1942: Photography

War Photography.

The war effort dominated the photography of the year. Combatants and non-combatants used photographs and motion pictures in thousands of ways to speed up the production program, to aid the training of the great armies and navies, and to make a faithful record of important events. Photographs in the daily newspapers and the picture weeklies conveyed the war stories in graphic form to the public. Sound newsreels brought the war's realism home with great force. Details of remote battles by sea or land were transmitted around the globe by means of telephotography, to be reproduced as much as military secrecy would permit within the short time of a few days for the people on the 'home front.'

Photographic manufacturers converted much of their equipment to the production of parts and instruments needed by the Government. Items such as rangefinders, heightfinders, and optical and mechanical parts for airplanes, guns, and ships were produced in great quantities to meet ever-growing quota demands. As production needs grew during the year, more and more of the sensitized materials and equipment were allocated for use by the armed forces, and a corresponding reduction was noted for civilian purposes. Guards were established around photographic plants and identification badges bearing the wearer's picture were required for every employee.

Specific instruction in first aid, fire fighting, air raid protection, defense against gas attack, police duties, and many other new responsibilities was given to more than a million civilians by means of photographs, lantern slides and motion pictures.

The central point of contact between the motion-picture industry, the general public, and the departments of the Government was the Bureau of Motion Pictures of the United States Office of War Information. Through this office, information on the progress of production was distributed to help build up public morale. Films released for showing included such subjects as 'Ring of Steel,' 'Power for Defense,' and 'Building a Tank.'

Workers were trained with the aid of films for special skills in thousands of industrial plants throughout the nation. One firm released nearly fifty sound instructional films which dealt with lathe operation, milling machines, drills, shapers, welding, and other related subjects. Much valuable time was saved in the training of the workers with the aid of such films. One firm which manufactured shell cases had all their operations from the milling of the steel to the final inspection explained in a color motion picture. Film strips and film slides were used to train individuals in such fields as industrial safety, health, supervisory relations, aircraft assembly, and other special tasks.

The major part of the photography of the armed forces of the United States was done by the Signal Corps, the Air Force, and the Navy. All three used motion pictures and still photographs; the latter two branches were responsible for aerial photography.

The General Staff of the U. S. Army in 1928 designated the Signal Corps as the agency charged with the production of training films and other visual aids. A program of specialized training in the fundamentals of sound motion-picture production and projection was arranged for selected officers at the motion-picture studios on the west coast. The Research Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences cooperated closely with the Signal Corps in planning this training program. Actual production centers of the Signal Corps were located at Washington, D. C., Fort Monmouth, N. J., Hollywood, Calif., and Astoria, L. I. The old Paramount studio at Astoria was rebuilt partially during the early part of the year and renamed the Signal Corps Photographic Center.

Almost every phase of army training was covered by one or more of the approximately 450 training films that were reported to be in use at the close of the year. All of the films were made in black and white, but the use of color films was said to be under consideration for certain subjects. In every army camp throughout the country, these films were being used to expedite the training of several million soldiers. One estimate stated that a 40 per cent saving was effected in the total training time usually required to educate men in the use of complex mechanical weapons. It was predicted by authorities that this great program of mass education would have a tremendous effect on civilian education methods after the war.

Besides the motion-picture program, instruction was being given to men in the Signal Corps to train them as still and motion-picture photographers to accompany American troops wherever they were to go in the world. Special field processing equipment was designed for use by these units to permit them to develop and print their films under any conditions that might face them in the arctic or the tropics.

According to a published report of the Motion Picture Branch, Materiel Division, of the U. S. Army Air Forces, motion pictures were being used to study all tests that were too fast, too complicated, or too remote for accurate visual observation. A few examples of the subjects investigated were stresses and strains on parts of an airplane during flight maneuvers, analysis of the performance of experimental parachutes, studies of smoke screen laying from airplanes, and pathological records of pilots during power dives.

Special methods of heating cameras were worked out to insure smooth running of aerial camera mechanisms under the extremely cold conditions encountered at high altitudes. Electrically heated blankets, utilization of warm air from the engine, and thin electrically heated wires across the camera lens represented some of the precautions taken to keep the camera working. The handling of long lengths of aero films, as much as 100 feet, required the use of special equipment for developing and printing, particularly under adverse conditions of cold and heat. Tents, trailers, and prefabricated buildings were in use by photographic units of the Air Forces.

Aero cameras were fitted with many unique accessories such as remote manual exposure control, photoelectric lens diaphragm operation, and gyroscopic camera mounts; the latter maintained the camera's position independent of the tilt of the airplane. New films of very high speed and new lenses of wide aperture, notably one of a 12-in. focal length and an aperture of f/2.5, permitted improved results in night reconnaissance photography. An increasing use of color photography by the Air Forces was reported; excellent color photographs were said to have been obtained with new materials at altitudes up to 30,000 feet.

