Don't do it

[markbarendt]

It truly amazes me how much of what one needs to know about being a photographer can be put in a single paragraph.

Just a few words of practical advice in regard to the use of these lenses. Always fully expose, as you then get the best work out of your lens. Under-exposure (bad in any case) plays you queer pranks when the S. A. Lens is used. Never stop down to any great extent, as in so doing you lose much of the special quality of the lens. When you first get a P. & S. S.A. [Pinkham & Smith Semi-Achromatic] Lens, it is a good plan to take a nice, quiet, still-life subject, and practice focusing it as a large, light colored object that you can readily see. It might be interesting, also, to slip your ordinary lens on the camera, and make two comparative exposures. This kind of practice teaches you more than any amount of talk. I must warn you, however, of a danger if you make the comparative exposures that I have just referred to - you will probably throw the ordinary lens away. Don't do it. It is a salable commodity.

Coburn c. 1912 [Alvin Langdon Coburn]

To me this says; learn how to meter and respect your films limits, revel in your lens's strengths, learn how to focus to get what you want, compare the results of one change at a time, practice is the best teacher, and you may as well be prudent because there are many people who don't know any better.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

Thanks for posting this Mark.

 

[markbarendt]

desertratt, I don't think we really disagree. Sure, taking sayings literally and at face value can lead the wrong way, but we can surely apply the basic lessons they teach.

Many years ago I became a Private Pilot and learned how to do weight & balance calculations, later in life I started doing mechanics on oil field equipment that required aligning the rotating and connected bits or two very large and heavy pieces of equipment; the math formulas required in these disparate tasks is essentially the same.

One of the lessons I see in "Don't do it. It's a salable commodity." is "don't worry about what others think."