Pictorial Photographers of America

“ My usual method of enlarging from small camera shots is this. I enlarge a transparency (positive) up to 61⁄2×81⁄2 or 8×10. “In an Italian Village” was an 8×10 positive, sharp lens. Then, either with a soft focus or a sharp focus lens, I enlarge to whatever size I want and whatever effect I'm after. The advantage of enlarging the positive is that you can do any faking you want to better advantage, and when your enlarged negative is done you can print in any medium you wish, so I always make enlarged negatives. I don't think I've made a bromide enlargement in twenty years. ”

“ Alcock's picture was made under similar conditions.
Picturing New York with a camera after dark is perhaps one of the most interesting phases of pictorial photography. After spending several evenings prowling about for subjects that will lend themselves for night pictures you start out one evening to transfer these mental images to the plate. A little patience, endurance, and a great deal of enthusiasm will do wonders. It is not the easiest thing in the world to start out with an 8×10 view camera, a good substantial tripod, and several plate-holders. ”

“ Hand Work vs. Straight Prints “What are the limits of hand work that are legitimate in photography? I don't like to use the word faking, but most people would so describe it. I mean, for instance, putting in skies, blocking out obtrusive backgrounds, sunning down high lights, retouching negatives, printing through prepared masks that entirely alter the negative, and pencil or air brush work on prints?” ”

“ Softness Desirable, Not Fuzziness “Is there a tendency, as shown in the work seen in the magazines, the exhibitions, and the photographs selected for the present Annual, to get rid of fuzziness and substitute a rational degree of softness and atmospheric effect?”
“I would say that the reproductions that we see in the magazines do not in all cases represent lens work but, I fear, bad printing sometimes. There is often a good definite quality in soft focus lens work that looks very definite indeed, even more definite than a sharp lens will give. Fuzziness is bad, but not softness. ”

“ Do you recommend one of the new high-priced enlarging cameras, which focus the lens automatically on any size of paper, as suitable for clubs to purchase?”
“Well, I must confess that I have only heard of it, and the price seems to be such as to discourage almost all the pictorial workers that I know. In my observation of the work that has been done by pictorialists, the very fact that in many instances they use makeshift apparatus has resulted in some of the most beautiful effects in their work. Good apparatus is of course desirable, but there are happy accidents with the other sort. ”

“ You are too conscious of the soft focus lens and of the anastigmatic lens. That is, one part of the picture is made with a soft focus lens and one with an anastigmatic. I believe that the soft focus lens can be used, and will be used, in such a way as to give beautiful results on the screen.”
Is Photography to Remain a Black and White Art? “What forecast, Mr.White, do you make of future developments in photography? Is it to remain a black and white art, or are photographs in natural colors to supersede the familiar photograph of the present day in our exhibitions and in our homes?” ”

“ I would insist that a picture have an appeal, and then that it have good construction, and it should have quality. The printing medium, as I have said, doesn't make the picture, but the man who uses it.”
Motion Pictures and the Soft Focus Lens “Probably photography's greatest activity at present is in the motion picture field. Have soft focus lenses been used for producing screen plays and with what result?” ”

“ Is the Artist “Have the so-called pictorial photographers any ‘secrets?’ People often ask, ‘How are these effects produced?’ What is the best method of producing soft, atmospheric pictures? Can a skilled worker take an ordinary hard negative and, by suitable manipulation or the use of soft paper, produce an atmospheric print? ”

“ Working at F 4.5, the lens gives you the opportunity of getting the broadest effects in landscapes or the softest in portraits. As a rule these are not pleasing to most people when enlarged. I therefore usually work with the lens at F 6 or F 8, which gives a delightful image with distinct contours and a definite softness to the outlines, making beautiful enlargements which are sharp enough for bromoil or gum. ”

“ And the Graflex is not so very heavy when a film pack or cut films are used. The image is always right side up and you see it in the full size. No one can question the efficiency of the shutter, and with practice you can hold the camera for a one-fifth second exposure. The only drawback to the outfit is in seeing things from the waist level, which makes the foreground difficult. Thinking of your picture as a pattern, however, it is better to be looking down from an elevation and with a nine-inch lens on a 4×5 box the immediate foreground is negligible. ”

“ A strong tripod is absolutely necessary on account of winds, jars, vibrations, etc. To avoid halation use portrait film, take the view where there are no glaring lights, and develop with Azol. Judge your time according to the amount of light (two to ten minutes) . Capping the lens each time a lighted moving vehicle comes along helps the picture. For night pictures probably the best medium is gum palladium, because it lends itself to the mellow evening lights. ”

“ The interest in pictorial photography twenty years ago was confined to a small group. There are now groups in various centers as large as the national group of the early days.”
No One Lens Is Sufficient “Getting down to a practical question for a moment, Mr. White, do you recommend a soft focus lens for small cameras, the work to be enlarged with a sharp lens, or do you recommend the reverse process?” ”

“ Confining our attention to American exhibitions, I would remark that instead of, as in former years, having one big exhibition in Baltimore or Philadelphia or some other city, there are now active centers all over the country—there is a regularly established international salon in Los Angeles, and the well-known Pittsburgh Salon, and regularly established exhibitions in Portland and Toronto. There are groups of enthusiastic workers in all these centers. There are also exhibitions of photographic art regularly held in many of the museums of the country. ”

“ How to suggest something of the stately vigor and the triumph over the mysteries of the seas of the old whaler, “Greyhound,” home from her last voyage after seventy-four years of service—her yards squared and bravely dressed for the inspection which will condemn her to be broken up—was the problem of the photographer.
The time was near noonday in early August, the air clear and the sun bright. A Graflex camera was used with Seed L Ortho plates and a three-times screen, and one-fortieth of a second exposure sufficed at F 8. ”

“ The soft focus lens seems to be more popular than ever and it apparently has come to stay.”
Professional Photography Influenced by that of the Pictorialist “Has the professional photography of today been influenced, in your judgment, by the work of the pictorialists?”
“Yes, very decidedly, and the professionals confess it. The best professional photographers freely admit that they have drawn much inspiration from the pictorial workers' ideas.”
The Popular Mediums “What medium—gum, multiple gum, bromoil, platinum, bromide, chloride—is most popular today?” ”

“ That this is so is probably because they are easier to use; but there are very earnest workers—some of the best—who insist on using the processes which give a greater range and greater possibilities of [pg 8] quality, such as bromoil, gum, and gum platinum. I would say that these processes are more popular than they used to be.”
Color Photography “Has color photography made any advance during the year? Are autochromes still popular? Has any progress been made in the direction of producing color photography on paper?” ”

“ Mr. William M. Ivins, Curator of Prints, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Dr. Frank Weitenkampf, of the New York Public Library; Prof. Charles H. Farnsworth, of Columbia University, and Walter L. Hervey, Ph.D., also made addresses.
Another feature of the meetings which added to their interest and usefulness was a monthly print competition. Prints were submitted by members from all parts of the United States, judged by a committee in advance of the meeting, and a selection of ten prints presented to the members for their consideration. From these they chose each month the two best prints. ”