Landscape and Nature Photography a Message from the Editor

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June 2014 Volume 6, Issue 10 Share Moments - Share Photography Landscape and Nature Photography A Message From The Editor

Wikipedia states “Landscape photography shows spaces within the “Nevada Falls” world, sometimes vast and unending, but other times microscopic. Landscape photographs typically capture the presence of nature, but can also focus on man-made features or disturbances of landscapes. Nature photography refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures. Nature photography tends to put a stronger emphasis on the aesthetic value of the photo than other photography genres, such as photojournalism and documentary photography.” From the very first days of photography, some of the most important and celebrated photographers have been motivated by an appreciation of the beauty of our natural environment and a desire to see it preserved. For example, Ansel Adams spoke © Ken Johnson passionately in defense of the natural world. Well known nature photographers include Frans Lanting, Galen Rowell, Eliot Porter and Art Wolfe. In the last edition of Exposures, one article emphasized that a key to success as a photojournalist is to be an empathetic storyteller. Landscape photographs are no different. A good landscape image should make a connection with the viewer, and tell a story. A good landscape image should have a viewer finding interesting details each time they look at it. Andrew Carter, an Australian Landscape Photographer writes, Inside This Issue “Landscape photography should remind you of that connection we all have to the land, and remind us to stop every so often, to take a A Message From The President 3 big breath and be aware. Landscape pictures can also show both the strength and the fragility of nature, the volatile beauty of the Dates To Remember 3 wilderness and the earth that needs to be protected.” Capturing Landscape Photo With Character 4 Landscape photography doesn't always have to be nature My Thoughts about Landscape and Nature 6 photography. The term “Urban Landscape” describes photographs Photography of a city taken in the manner of a landscape, using skyscrapers and Landscape Photography 9 other man-made architecture as elements of composition which Photo Excursion: Anderson Japanese Garden 10 should be treated in the same way a photographer would treat mountains and trees. PSA : Significant Update to Nature Photo 11 Definition Landscape photography is an addictive pursuit. You can often forget those times when the light was wrong, the weather was Year End Specialty Awards 12 wrong and those darn tourists got in the frame when everything A Brief History of Photography Part 7 13 finally comes together and you can joyfully share moments and The Dawn of Color share photography. April Challenge Images 18

© Lake County Camera Club. No material may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the Newsletter Editor or the material’s specific contributor. Exposures - June 2014 Volume 6, Issue 10 Page 2

LCCC is a proud member of the Chicago Area Camera Clubs Association 2013 - 2014 and the Photographic Society of America. Board Members President Mike Trahan President Elect Mark Theriot The club’s mission is to promote, teach and share the ideals, skills, techniques Past President John Williams and good practices of the art of photography and the use of cameras and Secretary Terry Ferguson photographic equipment. Treasurer Jim Ross

Vice President, External Operations Michelle Cox Visit the club’s website www.lakecountycameraclub.org. The club meets at 7:00pm on the first Thursday of every month at: Vice President, Internal Operations Bill Sullivan University Center. 1200 University Drive, Grayslake IL 2013 - 2014 Questions or comments about this newsletter? Please contact Ken Johnson, Newsletter Editor at: Committee Chairpersons [email protected] CACCA Representative Bob Kruzic

Challenge Coordinator Linda O’Rourke

Competition Chair Bob Kruzic

Community Involvement Coordinator JoAnn Sullivan

Company Contact Coordinator Open

Continuing Education Coordinator Jim Ross

Critique Coordinator Liz Rose Fisher DPI Competition Coordinator John Rouse Educational Events Coordinator Open

Event Communications Coordinator Sue Baron

Facilities Coordinator Bill Sullivan

Gallery Coordinator John Williams Historian Egon Shein Hospitality Desk Margie Hurwich Judge Procurement Tony Roma Librarian Larry Chua Long Term Planning Mark Theriot Mentoring Program Coordinator Open Membership Chair Terry Ferguson New Member Coordinator Judy Reinhardt Newsletter Editor Ken Johnson Photo Excursion Coordinator Debra Olson Program Chair Stevan Tontich PSA Representative Egon Schein

PSA Photo Travel Coordinator Birgit Tyrrell PSA Photojournalism Coordinator Linda Kruzic PSA Projected Image Coordinator Ron Sheade PSA Nature Coordinator Jeff Bark Small Group Coordinator Ron Sheade

