Branches Of Photography

From what has been said it is very evident that the practice of photography must be very different in the different branches of human knowledge to which it is applied.

The application of its practice and principles has been most ably treated in some of these branches, especially the scientific branches, but hitherto there has been no book which gives only just sufficient science for art-students and at the same time treats of the art side.

Aim Of Naturalistic Photography

We propose in this book to treat photography from the artistic standpoint. We shall give enough science to lead to a comprehension of the principles which we adduce for our arguments for naturalistic photography, and we shall give such little instruction in art as is possible by written matter, for art we hold is to be learned by practice alone. That, then, is our aim, and no one knows better than ourselves how far short of our ideal we have fallen, but we trust the task as attempted may do a little good and lead some earnest wandering workers into the right path. We know that we have not accomplished our task without errors, all we plead is that we have endeavoured to reduce the number to a minimum, and where we have failed we trust those who detect our failures will kindly, not carpingly, communi-cate them to us, so that if we ever reach a second edition we may therein be regenerated.

Contents Of Book

The photographic student, whose aim is to make pictures, will find in this book all directions, such as the choosing of apparatus, the science which must be learned, the pictures and sculpture which must be studied, the art canons which are to be avoided, the technique to be learned, including all manipulations; the fundamental principles of art, and a critical resume of conventional art canons, including much other advice.

In addition to this the book is an argument for the Naturalistic school of photography, of which we preached the first gospel in an address delivered before the members of the Camera Club in London in March, 1886.1

The necessity of this book may not be patent to artists who do not know the photographic world; but if they will consider for a moment the present position of a student of photography, whose aim is to produce artistic work, they will see the necessity for some such work. The position of the photographic world at present is this: nearly all the text-books teach how to cultivate the scientific side of photography, and they are so diffuse that we find photo-micrography, spectrum analysis and art all mixed up together. And when we assure the artistic reader that the few books and articles published with a view to teaching art, contain resumes of Burnet's teachings, as set forth in his well-known "Treatise on Painting;" that the widest read of these books lays down laws for the sizes of pictures as advocated by that "eminent painter Norman Macbeth;" cautions the student not to take pictures on grey days; and contains various other erroneous ideas; we say when artists know this, and in addition that there is no book in which "tone" is properly defined, they will perhaps understand the necessity for some such book as this one. Lastly, the artist must remember that photographers are very loath to listen to any one but photographers on any subject connected with their art.

To give the student a clear insight into the first principles of art is of course, as we have said, the chief aim of the book, but besides that it is an attempt to start a departure from the scientific side of photography. This departure must be made, and the time is now ripe. It should be clearly and definitely understood, that although a preliminary scientific education is necessary for all photographers, after that preliminary education the paths and aims of the scientist, industrial photographer and artist, lie widely apart. This matter should be kept. constantly in view, and specialists in one branch should not meddle with other branches. The art has so extended its fields for work that there is scope, even in a sub-branch of the scientific division to occupy the full energies and attention of the most able men. At exhibitions, too, the three great divisions into which photography falls should be kept rigidly separated. The writer sees in all these branches equal good and equal use, but he sees also the necessity of keeping their aims and methods separate. That this differentiation is now possible and necessary is, from the evolutionary standpoint, the greatest sign of development. The author feels convinced that if any student is going to succeed in any one branch he must not scatter his energies, but devote himself with singlemindedness to that particular branch. Directly the aims and methods of the separate branches of the art are fully recognized there will no longer be ignorance and misunderstandings of first principles. We shall not hear a first-rate lantern slide described as artistic, because it is untouched, and we shall not hear of a "high-art" photographer criticizing photo-micrographs of bacteria, matters that none but a medical microscopist can criticize. And above all, we shall not have the hack-writer talking of our "art-science."

1 Vide Photographic News for March 19,1886.

We have drawn up a rough table of classification to illustrate our meaning, but of course it must be remembered that this division is arbitrary, but it would, we think, be a good working classification.