PhotoHistory

From: PHOTOGRAPHY OF TO-DAY
SUNDRY APPLICATIONS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

By H. CHAPMAN JONES, 1913

We have already referred to many of the uses of photography, and to some in considerable detail, though chiefly by way of illustration or because of the intimate connection of the matter with the subject under discussion. As already indicated, it would be absurd to attempt to give anything like a complete survey of photography in its applications, but a few of the more obvious of these, and especially such work as has been rendered possible by photography and would be impossible without it, may well claim attention in connection with our subject.

We naturally turn first to portraiture, for there are persons who still apply the word “photographer” only to those who get their living by making portraits, and it is the portrait photographer who is commonly distinguished as a “professional photographer.” Until photography was available for the purpose, portraits were a luxury for the rich, now they are often but little valued by the poor, though no one can estimate the benefit to all classes by the possibility of good and cheap portraiture. The one interfering circumstance in the practice of this branch of the art, from a technical point of view, is the variability of daylight from day to day as well as through the changing seasons, and it was only natural that those whose livelihood depended upon this work should desire some method of replacing daylight by a more constant source of illumination. The first really successful effort in this direction was by Mr. Henry Van der Weyde, who fitted up a studio in Regent Street, London, from which daylight was excluded. Although electric lighting was at that time (1877) only in its early infancy, he installed a gas-engine and a dynamo, and devised an electric arc lamp that was so satisfactory that it is still in use. The light from the arc did not shine directly upon the sitter, there was a small screen to prevent that, it illuminated the inside of a large umbrella-like reflector that served to moderate its intensity and diffuse it more pleasantly. The whole arrangement was mounted so that it could be easily brought into any desired position.

Since then many kinds of lamps have been constructed for portraiture, and those giving a light of less intensity than the arc, such as incandescent electric, incandescent gas, acetylene, &c., are generally arranged in groups in order that sufficient light may be obtained to keep the exposure necessary down to a second or two. Very few portrait photographers have followed Mr. Van der Weyde in excluding daylight altogether, chiefly perhaps because of the expense; it is more customary to use artificial light only when the daylight fails. But in trade works, that is where all branches of photography are carried on except portraiture and scientific work, it is quite usual now to use only artificial light. This obviates all difficulties with regard to the windows of the room or studio; the light being always the same the exposures can be timed to a nicety, and summer or winter, day or night, the work can be carried on with equal facility.

The portraiture of criminals as systematically done in prisons is not so important a matter now as it used to be, because the identity of prisoners is generally registered or established by means of “finger prints.” The ridges of the skin at the ends of the fingers are constant through life. They may be obliterated by accident but they cannot be altered; in this they differ from the outline and general appearance of the face, and are therefore to be preferred for this purpose. The getting of finger prints has no connection with photography, the finger is merely pressed on an inked surface and then on paper to get the impression, but it is often desirable to make a photographic enlargement of the print for comparing it with others, particularly the prints made accidentally by criminals during their handling of such things as window-panes, metal boxes, or anything with a surface that is susceptible to being marked by dirty, greasy, or perspiring hands.

A portrait is in essence nothing more than a record of the appearance of an individual, whether it serves to identify a criminal, to recall the features of a friend, or to introduce notable men and women to the general public. There are innumerable other interesting things besides the faces of those we know or wish to know, and all are liable to change. How we should be interested in seeing photographs of London and its characters and buildings at the time preceding the great fire the people at work and at play, as they traveled and as they lived at home! Within the last half century there have been vast alterations in London. Miles of open country have been turned into paved streets, while many houses and streets of historic interest have totally disappeared; and the same is true, in a greater or less degree, of all towns. The coastline in many parts is constantly changing, so that the sites of what were flourishing towns are now a mile or more out at sea, while some old seaports are nearly as far inland. There are many who would like to see pictures of places, people, and fashions as they were long ago, not to satisfy an idle curiosity, but as helps in the study of history and for scientific purposes. Such pictures, however, are comparatively very few, and some are obviously more fanciful than real. We cannot go back to remedy this deficiency, but it is possible to see that our own times are recorded, that those who come after us may not suffer as we do. And indeed no one can tell how soon such pictures may become of value, for sudden disaster may at any time lead to great changes.