The photographic work of the U. S. Navy was under the direction of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics. A rapidly expanding training school was located at Pensacola, Fla., where men were being instructed in the use of many types of cameras for still, aerial, and motion-picture photography. Photographic units were operating in each of the Naval Districts and with the fleet. It was the function of these units to make a complete record of all significant events. Some of the finest photographs and motion pictures of action were made during the battles of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, Midway Island, and the Solomon Islands. The first color motion picture of a major land and sea engagement was made at Midway Island by several Navy cameramen under the direction of Lieut. Comdr. John Ford, U.S.N.R. The men were under fire almost constantly during the battle, and their cameras were blown out of their hands many times. The pictures were made on 16-mm. Kodachrome film and later enlarged with printed-in sound effects on 35-mm. Technicolor film. Remarkable photographs of sinking Japanese freighters and warships were taken by Navy cameramen through the unidirectional periscopes of American submarines.

Signal Corps cameramen under Colonel Daryl F. Zanuck, A.U.S., and Office of Strategic Services cameramen under Commander Ford made a vivid historical record of the landing in North Africa and the initial stages of the occupation, in still and motion pictures. The film, 'At the Front in North Africa,' which climaxes with the dramatic defeat of the Nazi tanks at Tebourba, was taken on 16 mm. Kodachrome film and enlarged with sound effects on 35 mm. Technicolor film.

Reconnaissance photography by an army bomber shortly before the attack of Feb. 24 on Wake Island by a U. S. Navy task force aided greatly in the destruction of Japanese installations on the island. The aerial photographs were developed and printed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, then flown to sea and dropped on the deck of the aircraft carrier which had left on its mission several hours previously.

Some of the finest reconnaissance photography of the war was done by the Royal Air Force. A very detailed account of its photographic methods and equipment was released in September. A modified F-24 Aero camera was used for the major portion of the photography. This camera was designed in the form of six units to make it quickly adaptable to varied requirements. For instance, for very low flying, a mirror was mounted at 45 degrees before the lens to allow the camera to remain in its mount pointing vertically downwards while a picture was taken horizontally of the target that the plane had passed over. The negative size was 5 x 5 in. and lenses ranged in focal length from 3½ to 40 in. Other R.A.F. cameras were the F-8 and the F-52 which had a negative size of 7 x 8½ in. Most of the films were processed in ground laboratories or in trailers staffed by men and women. Occasionally, when information was needed quickly, a camera was used that held the processing unit within the camera magazine. The film was wound through special solutions contained in two tanks, and a negative could be ready for printing while wet on a special paper within 1¼ minutes after exposure. Fast panchromatic films were used extensively; for night photography, with the aid of flash bombs, films of extreme speed were required.

The motion-picture industry with the cooperation of the photographic manufacturers released many hundreds of prints of the best feature pictures, short subjects, and newsreels for use in the entertainment programs in approximately 600 service camp theaters throughout the United States. Material for picture programs was also made available for use on vessels of the Navy and at distant points over the world where American troops were stationed.

Color Photography.

A new process of color photography for the amateur was announced in December 1941, and released commercially in January 1942, under the name Kodacolor. It was furnished in rolls which were exposed in the usual roll-film cameras in the same manner as black-and-white film. The exposed film was returned to the manufacturer for development to a color negative having a dye image in colors complementary to those of the original subject. Thus a green light would be magenta in the negative, blue sky would be yellow, and a red barn would appear as cyan or blue-green. Natural color prints on paper were made from the color negative by the processing laboratory on order from the customer. The negative material and the printing paper were manufactured by coating them with three light-sensitive layers containing tiny suspended particles of an oily material, in which were dissolved the organic compounds known as 'couplers' which formed the appropriate dye in each layer when they reacted with the oxidized developer.

Improvements were effected during the year in the technique used for the enlargement of 35-mm. Kodachrome transparencies which permitted 8 x 11-in. color prints to be made on regular order and still larger prints to an extreme size of 30 x 40 in. on special order. All such prints were made on a semi-opaque safety (cellulose acetate) base, and were processed by the manufacturer.

In July a color transparency process bearing the name Ansco Color was announced. It was stated that the amateur would be able to develop his own color prints by this method when it became commercially available after the war. No technical information on the process was published.

Two important announcements were made by the Technicolor Corporation during the year, namely, that 16-mm. Kodachrome film was being used for some studio photography from which 35-mm. prints were made in Technicolor, and, secondly, that the so-called integral tri-pack 35-mm. film (a Kodachrome-type film) was being used to a limited extent for camera work. From these transparencies, color separation negatives were prepared and, finally, Technicolor prints. One of the most beautiful Technicolor releases of the year was the animation feature picture, Bambi. This production was made by Disney, who used his multiplane camera to obtain stereo perspective for many of its scenes.

Amateur and Professional Photography.