Webmaster John Rouse

Year End Party Coordinators Jeff Bott Sheldon Wecker

Our NIK Plugin small group has just ended our series. We had six sessions attended on average by over 20 people at each session, all mentored and taught by Margie Hurwich. Our thanks to Margie for a great series. We all got quite a bit from it. As we thought when we started the small group concept given almost any subject, we've got some club members who are knowledgeable on it and willing to teach others. I'm also in several other small groups and have learned a lot from each plus enjoyed meeting on a small group basis with others. Others are having the same experience. I saw an email from a member of one of our Novice/Intermediate small groups agreeing that we needed to skip a session in May because of members' schedule conflicts, but saying how disappointing that will be because she's learning so much at each session. Jim Ross, our resident philosopher, recently sent a tip about how worthwhile being in a camera club over three decades has been to him and how he's still learning things through the club. It made me think about how much I've enjoyed being a member of LCCC. The photography came first, but being in the club has kept me involved in photography far more than I would have been otherwise and stretched me to try things outside what I'd normally have done. It's also great fun to meet and socialize with many like-minded people who I just plain enjoy talking to. Can it ever be too much? Do you: -- Plan your vacations around photography? Check. -- Have your spouse complain that you spend more time with your cohorts from the camera club than with her/him? Check. -- Spend more than 2/3rds of your non-fiction reading time on photography? Check. -- Spend more on camera equipment than on jewelry for your spouse (or yourself)? Not quite. A fact that I frequently point out to my wife, usually before buying some new piece of camera equipment. Oh good. I'm still not too far gone. How about you?

Dates To Remember

Challenge Due: ‘Spring Scenes’ May 31 Program Night: Monochrome Conversion presented by Stevan Tontich June 5 Photo Excursion: Anderson Japanese Garden June 7 Board Meeting: All are welcome June 19 Shutter Café 8:00 AM June 21 Newsletter Articles Due: Macro Photography June 21 Challenge Due: ‘Dusk to Dawn’ June 30 Photo Excursion: Eyes to the Skies Balloon Festival July 5 IMPORTANT NOTICE : July Club Meeting Date Change July 9

Landscape photography is a most rewarding pastime, but it can be far more challenging than some people imagine. It sounds so easy; visit a beautiful location, shoot a few snapshots, and come home with a work of art in your camera. After dealing with the public for over 20 years, I swear most people think it really is that simple. But really good landscape photography is much more challenging. Anyone can recognize the potential of a good subject, but turning that potential into a memorable image is another story. The task is even greater if it is a popular location. When you photograph a place that is photographed a thousand times a day, you have to find a way to create something different from the everyday snapshot. “Saguaro_1679” © Michael Just (click to see more from Michael Just

4 Tips For Capturing The Character Of A Landscape

1. You Don’t Have to Fit Everything In Some panoramic views are so huge that the only way to fit everything into your photo is to use a very wide-angle lens. The trouble is, this reduces everything in size, so that the grandeur of your subject is diminished. It can be more effective to concentrate your composition around one feature of the landscape; a feature other people will recognize. With this approach, you can use a larger lens to add size and prominence to the subject. You may also capture details that could be lost with a wide- angle lens. 2. Look For a New Angle Why is it that so many photos of the great landmarks look the same? Simply because everybody photographs them from the same lookouts. It is easy to get a good shot from a major lookout; in fact, that is probably why the lookout was built in the first place. The trouble is, it is almost impossible to get a unique shot if your photo is taken from the same angle as all the others. If possible, search beyond the established lookouts to see if there is a more interesting angle to take your photo. This may take a little more effort, and you may have to do some bushwalking to find the best spot. I don’t suggest risking your neck or trespassing, but in most cases there are alternatives “Ice-over-Yamanaka Lake” © Kustiyah (click to see more from Kustiyah to the established lookouts. .