The idea of starting and keeping up a pictorial record of things occurred to some archaeological societies, and doubtless to others, before the introduction of gelatine dry plates set photography on a new basis. But when photography was popularized by this means, the method that seemed necessary was available, and there was good reason to hope that many amateurs would interest themselves in such work. Mr. W. Jerome Harrison of Birmingham made definite suggestions in 1885 and subsequently, and in 1889 he succeeded in getting the Birmingham Photographic Society to inaugurate a scheme for carrying out a “photographic survey of Warwickshire.” A few other societies started work of this kind in different parts of the country, and progress was being made on a rather small scale when, in 1897, Sir J. B. Stone called a meeting to which he invited many persons likely to be interested, and the National Photographic Record Association was established. This association worked for twelve years, not only in collecting photographs, but in seeking to arouse interest in the matter in the many local photographic societies. In 1909, their success in this direction led to the disbanding of the central society that the work might be carried on from various local centers. The National Photographic Record Association accumulated nearly five thousand prints, and these are deposited in the British Museum. The Warwickshire Society has collected some thousands, and the various other societies taken together a few more thousands, and all these are deposited in various museums and public libraries in charge of the local authorities. These photographs represent buildings of interest of all kinds, Roman and other ancient remains, manuscripts, portraits of well-known people, ceremonies, such as the coronation, customs such as the distribution of Maundy money, fairs and May Day celebrations, and other matters that are likely to be of future interest. The method of work is to divide up the district among those willing to assist, and if some have special knowledge the division may extend to the subjects as well; the photographs are made of prescribed sizes and mounted on standard mounts, with all the necessary details concerning the object written on them. Only permanent prints are accepted, such as those made by the platinum and carbon processes. This work is still going on, and there seems no reason to doubt, if it is persevered in, that the historians of a few centuries hence will have much more reliable information as to our manners and customs and surroundings than we have of those that preceded us.

There is a good deal of photographic work done of a somewhat similar kind, though more technical in character and generally for more immediate use. There are many large estates at or near the great centers of industry, on which are a vast number of buildings, some old and some of exceptional interest. In the management of such estates it is constantly necessary to remove houses that they may be replaced by others better adapted to the needs of the present day, and it is not unusual to make a rule of having every building that is to be pulled down or altered, photographed before the changes are begun. And if the property of another owner is close to where an alteration is to be made, it is desirable that photographic records of adjacent buildings be made, for persons have been known to make dishonest claims as to ancient lights, damage done by the disturbance of foundations, and so on. Even if the suggestion of fraud is entirely dismissed, it is possible for old defects to be brought to light, defects of which the owner had no knowledge and which he honestly considers are due to the disturbances caused by the changes being carried out. A photograph taken before the work was begun may convince him of his error, and so save the cost and the unpleasantness of litigation. It has been stated that in making underground railways, it saves expense to have every building that is likely to be affected photographed before the work is begun.

Although work of this kind cannot be considered as of a very critical character, it is distinctly technical and far removed from what is known as “snapshotting.” Indeed a person may be well skilled in some branches of photography and prove unable to carry out such work satisfactorily, just as a person may be able to write beautifully and be a master of language, and utterly fail when confronted with a technical subject. On the other hand, a surveyor who thinks that he has only to buy a camera and follow his instruction book, is comparable to a man who endeavors to translate from a language he knows nothing of by the aid of a dictionary. The photographs, like the translation, may happen to be successful here and there, but they will be almost valueless, for the successes will be indistinguishable from the mass of uncertainties, without independent evidence.

By taking photographs at suitable intervals, and dating and filing them, a complete history of the progress of constructional work in a factory may be obtained in a permanent form. All the work done at this establishment is photographed at suitable intervals, prints are made upon sensitized postcards, as this obviates the need for mounting them, all the necessary details description, date, time of day, and photographic particulars are filled in on a blank form on the back, and the photographs are then put away after the manner of a card index a far superior method of keeping such records than pasting them in a scrap book, as reference to them is facilitated, and any one may be removed if desired. The pictorial record of work extends also to the condition of machinery received that needs repair, and an example of this is given on the same page as the power station, showing the runner of a turbine and the extensive corrosion that has taken place. If an accident should happen, it would be the duty of those who are available to photograph the scene and its details at once, though nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of rendering immediate aid to anyone suffering from injury. We are assured that this complete system of filing photographic records is of inestimable advantage in engineering works. It is not simply that it provides information that is of use to those connected with the establishment, but it often saves disputes with all their attendant troubles and expense, and if an action at law is unavoidable it provides valuable evidence. By the use of suitable apparatus and films for negatives the time occupied in the making of these photographs is not worth consideration. It is of interest to note that all the engineers employed on this establishment are expected to be able to do this photographic work, just as they are expected to be able to make such written reports as may be necessary.

