1939: Photography

The centenary of the introduction of photography as exemplified by the Daguerre process was celebrated throughout the world during 1939 at the invitation of the Societe Francaise de Photographie et Cinematographie. On Jan. 7, 1839, Arago announced Daguerre's discovery to the French Academy of Sciences and on Aug. 19, 1839, the process was made public. The year also marked the 100th anniversary of the earliest published use of the word 'photography,' which, according to the German historian, Stenger, occurred in a daily newspaper, the Vossische Zeitung, on Feb. 25, 1839.

Amateur Photography.

The enthusiasm of the average amateur photographer was aroused by the publicity concerning the World's Fairs at San Francisco and New York. Those fortunate enough to see these great spectacles made the most of their opportunity to record on ordinary and on color film the architectural beauty and the colorful displays by day and night.

Many new cameras, home processing equipment and sensitive materials were introduced during the year. Interest in fine grain development appeared to be waning slightly, perhaps as a result of the realization that the use of a slower film of inherent fine grain when developed in a normal developer gave as good if not a superior result as a faster film processed in a fine grain developer.

Miniature cameras continued to be popular and several high quality enlargers were marketed, some of which were capable of being used for copying, photomicrography and other special work. A wide variety of synchro-flash equipment was available; even a few box cameras were fitted with such devices which permitted simultaneous exposure and flashbulb ignition. Interest in the use of color films in miniature cameras grew very rapidly throughout the year, in part as a result of the introduction of a scheme by one large manufacturer of color film, for delivery of the developed films mounted as slides ready for use.

Several special airplane excursions near New York City were conducted for camera users and prizes were awarded for the best pictures made on each flight.

Professional Photography.

Illustrative photographers gained further experience with the sheet color film during the year and the trend continued for greater use of such pictures for reproduction in magazines and books. A few new cameras for single exposure sets of three-color separation negatives were displayed at national photographic conventions, and numerous schemes for making three- or two-color prints from such negatives were noted. Most of these methods represented modifications of the well-known carbro, imbibition or wash-off relief processes.

Methods of standardization of the speed of photographic materials were discussed at several meetings in various parts of the world but no general agreement was reached. A certain amount of confusion existed because each manufacturer of film as well as the exposure meter manufacturers published speed values which were determined in different ways.

New films of greater speed, improved latitude and color sensitiveness were made available for portraiture, color separation and commercial work.

News Pictures.

Perhaps the event of the year that aroused the most interest to news photographers on this continent was the visit of their Majesties, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, to Canada and the United States in May and June. Photographers from every leading newspaper on this side of the Atlantic, as well as many from abroad, covered the various ceremonies, and every newsreel service was represented. Newsreels of their visit to Washington and New York were flown across the Atlantic on the Yankee Clipper to be shown in theaters in London within 48 hours after the event.

The outbreak of hostilities in Europe in September resulted in a very strict censorship of news pictures but a fair number were transmitted by radio to New York. The quality of these pictures was much better than that of radio-pictures of several years previous. In this connection, it was reported in an English magazine in July that the Western Union Telegraph Company had placed a new process for trans-ocean transmission on a commercial basis in April. Cables instead of the ether were used as the transmitting medium.

News cameras of extremely long focus (60 inches) were used by the Associated Press to cover athletic contests such as baseball games, etc., from the top of the grandstand.

Photomechanical Processes.

Within recent years, the problem of photographic reproduction of color on the printed page was a matter of the work of several days or even weeks. In January of this year the Chicago Tribune printed a color photograph which had been made the same day. A German weekly newspaper was illustrated almost completely in color from photographs made with the Bermpohl camera and with Agfacolor and Kodachrome miniature color films.

Stripping film appeared to be replacing wet-plates in photolithography. Improved resolving power, thinner coatings and better sensitizing properties were noted in films for photomechanical work. Special equipment was designed for reproduction of miniature color transparencies using the indirect method for making the screen separation negatives. Progress was noted also in the use of fluorescence photography to exaggerate contrast and to facilitate the production of highlight screen negatives. The fluorescent material is mixed with the pigment used for the artist's sketches. When subjected to ultraviolet radiation the pigment fluoresces and an enhanced contrast results.

Aero-photography.