3. Use The Surroundings to Your Advantage Anyone can take a snapshot of a mountain range. But what about a mountain range framed through the branches of a tree in the foreground or with a river winding away into the distance, drawing with it the eye of the viewer? Every landscape can be photographed from a number of angles; the most obvious one is not always the best. By scouting around and looking for interesting foregrounds, you can add real character to your image and create something truly unique. 4. Consider the Conditions Capturing your subject in the best light can be a real balancing act. First you need to consider the time of day. Usually the ideal light is early in the morning and late in the afternoon, when the light is softer and more colourful. The trouble is, any photographer with experience already knows that. So how do you take your photo to the next level? Keep a constant eye on the weather. You may be able to see something special, like a storm front, a good cloud formation, or even a good chance of a rainbow starting to develop. If you choose your moment just right, you can be on location in time for something really special.

“Wonderland” © Andy Hough (click to see more from Andy Hough This is a measure of the commitment of a landscape photographer. The more effort you put in, the greater the rewards. You will spend a lot of time waiting for the right moment, but once you get that perfect image, you will see it was not time wasted. You will know you have done a good job when people start to say, “I have been there, but my photos are nowhere near as good as yours!”

About the Author: Andrew Goodall writes for http://www.naturesimage.com.au and is a nature photographer based in Australia. He manages a gallery in Montville full of landscape photography from throughout Australia.

Reprinted with permission from PICTURECORRECT. Go to full article: Capturing Landscape Photos with Character

Well for gosh sakes, I’m no Ansel Adams, so I am a bit uncomfortable writing anything on the subject of Landscapes and Nature. I like writing about technical things regarding photography, like light waves, apertures and lengths of exposure etc. While those things come in to play with the subject at hand, I feel this subject is where the “Art” of photography really comes into play. My first bout with photography was in 1957 with a Fujica 35mm camera. The first photos I took were of people (friends and family) and some hotrod cars. It took years until I discovered the joy of going “out there” and trying to capture on film what I always loved, Landscapes and Nature, the outside. That’s when I realized I needed a better camera, but like most young folks who got married early, I couldn’t afford a good camera. It took years before I got my first SLR and more still to get lenses that could get anywhere near close up, then my two prize possessions, a 20Omm Macro, and eventually a 24mm. Back then, I shot slides and joined this club about 25 to 30 years ago when I first met Jim Ross and Jerry Donahue.

But I digress. So lets look at the differences between Landscape and Nature photography. I feel they are somewhat intertwined, so all I can say is that Nature, to me, is of wild plants and animal life. Usually one would almost fill the frame with a critter photo like this Colorado Moose crossing a stream. (image left). In regard to landscapes, I would suggest you open up your vista to capture the grandeur of a mountain scene, a whole tree or waterfall from top to bottom like this lonely tree in Kansas: (image right). Nature can be a macro shot of some small bug or of a critter of some kind like these geese on their nest (image left), but not a

large landscape view. A wide view of a mountain scene with many buffalo far away would be more of a landscape shot than of a Nature shot as this Yellowstone photo will attest. (image right). A nature shot of the same subject matter would be of one buffalo. (image left).

See how complicated this classification business can become. That is why I think there is some over lap between the two. Also, when taking landscapes you most often want to maximize your depth of field to sharpen everything in the image. Many Nature shots are of animals or flowers in a tight group, with shallow depths of field to isolate the subjects from their surroundings. All images © Gary Smith

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The use of a tripod is of course useful for any good image. If you are trying to sharpen a scene in a landscape shot, you will want to stop down the lens (make the aperture smaller) to create a larger depth of field. By stopping the lens down you will increase the exposure time, this requires the use of a tripod to eliminate camera shake. One is also needed for macro photography, usually nature. Oops sorry, I’m getting technical. I’m really trying to stick to the artistic side or difference between Nature and Landscape. Let me focus on the landscape side of things for a bit. How about having a subject in a landscape, something that adds interest to a larger scene. In this beautiful birch tree within a mountain scene (image right), I had to position it to improve the aesthetic value of the photo. You can place it on the right or left, near the top, bottom or vertical (image left). The rule of thirds can help you, but you don’t have to follow it, it’s just something to guide you. What about the foreground and background? In this mountain scene in Wyoming with a pond in front of me, my subject was the mountain. Did I want the foreground to be water only (image right) or did I want some shoreline at the bottom of my photo to give an idea of the size of the pond? (image left). The choice is yours to make, but that choice will have a statement to make about your scene. The mountains in the background are of course beautiful, but a good sky can lend so much to a picture. The sky can be as important as the foreground. A sky can be very dramatic and impact your image a great deal. For a sky to be dramatic, you need clouds and the more threatening the better as this shot of a barn on Casey Rd near Libertyville shows. (image right).

