what horse?
F.G. Weller, 1873
Filmo
Simple and Cheap
I’m oddly happy to read by such lofty company back in the alley. Having lost the keys to the bat cave, it’s not so bad to be hanging out with the schitzos on the street. Now, if I could only fashion a better red light. . .
Cover Girl
Eight Days a Week
Long time readers may be aware of it, but the title of my blog is self-consciously ironic. The name came from some unpublished notes on a speech that was probably never delivered by William Blake. Its subject was the “state of the art” of the techné of engraving. It’s taken some time (I’m thick) to really have the difference between painting or drawing and engraving sink in. Engraving is publishing; drawing or painting are not necessarily publishing. Keeping a blog is publishing; keeping a diary or commonplace book are not necessarily publishing.
Notebooks don’t have settings. They don’t often have tables of contents, indices, or categories. They don’t have links or trackbacks.
Decisions are involved in this enterprise. For a long time, the front page contained a week’s worth of entries. I changed it to seven entries because the move to more graphically intensive content made the loading sluggish. Now I’ve changed it to eight. It’s not an eight day week, but with spending five days a week on campus, it seems as if the weeks this year have been longer. I’m regaining some of the urgent compulsiveness I used to have. Just when I write something about silence, I have the urge to say more.
In case it hasn’t been noticed, I’ve been experimenting with making the connections between my notes here more explicit through trackbacks. I think they provide a nice trail of crumbs between my lapses in attention span in a looser fashion than categories. Since the blogging “public” has largely abandoned trackbacks, I decided I’d just use it to trackback myself.
Lately, I keep thinking about the difference between photographing and publishing. Some photographic enterprises are clearly publishing while others aren’t. Stereographs were most often published; tintypes, #2 Kodak snapshots, etc. were not. Cabinet cards? They seem to be a sort of vanity publishing not unlike the long tail of blogging. Swapped among friends, with a few “A-list” collectables of celebrities, CDV’s defy easy description. Just thinking . . .
The Henn Sisters
“The Henn Sisters” Nick Jahn, Perham MN
Prairie
Kodak #2 image processed by T.W. Ingersoll, St. Paul, MN c. 1890
Sidelight
from Universal Photo Almanac 1947
Teen-Age Picture Story
PREFACE.
It has always appeared to us that a preface to a work of this kind is unnecessary. Its aim and scope are sufficiently indicated by its pages. We take pleasure, however, in using this space to thank the many friends who have so generously contributed to its pages.
Unfortunately, a large number of very beautiful photographs were sent to us which, owing to the limitations of the reproduction processes, we were unable to make use of. Those who do not find their picture included in this volume will kindly accept our thanks and this explanation.
The Editor
The Bridal Rose
Finding the S-spot
COMPOSITION IN PHOTOGRAPHY
By A.G. Marshall.
For over half a century photography has groped for light. Not actinic rays—they have always been superabundant—but light along her pathway. Longing and striving for recognition as Art, she has mistakingly sought to win the goal through technical perfection—to beat the draughtsmen upon their own ground and claim the laurel for an instantaneous accuracy excelling the skill slowly developed by years of training of eye and hand. Why photography failed to win on this line was because of a wrong idea regarding Art. Perfection in representation is skill or craftsmanship, standing for a certain amount of talent and much more labor in the draughtsman, and a certain amount of mechanical inventiveness and scientific talent in photography. But whether in hand-painting or sun-painting, it is not, in the desired sense of the word, Art.
Art, so far as pictures are concerned, depends upon two things—the way the artist looks at something and the way in which he makes others see with his vision. Excepting as an instrument technical method has nothing to do with it. The ability to play a thousand notes a minute and work the loud and soft pedals does not constitute musical art, whether acquired by manual training or locked up in a mechanical piano player. And the ability to record a thousand facts in an instant does not help photography to become Art. Indeed, if a negative could be secured only by an all day’s effort the chances for progress along art lines would be vastly increased, because the expenditure of a day’s labor on one picture would have to be made worth while.
Framing
Life During Wartime
Composition
Composition is an organic part of the subject matter of any pictorial medium, as closely knit into the picture as veins and muscles are woven into the fabric of the human body. Take away subject matter and composition becomes meaningless, a tour de force of technical virtuosity. Take away composition and the most excellent subject matter is robbed of a part of its ultimate significance.
Without composition a picture lacks eloquence, as an orator fails to move his audience if he cannot speak clearly and coherently [emphasis original].
Graphic Graflex Photography: The Master Book for the Larger Camera, eighth edition 1948, p. 156
Cover Me
Cover image, Universal Photo Almanac 1942
Is that a prop in your pocket or . . .
The Swing
from Universal Photo Almanac 1942, “The Do’s [sic] and Don’ts of Free Lance Photography” by Victor De Palma
A pretty girl doing anything is a sure-fire sales getter. The combination of many things such as romance, sex appeal, women reader interests plus the photogenic qualities of a pretty girl offers the photographer without too much hardship an outstanding illustration which is a potential money maker. In action photography, it is very essential that the technical quality be above average. For example, sharpness due to speed should be carefully planed and the highest shutter speed possible should be used. This photograph taken with a Rolleiflex on Eastman XX was shot at 1/500 sec. at F.8.
De Palma’s article is filled with these strange priapistic captions, and his feminizing of the photographic subject is also apparent in a 1949 article about his photo-shoot in Teaneck New Jersey:
Ready for Action
Everyone wants a camera that is ready for action, day or night— especially 3-way flash action.
Easy and Popular
The perception of women’s roles in World War II is conflicted and fascinating. Note that Popular Photography markets itself as “famous” and “easy” and filled with “practical kinks” and “authoritative” information. Curious indeed.
Women and Photography
by Edna R. Bennett
from Universal Photo Almanac 1937
Careers for women! I wonder how much paper mileage has been covered on this subject. More than anyone would care to count as the number of “sweet girl graduates” continues to grow year by year. Amazingly enough, as far as women are concerned, the field of photography is still uncrowded. It is a constant source of wonder to me that this field of endeavor so admirably suited to women’s talents is so often passed by. The desire for expression is something which few women lack. You will find it in the woman who is a homemaker as easily as you will in the woman who is a “careerist”.
Any woman who has developed her natural talents of patience, observation and the will to work should find a responsive spark in the study of photography. By no means is photography an easy job, but too much mystery has been allowed to shroud this work. It is necessary that one should spend time in carefully learning the fundamentals of photography. There are excellent schools and teachers who will make the path of learning easier. You must have a sturdy foundation upon which to build future success. You would not expect to attain a reputation as a famous cook because you have mastered the art of broiling steak. One clove of garlic does not make a chef!
Perhaps you are at a loss to know why I think patience heads the list of requirements for the successful photographer. It is an attribute that is the basis of success in following the road of the lens hound. Pictures are not made in a few minutes. You will find it well nigh impossible to become a master photographer by merely pressing the button. Pictures require thought every step of the way. Even the lowly daisy doesn’t “just grow”.
