HOW TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS*
By C. H. CLAUDY
A CAMERA, of any kind, is nothing more nor less than a little chamber from which all light can be excluded. The only light ever admitted in picture-making comes through one or more pieces of glass called the lens. There is a means, both for letting in the light and for keeping it out of the lens and the dark little chamber, called a shutter. At the opposite end of the camera from the lens is some means for holding a piece of sensitive material—material sensitive in a chemical way to the action of light.
When you expose your skin to bright sunlight for any length of time, it first burns red, then tans. Sunlight turns green apples red. Sunlight, too much of it, turns green grass brown. All this is chemical action, due to the action of sunlight. The sensitive material in the camera is a million times, and more, sensitive to light than skin or fruit. It is so sensitive that the least touch of white sunlight, even for a tiny fraction of a second, affects it. The effect does not show to the eye, but is made visible when the sensitive material is submitted to the action of certain chemicals, of which more later.
The sensitive material is in one of two forms. It is either coated upon glass, when it is called a dry plate, or it is coated upon celluloid, when it is called film. For the beginner who wants his camera for recreation only, in its simplest form, the films have the most recommendations.
These are as follows: They are very light. A number can
*From "The First Book of Photography," by C. H. Claudy. Published by McBride, Nast antl Company, New York. Used by permission of the publishers.