Remember that lines can direct your eye to a point of interest. Roads provide wonderful lines, here straight to some mountains in New Mexico. (Photo 11 NM Highway) or curved as in this Wyoming scene. (Photo 12 WYO Hwy). Diagonal is good or any angle except one running straight through the center of the All images © Gary Smith photo. Continued on next page

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Let’s not forget Nature, or what I consider Nature as opposed to Landscapes. Here I think we should focus in on something in the natural world. How about smoothing a small waterfall to give it a soft touch with the feeling of motion as in this Kentucky road side shot. (image right). Again your choice, but giving your photo the suggestion of movement is a good idea. A close-up of almost anything alive is always fun, especially when the subject is causing your heart to race, as this Bull Snake in New Mexico did to me (image left). It was giving a wonderful display of being a rattlesnake and convinced me until I knew it was just a bull snake. Nature doesn’t have to be of plants or animals, it can show the violence of Earth and Sky as in this shot of a Geyser in Yellowstone. Here there is the drama of the gushing spray and the threatening clouds above (image right). Notice also the lines of the geyser’s spray, almost pointing you to the clouds above. In many cases, it’s a good idea to shoot with lens wide open so you isolate the subject from the background as in this shot of a Pronghorn antelope on Wyoming’s wide open plains (image left).

So, is this a Landscape or Nature Photo of a group of elk in Kentucky (image right)? I’d have to say Nature because in my mind you can’t see to the horizon. But that’s just my opinion. While there are many overlaps in Landscape and Nature photography, there are distinctions. Either way you are outside enjoying the wide world about you. All images © Gary Smith

You may be interested in a Google+ Landscape Photography Community. https://plus.google.com/communities/116871042716967304935

The objective of the community is to be able to showcase the Natural World around you. We highly encourage you to promote your own work and contribute to the knowledge of the other community members. Enjoy & Share.

Landscape photography is both challenging and an extremely rewarding genre of nature photography. Rarely does blind luck alone lead to captivating or evocative landscape photography. Snapshots of the landscape taken from a car window or the side of the trail seldom translate into images that stir the soul or the imagination. Planning, scouting, perfect timing and a little bit of luck, all contribute to getting consistent successes. The good news is that landscape photography doesn’t require any highly specialized equipment like wildlife or macro photography, for example. In fact, a camera body and a kit lens is more than enough to get started. The closest essential piece of equipment that is extra is a good, sturdy tripod. Landscape photography is often all about using small apertures and relatively long shutter speeds in low light, so stabilization is essential. © Richard Bernabe More than any other type of photography, landscape photography requires the greatest attention to the direction, intensity, and color of the available natural light. Choosing or waiting for the right light and paying attention to how it falls on the land is essential to creating powerful and meaning landscape images. Patience is a personal trait that will serve you well. In addition to light, close attention to composition is paramount to good results. Keeping the primary focal point from the center, using the Rule of Thirds, and incorporating the use of lines in the composition, all can contribute to the perceived flow, balance, and aesthetic value of the image. These suggestions are simply guidelines and often must be broken to be successful, but they are good places to © Richard Bernabe start. Landscape Photography can be difficult to truly master, but the rewards of each success are often the most powerful and inspiring images.

The Nature Photographers Network™ is an international cooperative network of amateur and professional photographers dedicated to the art and technique of nature photography. Enhance your nature photography skills by learning from some of the most talented photographers in the field today while sharing your own skills and passion with fellow nature photography enthusiasts! http://www.naturephotographers.net/landscapephotography.html

The NPN website is intended to serve as an online resource for nature photographers of all skill levels, from beginner to professional. Our focus is on the art and technique of nature, wildlife and landscape photography.