It is but a step, though a long and important one, from the kind of photography that we have been considering to photo-grammetry or photographic surveying, that is the art of preparing photographs that shall serve the purpose, and from them drawing plans to scale of the country surveyed. It must not be supposed that those whose business it is to draw maps are in any case pledged to depend entirely upon the camera, it is only brought into use when the work can be done better by its means than in any other way. A photographic survey therefore is one done chiefly, but not of necessity entirely, by photographic means. Photography offers the advantage of giving the whole view with its details in a moment, and this may render possible what would be quite impossible by the more usual methods of topographical surveying. M. E. Deville in a recent report gives an excellent example of this. In 1892 a commission was appointed to study some 600 to 700 miles of the frontier between Alaska and Canada, and to map it, and report within three years. But this district is mountainous and suffers from almost continuous rain and mist. It is impossible to survey by any method when the country to be mapped cannot be seen, but by taking advantage of the bright intervals in the three short summer seasons available, 3000 photographs were taken and a satisfactory map was made. The total area surveyed photographically in Canada is equal to about 25,000 square miles, or an area rather greater than Holland and Belgium put together. Therefore, however much improvement remains to be effected in the application of photography to this purpose, the time is past when it is possible to doubt its applicability and advantages. We are not concerned here with entering into the details of the method employed. It must suffice to say, that the cameras used must be specially constructed so that they may be accurately leveled and in other ways strictly dependable, and that it is desirable to have specially corrected lenses so that distortion may be minimized.

There have been several different cameras designed to facilitate surveying. Some carry flat plates and therefore represent the view in plane projection. Others have curved plates or films, curved round the lens as a center, and give the view in cylindric projection. Photographs of the latter kind (panoramic) have the advantage of giving a much greater extent of the view in one direction than is possible with a flat plate, and for that reason the method is sometimes employed for other purposes than surveying. There is a certain point with regard to every lens about which it may be rotated on an axis parallel to its surface, without moving the image that it produces, and the distinguishing feature of a panoramic camera is that the lens swings round on this axis as the exposure is being made, so that the sensitive surface is exposed gradually, as the lens swings, from one end to the other.

Six years after Daguerre published his process, F. v. Martens, a copperplate engraver of Paris, made a panoramic or “traversing” camera to take curved Daguerreotype plates. It may be noted in passing that the plates for these cameras cost from 9s. 6d. to 17s. each according to size. After this, flat plates were arranged for, by giving them a rolling movement against the curved surface as required for the exposure. When flexible films were made commercially, several cameras of this type were devised, some for surveying purposes, and some such as the “panorama kodak” for general use by amateurs and others. This last camera is of quite simple construction, similar to Marten’s, but the lens is rotated by a spring instead of by hand, and there is a chamber at each end to hold the spool of film.

In the method of surveying just referred to the plate is kept strictly vertical, the lens points in a horizontal direction, and the distances of objects are ascertained by measuring the relative displacement of them in photographs taken from two or more standpoints. But anyone who has viewed the country from an eminence, looking down upon it from the top of a tower or a hill, knows that the bird’s-eye view so obtained is a map-like picture of the district. The houses, trees, hedges, and roads, instead of being behind each other as when seen from the level, or a low elevation, are separated so that they can be distinctly identified. Such a view is sometimes exactly what is wanted in military operations, but the tower or the hill is not always at hand, or if an eminence is available it may not be high enough. It is here that the balloon shows its advantages. It appears that M. Nadar was the first to photograph from a balloon, but the results he obtained in 1859 in connection with the war between Italy and Austria were not very satisfactory. But the matter was not allowed to rest, and some quite notable results were subsequently obtained. The introduction of dry plates greatly facilitated such work, and now the military authorities of all civilized countries recognize the importance of being able to make observations of this character. Cameras have been attached to kites and the shutter released while in mid-air by various contrivances, but although this method is suitable for some purposes, it does not allow of the control and discrimination possible when the photographer himself goes up with the instrument. With the advent of flying machines we may expect to see revolutionary changes in all aerial work, but exactly in what direction these changes will be effected it is impossible to forecast.