Studio: international art (1.1893)

The Naissance of A rt in Photography

of non-existing qualities is impossible. Further, and blue. This, of course, under common con-
there are a few men whose work almost always ditions, often leads to false renderings of Nature ;
claims attention as standing far above the average parts of a subject which ought to be represented
in the matter of pictorial effect; the quality in such as high lights appearing as dark, and the subdued
work which compels acknowledgment is at least tones of Nature telling as the highest lights. This
of the nature of fine art. Moreover, it is a fact grave defect is fully admitted by photographers,
that these men have, in almost every case, and to a considerable extent is being overcome by
systematically studied the principles of art, and the use of what are called " Orthochromatic "
can wield a brush or pencil as well as a camera plates, wherein the sensitiveness to yellow and
and lens. Were we to get together a gallery of the neighbouring spectrum-rays is relatively increased

7

FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY DR. P. H. EMERSON

best photographic pictures, it would be found that
almost every exhibitor had " studied art " to some
extent, and of the illustrations chosen for this
article, nearly every one is by a worker who has
been, as painter, architect, or in some way or other
more or less intimately connected with art. This
gives further proof that when photography fails to
be pictorial, the fault lies with the manipulator
rather than with his craft.

It may be well to inquire in general terms into
the most salient faults, not only in ordinary photo-
graphs as we see them, but in the art itself. In
the first place, we are confronted with a glaring
defect depending on scientific facts. We may call
this false tonality, but this rather explains our
objection than defines what we mean by tonality.
The constituent parts of light which chiefly act on
the eye are not those which chiefly act upon a
photographic plate. The brightest visual rays of
the solar spectrum are those in the yellow and
yellow-green regions, but ordinary photographic
plates are comparatively insensitive to these, while
they are relatively much more affected by violet

9°

to a marked extent. This relative increase ot
sensitiveness is in our science enhanced by the
use of yellow media in the camera, or in some
part of the light-way ■ we can, so to speak, eke
out the discriminating action of the orthochro-
matic plates; for the yellow medium acts as a
filter and arrests a certain proportion of the
violet and blue which otherwise would exercise
undue influence on the sensitive salts in the plate.
It is necessary to refer to this common defect by
way of noting the advance made lately in the art.
There is no reason to doubt that this defect of
false tonality will be eliminated in process of time.
It is true that no graphic art is able to represent
the whole gamut of Nature's tone, and photography
not only falls short of painting in the extent of its
colour scale, but it is very apt, as we have seen, to
render Nature with flat contradiction of her true
light and shade.

The next important fault which confronts us
in general photography is redundancy of detail.
In a photograph of a landscape of the usual
type we may admire the precision of the optical