This garden is a hidden gem in the heart of Rockford. If you are looking for something different to shoot, then attend this excursion. Very beautiful and tranquil, it has been voted the highest quality Japanese garden in North America. You will receive a map before going out to explore the grounds. The trails are mostly light gravel and there will be some climbing of stairs. You may want to buy some fish food when purchasing your tickets – the Koi fish are gorgeous! Have fun and enjoy the peaceful environment. www.andersongardens.org

All images © Anderson Japanese Garden

There is no parking fee, but there is an $8 Adult or $7 Senior (62+) entrance fee. If you will be attending, a carpool has been set up. We will meet at the Northeast corner, Lower Level Sears at Westfield Mall/ Hawthorne in Vernon Hills at 7:00 am, leaving no later than 7:15 am. If you plan on meeting us there, we will meet at the main entrance at 9:00 am. The garden is located at 318 Spring Creek Rd, Rockford, IL. No tripods are allowed in the garden during touring hours, but monopods are permitted. Also, commercial photography is permitted. All attending are responsible for liability and travel arrangements. The photo excursion is subject to weather, no rain date. If you will be attending, please email [email protected]. Include in your email if you will be carpooling or meeting at the location as well as your cell phone number.

Please note: We are appreciative of those who volunteer to drive for the carpool. If you are carpooling with someone, please consider offering to help with gas expenses if you are able to do so. Thanks!

*Note from Larry Chua: If you are a member of the Chicago Botanic Garden or one of the area gardens you might want to bring along your membership card. You will be able to get in free with their RAP (Reciprocal Admissions Program).

PSA : Significant Update to Nature Photo Definition

The same definition for nature and wildlife categories will now be used in competitions and exhibitions by three major international photographic organizations.

June 2014 -- Three of the world’s largest international photography organizations have defined a common definition for nature and wildlife photography. The Photographic Society of America (PSA) which represents 6500 members and 470 camera clubs, the Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique (FIAP) which represents more than 85 national associations and The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) with over 11,000 members will all use the same definition for nature and wildlife categories for their respective competitions and exhibitions.

The new definition will come in to effect from 1 January 2015.

The introduction of a common definition is primarily intended to provide clarity to competition entrants. In addition, it will support efforts by all three bodies and their affiliated organizations to clamp down on those entering ineligible images or who set out to abuse the rules.

Commenting on the new definition John Davis / Riccardo Busi / Derek Birch, President of PSA / FIAP / RPS said: “The development of a common definition for nature and wildlife photography will be an important step in helping photographers, many of whom enter competitions internationally, know what the rules are. It will also provide organizers with a very clear definition when they need to deal with the problem of ineligible images. We would encourage other competition organizers to adopt the definition.” Nature Photography Definition Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archaeology, in such a fashion that a well-informed person will be able to identify the subject material and certify its honest presentation. The story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining high technical quality. Human elements shall not be present, except where those human elements are integral parts of the nature story such as nature subjects, like barn owls or storks, adapted to an environment modified by humans, or where those human elements are in situations depicting natural forces, like hurricanes or tidal waves. Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible. Photographs of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement. No techniques that add, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are permitted. Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without changing the nature story or the pictorial content, or without altering the content of the original scene, are permitted including HDR, focus stacking and dodging/burning. Techniques that remove elements added by the camera, such as dust spots, digital noise, and film scratches, are allowed. Stitched images are not permitted. All allowed adjustments must appear natural. Color images can be converted to grey-scale monochrome. Infrared images, either direct-captures or derivations, are not allowed. Images used in Nature Photography competitions may be divided in two classes: Nature and Wildlife. Images entered in Nature sections meeting the Nature Photography Definition above can have landscapes, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and extant organisms as the primary subject matter. This includes images taken with the subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical gardens, aquariums and any enclosure where the subjects are totally dependent on man for food. Images entered in Wildlife sections meeting the Nature Photography Definition above are further defined as one or more extant zoological or botanical organisms free and unrestrained in a natural or adopted habitat. Landscapes, geologic formations, photographs of zoo or game farm animals, or of any extant zoological or botanical species taken under controlled conditions are not eligible in Wildlife sections. Wildlife is not limited to animals, birds and insects. Marine subjects and botanical subjects (including fungi and algae) taken in the wild are suitable wildlife subjects, as are carcasses of extant species. Wildlife images may be entered in Nature sections of Exhibitions.