Interest in photography apparently continued unabated throughout the year. The war obviously placed many restrictions on the amateur, but it also stimulated picture-taking by the soldier and his family. The manufacture of most photographic equipment was curtailed greatly during 1941 and practically ceased during 1942, except for military uses. A high priority was necessary to permit the purchase of precision miniature cameras or amateur motion-picture equipment in dealers' stocks. The leaf-foil Photoflash lamp was discontinued early in the year, and the number of styles of the shredded-foil and wire-filled lamps was reduced.

Salons and exhibitions of photography reflected the spirit of the war by the large percentage of prints of military character. One of the most forceful exhibits of the year was shown in May at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. It was entitled 'Road to Victory' and was arranged by Lieut. Comdr. Edward Steichen with captions by Carl Sandburg. Publications, especially the photographic magazines, continued to reproduce a large number of fine pictures. A somewhat wider use of color photographs was noted in several publications. Life magazine reproduced the first multiple high-speed color photographs: triple-flash pictures of ballet dancers made by Gjon Mili.

Temporary shortages of certain photographic chemicals occurred, but these did not compare with the lack of some chemicals which existed during the first World War. Occupation by the enemy of countries having the bulk of the world's tin supply forced the adoption of more glass and cardboard for use as chemical packages. Pyrogallol, a developing agent made from Chinese gall nuts, disappeared almost entirely from the market, but its loss was not serious as it had lost favor in recent years to other developing agents. Useful substitutes for constituents of stop baths and fixing baths, particularly for acetic acid, were described.

Small lightweight portable units for high-speed Photoflash photography were made available to the staff photographers of the Milwaukee Journal, probably the first newspaper in any country to make this type of equipment available to its staff. The most remarkable table-top photographs of battlegrounds and battles of the present war were prepared with great care by Normal Bel Geddes, well-known designer of miniature sets. Some of these pictures were so realistic that they appeared to have been made from an airplane flying over the actual battle area.

New Apparatus.

Several types of new lenses were made available to different branches of the armed forces, but information of their design will probably not be released until the end of the war. Data was published, however, on three new Ektar anastigmats of the following focal lengths: 8½, 10, and 12 in. Kingslake prepared a useful paper on lenses for aerial photography which reviewed the development of such lenses since 1914. The characteristics of wide-angle airplane-camera lenses were described by Washer in an article published by the National Bureau of Standards. Contrary to foreign propaganda, the quality of American lenses and optical glass for many years had not been surpassed by glasses made in other countries, notably Germany.

A new compact motion-picture camera was designed for use under the severe conditions of actual war combat. It was called the Cunningham Combat Camera and it had the following useful features: notched handgrips and shoulder stock permitting very rigid support of the camera during exposure, a quick-set four-lens turret, a large full-field finder, and a unique focusing device.

A portable 16-mm. motion-picture developing machine for reversal development of film was introduced by H. W. Houston, Hollywood, Calif. This company also supplied a portable 35-mm. developing machine.

Bornemann and Tuttle described an intensity-scale sensitometer which worked at the intensity-time levels found in practical photography. A direct-reading photoelectric densitometer having a reading range of 9.0 to 3.0 was designed by Sweet.

Applied and Scientific Photography.

Ohio State University offered the first academic degree, bachelor of fine arts in photography, to students who complete a new course which was announced during the year. Instruction will be given in all branches of fundamentals of the subject, as well as in microfilm processes, photographic shop management, and theory of photography.

American soldiers, sailors, marines, and other members of the armed forces were assured more rapid transmittal of their letters and of letters from their homefolk as a result of the establishment of the V-Mail system. This plan, a development of the Eastman Kodak Company, provided for microcopying every letter onto 16-mm. film, which was sent by rapid transportation to a location relatively near the addressee, where the tiny letters were enlarged photographically to one-half original size for delivery. Standard letter forms were available by fall of the year in every post office in the country as well as in Alaska, Hawaii, and other remote points in the world where American troops were located. In 1941 the same system was organized by Kodak Limited, under the name 'Airgraph,' for use between British troops in the Near East and England. It was extended very widely during 1942 to many parts of the British empire.

One of the most interesting examples of microfilm work during the year was the complete copy of the Seventh Symphony of the great Russian composer, Shostakovich. The total of 252 pages, said to have been written during the siege of Leningrad in 1941, were reduced onto 100 feet of 16-mm. film and then flown most of the way from Kuibyshev, U. S. S. R., to New York where the symphony was given its première on July 19 at the N.B.C. Studios under the direction of Toscanini. Microphotography thus made possible the playing of this great work in this country many months, or perhaps years, earlier than it would normally have been possible.

Several firms introduced new fine-grain x-ray films for industrial radiography which facilitated more rapid and accurate examination of metal parts of equipment and vehicles used in the war effort. The use of 4 x 5in. x-ray films for general radiographic examination of men for the armed forces was extended during the year. Special green-sensitive films were also being used quite extensively when photographing the x-ray image on a fluorescent screen.

Many new lines of research were simulated by the demands of the war, and the applications of photography in specialized fields were extended. When peace comes again the benefits of these new developments will probably be realized more fully.