The great program continued of aerial survey of various sections of the United States for crop estimation, erosion studies and mapping. A new aero-camera was being tested which took the largest single film negative (18 to 18 inches) ever made with one lens. The camera used an F 6.8 lens of 12-inch focal length and a 600-exposure film. In England, a 7-lens aero-camera was produced under the direction of the Air Survey Committee. With this camera 1,000 square miles of country could be photographed from an altitude of 15,000 feet with 140 miles of flying.

The European conflict stimulated extensive use of aerial photography for reconnaissance work. Even pigeons were equipped with tiny cameras with a clock-driven movement which made a series of exposures after the birds were released in areas at the front. The possibilities of utilizing color films for more accurate records of terrain and camouflaged artillery positions were studied by army air photographers. Improved machine gun cameras, using 16-mm. film, were used to train aerial gunners. Motion pictures were used as a quick training medium for the U. S. Army. (See also MILITARY SCIENCE.)

Color Photography.

Probably the most unique use of color photography was in the Great Hall of Color in the Kodak Building at the New York World's Fair. Here, on a screen 22 feet high and 187 feet long, color panoramas were projected from eleven specially designed projectors, each of which held 192 slides made from 1 by 1½-inch color transparencies. A specially matched sound film was used to operate the projectors in synchronism and provide a spoken and musical accompaniment. Each tiny color picture was magnified about 50,000 times in area when projected on the screen.

A gradual extension of the use of color films was noted among amateur as well as professional photographers although no simple process for making good color prints had been introduced.

Motion Pictures.

An enlarged schedule of color motion pictures was completed during the year. The Technicolor Corporation, world's largest color picture producer, had nine color features in production during July, the most ever under way in a single month. A feature-length cartoon in color, 'Gulliver's Travels,' by Max Fleischer, was released in December. The Disney cartoon, 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' was reported to have made over $8,000,000 during the two years since its release in December 1937. This is the largest sum ever made in two years from the showing of a single motion picture.

A falling off in motion picture exports and imports was reported by the United States Department of Commerce for the first nine months of this year compared with 1938. It was stated, however, that more duplicate negatives were being sent abroad, which was considered to explain some of the loss in export of positive film. The production of motion pictures in Finland, until the outbreak of the Finnish-Soviet conflict, had shown an encouraging growth since 1934.

Announcement was made in May by the Cinecolor Company of a single-coated 16-mm. color film. Film of 35-mm. width had been supplied for several years by this concern for the production of motion picture 'shorts.' The popularity of amateur 'movies,' especially those in color, showed a continued growth during the year.

Television.

Motion picture films were used daily as part of the television programs broadcast by Radio Corporation of America at the New York World's Fair. The Columbia Broadcasting System announced a new method of scanning motion picture images for television, which was said to have resulted in better quality reception and permitted the film to move continuously rather than intermittently. Much more portable equipment for television fieldwork was introduced. It was generally agreed, however, that further progress was necessary before successful commercial television would be practically possible.

Photography in Education.

Chicago's public schools were reported to be among the largest users of educational pictures of any city in the nation. Every elementary school was equipped with a stereopticon, 95 per cent had 16-mm. projection facilities, and every high school used both silent and sound films. Over 150,000 reels of films and 1,250,000 slides were shown annually. The Australian government included 18 quarter-hour sessions using educational films in three school terms of the customary curriculum. A technique was announced by psychologists at Harvard University for the use of motion pictures to improve the speed of eye-reading of students.

Applied and Scientific Photography.

Perhaps the most significant event of the year in astronomical circles was the opening of the new MacDonald Observatory at Mt. Locke, Texas. Within six weeks after the great 82-inch reflector telescope had been put in operation, the discovery of two new 'super-heavy' stars was reported by Prof. Kuiper. An unusual display of the aurora borealis on August 11 was photographed very completely at Cornell University in black and white and in color.

Two new cameras were used to photograph marine life about two miles below the surface of the sea. The cameras with their lighting equipment were developed independently by Prof. Harvey of Princeton University and by Dr. Hofmann, an engineer at Munich, Germany.

An Oklahoma City bank invited its customers to have their checks photographed for compact filing record purposes. The reading machine at the bank was made available for use of customers who wished to examine their records. This is only one example of a very extensive documentary recording program which was in progress throughout the world.

X-Ray Photography.

See MEDICINE: X-Rays.