Year End Specialty Awards By Terry Ferguson

Nominations for the Year End Specialty Awards are due at the June Member's Meeting (June 5th). The Board will then choose the winners and make the presentation at the Year End Party in August. Members can nominate another member by presenting the nomination in writing to the President by the June meeting. The Board will then select a winner. The winner does not have to be one of the nominations and the award may not be given if it is determined that no one meets the requirements. The Specialty Awards are: Ambassador Award  The Ambassador Award is awarded to an individual who brings value to LCCC by best promoting the club as an ambassador for new members, presenters and activities.

 Achievement in photographic competitions is not considered in making this award.  The winner of this award may not be awarded the Contribution Award, Distinguished Service Award or Will Fletcher Award in the same given year. Contribution Award  The Contribution Award is awarded to an individual who has added value to LCCC based on a single significant contribution.  Achievement in photographic competitions is not considered in making this award.  The winner of this award may not be awarded the Ambassador Award, Distinguished Service Award or Will Fletcher Award in the same given year. Distinguished Service Award  The Distinguished Service Award is awarded to an individual for outstanding contributions and overall service to LCCC. It honors the dedicated service to the club in furthering interests in photography, the club, CACCA and/or PSA.  Achievement in photographic competitions is not considered in making this award.  The winner of this award may not be awarded the Ambassador Award, Contribution Award or Will Fletcher Award in the same given year. Will Fletcher Award  The Will Fletcher Award is awarded to an individual who best exemplifies the spirit and efforts of Will Fletcher in mentoring or teaching members of LCCC.

 Achievement in photographic competitions is not considered in making this award.  The winner of this award may not be awarded the Ambassador Award, Contribution Award or Distinguished Service Award in the same given year.

While the advancement of photography steadily progressed from daguerreotypes, through calotypes, wet plate collodion, dry gelatin plate, on to celluloid film, one aspect of this progress was a constant – the images obtained were monochromatic or gray scale, exhibiting a tonal response from white through gray to black. All of these methods failed to address a key limitation posed by the silver-based emulsions they all shared. They did not capture the natural world as the human eye perceived it – in color. The photographic community was keenly aware of this limitation from the start. The first approach to add color to images was via hand coloring or tinting to the images after development. Daguerreotypes were colored via direct hand painting on the gilded or varnished daguerreotype, or by applying transparent tints to selected portions of the image and fixing them by heating the plate. These print coloring efforts continued with later paper-based print images, via various methods of tinting or hand coloring the developed prints. While these means could impart at least an artistic aesthetic, if not a greater sense of realism to many images, it is obvious they could not be counted on to faithfully record the actual colors of the original scene. Early photographic experimenters were teased with glimpses of what might be possible. In 1840 Sir John Herschel reported a limited ability to record red, green, and blue colors on silver chloride papers, but these colors could not be fixed and faded to black under lamplight. Edmund Becquerel and Nièpce de Saint-Victor attempted to record colors directly on daguerreotypes from late 1840-1860, via a process called heliochromy, but these images too could not be fixed. In 1851, a New York Baptist minister, Levi L. Hill, claimed to have developed a direct-color Figure 1: Hand-colored daguerreotype, sixth plate, daguerreotype process, called hillotypes, but his achievements appear to have ca. 1850. Courtesy of Cornell University Library been made by accident and he could not replicate the process.

The real birth of true image capture of color began in 1861 through the efforts of the famed Scottish physicist, James Clerk Maxwell (Maxwell’s equations, and his theories of electromagnetism, are considered the “second great unification in physics,” and lay the foundation for the fields of special relativity and quantum mechanics). More relevant to our interest, he published award-winning color theory papers from 1855 to 1872; he proposed that if 3 black-and-white photographs of a scene were taken through red, green, and blue filters, by projecting the images onto a screen using three projectors equipped with corresponding filters an accurate color reproduction of the scene would be achieved. Maxwell in fact demonstrated this in 1861 at a Royal Institution lecture on color theory, with an image of a tartan ribbon. Because the photographic emulsions of the time were orthochromatic, highly sensitive to blue light, marginally to green light, and almost completely insensitive to red light, the results were not perfect, but the theory was shown to be sound.

