Originally known under the odious name of ÒDetective," necessarily insinuating the owner had to be something of a sneak, the hand camera was in very bad repute with all the champions of the tripod. They looked upon the small instrument, innocent enough in itself, but terrible in the hands of the unknowing, as a mere toy, good for the purposes of the globe-trotter who wished to jot down photographic notes as he passed along his journey, but in no way adapted to the wants of him whose aim it is to do serious work.
But in the past year or two, all this has been changed. There are many who claim that for just the most serious work the hand camera is not only excellently adapted, but that without it the pictorial photographer is sadly handicapped.
The writer is amongst the advocates who cannot too strongly recommend the trial of the hand camera for this class of photography. He frankly confesses that for many years he belonged to that class which opposed its use for picture making. This was due to a prejudice which found its cause in the fact that the impression had been given him that for hand camera exposures strong sunlight was sine qua non. The manufacturer is chiefly to be blamed for this false impression, as it was he who put up the uniform rule that the camera should be held in such a position that the sunlight comes from over one of the shoulders, in order to insure such lighting as to fully expose the plate. In short, the manufacturer himself did not realize the possibilities of his own ware and invention.
In preparing for hand camera work, the choice of the instrument is of vital importance. Upon this subject that able artist J. Craig Annan, of Glasgow, who does much of his work with the hand camera, says: ÒHaving secured a light-tight camera and suitable lense, there is no more important quality than ease in mechanical working. The adjustments ought to be so simple that the operator may be able to bring it from his satchel and get it in order for making an exposure without a conscious thought. Each worker will have his own idea as to which style of camera comes nearest to perfection in this respect, and having made his choice he should study to become so intimate with it that it will become a second nature with his hands to prepare the camera while his eyes and mind are fully occupied with the subject before him."
To this let me add, that whatever camera may be chosen let it be waterproof, so as to permit photographing in rain or shine without damage to the box. The writer does not approve of complicated mechanisms, as they are sure to get out of order at important moments, thus causing considerable unnecessary swearing, and often the loss of a precious opportunity. My own camera is of the simplest pattern and has never left me in the lurch, although it has had some very tough handling in wind and storm. The reliability of the shutter is of greater importance than its speed. As racehorse scenes, express trains, etc., are rarely wanted in pictures, a shutter working at a speed of one-fourth to one-twenty-fifth of a second will answer all purposes. Microscopic sharpness is of no pictorial value. A little blur in a moving subject will often aid in giving the impression of action and motion.
As for plates, use the fastest you can get. They cannot be too fast. Do not stop down your lens except at the seashore, and set your shutter at as slow speed as the subject will permit. This will ensure a fully exposed plate. Under exposures are best relegated to the ashbarrel, as they are useless for pictorial work.
The one quality absolutely necessary for success in hand camera work is Patience.
This is really the keynote to the whole matter. It is amusing to watch the majority of hand camera workers shooting off a ton of plates helter-skelter, taking their chances as to the ultimate result. Once in a while these people make a hit, and it is due to this cause that many pictures produced by means of the hand camera have been considered flukes. At the same time it is interesting to note with what regularity certain men seem to be the favorites of chanceÐso that it wold lead us to conclude that, perhaps, chance is not everything, after all.
In order to obtain pictures by means of the hand camera it is well to choose your subject, regardless of figures, and carefully study the lines and lighting. After having determined upon these watch the passing figures and await the moment in which everything is in balance; that is, satisfies your eye. This often means hours of patient waiting. My picture, ÒFifth Avenue, Winter," is the result of a three hours' stand during a fierce snow-storm on February 22nd, 1893, awaiting the proper moment. My patience was duly rewarded. Of course, the result contained an element of chance, as I might have stood there for hours without succeeding in getting the desired picture. I remember how upon having developed the negative of the picture I showed it to some of my colleagues. They smiled and advised me to throw away such rot. ÒWhy, it isn't even sharp, and he wants to use if for an enlargement!" Such were the remarks made about what I knew was a piece of work quite out of the ordinary, in that it was the first attempt at picture making with the hand camera in such adverse and trying circumstances from a photographic point of view. Some time later the laugh was on the other side, for when the finished picture was shown to these same gentlemen it proved to them conclusively that there was other photographic work open to them during the Òbad seasonÓ than that so fully set forth in the photographic journals under the heading, ÒWork for the Winter Months." This incident also goes to prove that the making of the negative alone is not the making of the picture. My hand camera negatives are all made with the express purpose of enlargement, and it is but rarely that I use more than part of the original shot.
Most of my successful work of late has been produced by this method. My experience has taught me that the prints from the direct negative have but little value as such.
The hand camera has come to stay -- its importance is acknowledged.
A word to the wise is sufficient.
(This essay first appeared in The American Annual of Photography, 1897, pp. 18-27.
