SHUTTER EXPOSURES.
the non-photographic public the impression seems to prevail that all photographs are now talien by wbat is termed the " instantaneous process." I am constantly being asked whether I am Using the " instantaneous pro cess," and when I reply in the negative, I often fancy I can detect a look of incredulity in the face of my questioner. I would at once say that when possible I prefer to give a, time exposure, and I would strongly recommend the begin ner to adopt the same system, and at any rate not attempt shutter work until he is able to produce good negatives from time exposures. Of course, there are occasions when the use of a shutter is imperative; but, on the other hand, it is often used when there is no necessity for its employment, and when a, better result would be achieved by giving a time exposure. Shutter exposures, if successful work is looked for, should only be attempted, at any rate by the tyro, under favourable conditions. The light must be good, the lens must be rapid, and the plate rapid also. It should be, borne in mind too that in shutter work every thing is, so to speak, strained—the lens, the plate, and the developer.
, The first matter to receive consideration is, naturally, the so-called instantaneous shutter. The number of shutters which have been invented, and the ingenuity which has been expended upon their construction, are matters which must excite the wonder of even the most superficial observer, and it is very far from being my intention to attempt an even brief account of shutters in general. Many of them are exceedingly ingenious from a mechanical point of view, but altogether useless for the purpose of the practical photographer. The manufacturers of detective cameras are at the present day vying with one another in a mad race after rapidity, with the result that from a practical point of view many shutters are far too quick for the plates. Except for scientific work, and under excep tional circumstances, extreme rapidity is not necessary ; indeed, the shutter should always be set at the lowest speed which the movement of the subject will permit. For general work of this class an elaborate instrument is by no means necessary. I shall doubtless surprise many of my readers when I state that nearly all my own rapid work is clone with a blind-shutter, costing but a few shillings, and actuated simply by pulling a cord. With it I find it quite possible to give exposures of less than the 1-30th part of a second, and for artistic photogtaphy it is seldom necessary to give so high a speed. I find I can successfully take
with it such subjects as boats sailing, groups of moving figures, animal studies, etc., though no doubt if I attempted to secure photographs of galloping horses, flying bullets, express trains, etc., it would be found wanting. But except as scientific records such photographs are without value, and as the means of obtaining them scarcely comes within the scope of an elementary text-book, I do not propose to further discuss the subject here, For cloud effects the blind shutter is particularly adapted, as the sky receives less exposure than the foreground, so that in many cases it is possible to secure a good sky effect and a properly-ex posed landscape in the same negative. I have, therefore, no hesitation in recommending the beginner who wishes to try his hand at shutter exposures to purchase one of these simple shutters, or if he prefer to have a more costly instrument he cannot do better than buy one of the Kershaw pattern.
The next matter to which attention should be directed is the lens. This should be of the rapid rectilinear form, and, at any rate until some experience in developing shutter exposed plates has been gained, it should not be worked at a less aperture than fill, unless the light happen to be exceptionally good.
The plate remains to be considered, and its selection is a most important matter. Hitherto I have recommended the reader—at any rate, for general purposes—to use a plate of medium rapidity, and even for the work now under con sideration I do not advise the beginner to select the most rapid plates obtainable. For the kind of subjects which we are contemplating—animals, river or sea views, with moving boats, etc., groups of people, and so on—a plate of medium rapidity should be selected. It will be found sufficiently quick for tho purpose, and will be far more easy to work than the ultra rapid kinds, which require no inconsiderable skill on the part of the operator to produce really good negatives upon. If quick plates are used, they should not be exposed to the light of the dark-room for a longer period than is absolutely necessary, for not only will they be morn easily affected by the light, but an amount of light fogging that would be inappreciable on a plate which had received a time exposure might quite spoil a shutter-exposed one.