Figure 2: Tartan Ribbon, Photo of projected image by Thomas Sutton, 1861. Reproduced by permission of the Trustees of the Science Museum, South Kensington, London

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Continued from previous page Maxwell’s color theory was based on the additive theory developed by Thomas Young and refined by Hermann von Helmholtz. Additive theory holds that red, green, and blue light is mixed to form any color in the visible spectrum; when mixed equally, they appear as white light to the human eye. This theory is also the basis for how LED, LCD, plasma and CRT color video systems work, as well as how digital camera sensors electronically record colors. This is known as the RGB color model. In contrast to the additive process is the subtractive method, where primary colors are subtracted from white light by dyes or pigments. In photography, the red filtered image is used to make a cyan dye image; the green filtered image yields a magenta dye image; the blue filtered image creates a yellow dye image. When these three dye images are superimposed they produce a complete color image. This is known as the CMYK color model, where the “K” comprises a black component to compensate for imperfections in the colored inks used in ink-jet and other Figure 3: Additive & Subtractive Color mechanical printing processes.

One of the best-known early photographers to employ these principles was Russian photographer Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky, known for color images made between 1909-1915 of the Russian Empire (over 3500 images) and his color portrait of Leo Tolstoy in 1908. Prokudin-Gorsky made his images via a demanding process, each image made from three exposures, one each with a red, green, and blue filter. These three exposures needed to be perfectly registered to avoid color fringing; these images could be taken in sequence with a tripod- mounted camera, or via specially-designed triple image camera that employed prisms, or beam splitters, to simultaneously record all three filtered images on one plate. While the results, as in Prokudin-Gorsky’s case, could be excellent, the technical demands were very high. Figure 4: Picture and filtered negatives of Alim Khan (1880-1944), Emir of Bukhara, 1911, by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky Numerous color process variants were developed in the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s that utilized an additive screening process. These include the Dufaycolor (Diptichrome), Finlay, Paget, and Joly processes. In these screening processes, a filter screen comprising the three additive primary colors, red, green, and blue, was placed in front of a silver-based negative plate. The screens employed a variety of patterns or matrices to filter the three primary colors; some patterns were parallel lines, others were crosshatched, etc. After exposure, the negative plate was contact printed onto another negative plate to create a positive transparency (reverse-processed). This transparency could then be viewed through a viewing filter that corresponded with the image-taking filter, which would yield an image rendering reasonably accurate color. The primary disadvantages of these systems were the long exposure times required, image degradation due to artifacts of the filters themselves (visible lines, etc.) and the exacting image and filter registration required to render the colors correctly. In 1907 the French Lumière brothers began marketing their patented Autochrome Lumière color plate photographic process. The Autochrome was an additive mosaic screen plate process. The medium consisted of a glass plate coated in a random mosaic pattern with a layer of microscopic grains of potato starch, dyed red-orange, green, and blue-violet. These randomly distributed dyed grains acted as filters, with lampblack, a fine black powder, filling the spaces between the grains. This one-grain thick layer was sealed, and then coated with a black-and-white panchromatic (sensitive to all colors of light) silver emulsion. When exposed in the camera, the colored grains filtered the light before reaching the silver emulsion. The plate was then reverse-processed into a positive transparency. Since the silver emulsion grains and the mosaic of starch grains remained in precise alignment throughout the exposure and development process, when the transparency was illuminated, the grains of the silver image acted as a micro-filter, allowing more or less light to pass through the adjacent starch grain, reproducing the original distribution of the three colors. Continued on next page

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Because of the light lost through the filtering, Autochrome images required longer exposures than equivalent monochrome emulsions, and were thus relegated to static versus moving subjects. Autochromes were not well suited for projection; the high heat of projector lamps tended to discolor the plates. They were best viewed using devices called diascopes, which used daylight, as from a bright window, to backlight the Autochrome plate for individual viewing. Because they were especially designed for daylight use, and because the starch grain colors do not coincide exactly with the color filters used in modern color films or digital sensors, it is difficult to accurately copy Autochromes today and keep the color faithful to the original plate. While the starch grains were somewhat coarse, they imparted a painterly, or pointillist effect, to Autochrome images. Autochrome glass plates were manufactured through the 1930’s, when they began to be supplanted by film-based versions. The technical advantages of the chromogenic color film process spelled the end for the Autochrome, but French loyalty for the process remained until manufacture of the final film version, Alticolor, was discontinued in 1955.

