Arthur Hammond Quotes

The lack of hard edges and the entire absence of that biting hardness of definition that is unavoidable with some lenses is just what the picture maker wants.

The picture-space should be filled, but need not be crowded, and it must be remembered that in judging balance, not only the masses of the subject, but also the shapes of the area remaining after being cut into by the outlines of these masses, have a bearing on the general design of the picture.

A. J. Anderson says: "Expose for the tones that are most desired."

Practically speaking, the securing of true tones in a photograph depends entirely upon the exposure.

...even if our range of tones is shorter and we have to compress the tones into a shorter scale, we can preserve truth of value only by keeping the tones in about the same relative proportions. We should make our lightest tone light and our darkest tone dark, and then get in as many tones as we can in between.

Where light falls on an object and is reflected back to the eye, we see a highlight; where it strikes at an angle and is reflected back other than directly to the eye we see halftones; where no direct light falls on the object we have shadows: and these highlights, halftones and shadows are modified by light reflected into them by other objects and by other parts of the same object.

A photograph can be made with an uncorrected lens, or with no lens at all by making an exposure through a fine needle-hole in a thin metal disc, and the result may be a picture showing the characteristic virtue of photography, the rendering of infinitely delicate gradations of tone. This is where photography stands alone, and this is the distinguishing quality which has given it a place among the fine arts.

So photography, having a place among artistic processes, has its own distinguishing quality which cannot be duplicated by any other medium.

Too many lines and too many objects of equal importance in a picture will cause confusion, discomfort and eye-strain.

The main object of interest should not be in the exact centre of picture-space, because that is where we imagine the fulcrum of the steelyard balance to be.

A curved line, as a rule, will convey an impression of beauty more strongly than a straight line; a curve can be vastly more satisfying and pleasing than a tangent.

Lines have expression, and by the use of lines alone we can suggest impressions.

The areas of tones are called masses and, whatever the subject of picture may be, its success as a picture depends very largely on the effectiveness of the spacing and massing.

...I would recommend the photographer to regard the focusing-screen of his camera as a space to be divided into a pleasing pattern, rather than as a glass on which a reduced facsimile of a scene or view or a miniature likeness of a person can be seen.

...but the fundamental element of picture-making is the cutting of the picture-space by lines or edges of tones, and this is what is known as "spacing".