photography, is to have the ground-glass ruled as shown in illustration Number 5. This enables you to line up your camera quickly, and where the lines of your picture must be absolutely correct, gives you a sure means of checking up yourself without any loss of time.
There are also a few tricks, or stunts one might call them, that can be worked to advantage and generally will distinguish a clever from an average operator.
In photographing buildings, especially in the manufacturing and jobbing districts, there are oftentimes objectional lamps or telegraph posts or signs, etc., in direct line of view, which the customer would like eliminated. Of course, this can be done by art work, that is, retouching on the photograph, but that is expensive, and if the photographer can do this in making the nega tives, it not only puts a feather in his cap, gives him leverage to charge better prices, but makes himself "solid" with his customer.
In illustration Number 6, the large telegraph pole obstructs the view objec tionably. To eliminate that post, two negatives have been made, one to the right and the other to the left of the pole, about fifteen feet apart. The two photographs have been joined together and copied and the result is really mystifying to the average customer. While an old and simple stunt, it is one well to be remembered.
Number 7 is the photograph of a hotel on a' busy downtown corner, with street cars, automobiles and pedestrians constantly passing. It had to he made at noon for the right light, and to get out of the range of the traffic, I worked from the corner room on the third floor of a building on the diagonally site corner. It was necessary to make it in two negatives (prints joined on the corner of the hotel building) and these were made from two windows ing different streets about fifteen feet apart. The result was very satisfactory. It will also be noted that while this picture was made at a busy time, all life was eliminated, and this was accomplished by closing down the diaphragm of the lens (an S x 10 Series IV Bausch & Lomb Protar) to the limit, which brought the exposure up to about one minute for each plate. This is a very
good thing to keep in mind, especially when it is desirable to eliminate all life from a photograph.
One thing well to be remembered in receiving orders to do any particular piece of outdoor photography, or any other line for that matter, is to inquire the purpose for which the photograph is to be used, and just what they want. Thus, in doing the work, the photographer can be guided by this information, as an architect may require one style of picture, an owner another, the pro moter still another, and, in the case of a home, the wife may have her own ideas which she wants carried out.
It will also be found, especially where the customer is not a frequent user of photographs, that his conception of what the average photograph will take in is often ridiculous, and that he expects the operator to take in all he sees, despite the fact that he moves his eyes around in taking in the view himself.
It is often the case that one will find an ornamental lamp post, tree box, or the like, directly in front of a building, and a direct front view is wanted. It may also be impractical to make it in two negatives, in which event, the following diagram may be of help in evading some similar objectionable feature.
A, in Fig. 8, represents the store, 13 the lamp post and C the camera. The camera should be set up in such a position that the direct line of view just passes the obstruction and includes the entire front of the store building to he photo graphed.
The size camera generally used for a stunt of this kind is, say, a 14 x 17 with a 5 x 7 or S x 10 plate in a special cardboard kit placed at a point where the image of the store front strikes the ground-glass. A comparatively short focus lens should be used, which will give the necessary wide-angle effect, and it should be stopped way down so as to insure its covering the plate inserted.
The resultant negative will show a straight front view of the building and can be enlarged to the size desired by the customer. In other words, make a wide angle view of the section of store buildings, including the store, photograph of which is wanted, and enlarge the small image thus obtained.
In this connection, it is often the case that a very nice little order for panoramas can be worked up to the financial advantage of the photographer, and the ultimate satisfaction of the customer, if the matter is handled tactfully.