Next Time: Kodachrome & Color Film

Figure 5: Autochrome of Samuel Clemens in Oxford This is the seventh installment of an ongoing series on the history and Robes, Dec.21, 1908. Photographer, Alvin Langdon development of the art of photography. It is inspired by the History of Coburn Photography class taught by Professor Jeff Curto in the College of DuPage Photography Program. While not a slavish copy of his work, I freely admit to following his general course outline and sharing many of the perspectives he has developed. I would encourage anyone with a greater interest in this subject to follow his course online via video podcasts, at http://photohistory.jeffcurto.com. Sources: A World History of Photography, 4th Ed, 2007 by Naomi Rosenblum

History of Photography Podcasts, class lectures with Jeff Curto from College of DuPage http://photohistory.jeffcurto.com

Wikipedia, “Color Photography”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_photography

Filmmaker IQ, “The History and Science of Color Film: From Issac Newton to the Coen Brothers”, http://filmmakeriq.com/lessons/the-history-and-science-of-color -film-from-isaac-newton-to-the-coen-brothers/

COLOURlovers, “The History of Color in Photography”, http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2008/04/30/the-history-of-color-in-photography

Luminous Lint: For Connoisseurs of Fine Photography, “A Concise History of Color Photography”, http://www.luminous-lint.com/IaW/public/5/1/2/1/0/20/T/

Wikipedia, “James Clerk Maxwell”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Clerk_Maxwell

Wikipedia, “Autochrome Lumière”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autochrome_Lumière

Color Theory, “Autochrome”, https://home.bway.net/jscruggs/auto.html

EdinPhoto, Early Photographic Processes, “Color Photography from 19th Century”, http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/1_early/1_early_photography_-_processes_- _colour_photography.htm and “Autochrome: 1907-1940”, http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/1_early/1_early_photography_-_processes_-_autochrome.htm

“The Autochrome: 100 Years of Color Photography”, by Mark Antman, reprinted from The Picture Professional, Issue 2, 2007, http://theimageworks.com/ pdf/100years.pdf

Smithsonian Magazine, “In Living Color”, by Robert M. Poole, Sept 2007, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/in-living-color-161118412/

The Ryerson Photographic Preservation and Collections Management Program, “Autochrome”, http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/topographica/Autochrome.html

The Ryerson Photographic Preservation and Collections Management Program, “Process Summaries”, by Amanda Maloney, http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/ topographica/Process%20Summaries.html

Pictorial Media Archaeology, “Autochromes: The Art of Early Color Photography”, http://users.telenet.be/thomasweynants/autochromes.html

InstitutLumière, “Lumière’s Autochromes”, http://www.institut-lumiere.org/english/lumiere/autochrome.html

When I decided April’s Challenge to be “Let’s go Outside”, I thought we would finally be getting over winter. It was not to be… it was cold, rainy and snow fell on April 14th. Mother Nature has decided to show us who’s Boss. As you will see though, club members “Soaking up the Sun” “Spring Run Off” found ways to go outside and they are: Deb Olson found a couple of turtles “Soaking up the Sun” “Spring Run Off”, John Rouse was out and about, viewing the rushing water from our prolific 3rd snowiest winter. Julie Boatright, “Crooked Path” What a wonderful view. I feel as if I am walking on the path, don’t you? © Deb Olson © John Rouse “Harry in Flight”, John Williams. I just love these Birds, and John captured a “Crooked Path” “Harry in Flight” beautiful one. Ken Mischke, “The Eastern Sky” Looks like this was a beautiful morning. Ron Hahn, ”Great Catch!” I think this one sums it up. Baseball is upon us. Let’s go Outside. A Great Catch by all. Please take a look at the Challenge

To our new members, I encourage you to “Great Catch” give this a try! It is always fun to see your images included in the Gallery and there is no competition. Please submit © Julie Boatright them to the Challenge Gallery through the LCCC Website. “The Eastern Sky” The May Challenge is “Spring Scenes”. The April Gallery included several nighttime shots that have inspired me for June’s Challenge which will be “Dusk to Dawn”. I hope this gives us all a purpose to practice some evening shooting and/or early morning as well. Challenge images must be newly taken images between the first day of the © Ken Mischke © Ron Hahn assignment month and the end of the given month. Up to ten images may be submitted on a monthly basis by each individual.

Give it your best shot!