Cameramen

EARLY TECHNIQUES • Although this shot (from the easy on the eye collection) was probably taken in the 1960s in Mexico, and is being used for street portraits rather than walkies, the camera dates from much earlier and shows how the first Walkie pictures were taken. The operator is using paper negatives, which are developed in a tray in the camera body. This is then quickly washed and dried and rephotographed using the stand seen below the lens, which flips up. This second paper negative then comes out as a positive print, which is developed, washed and fixed in the pan seen below the camera, then dried and sold to the customer. All this was done in just a few minutes. The end prints were not especially durable as the rapid processing often didn’t stabilise the image properly.