Alfred Schultz Album ; photographer R . Hofmann
At last we get to see Hofmann ’ s camera , which produced glass plate negatives . He set it up in front of the Stünzner children then moved sideways to shoot the children with another ( probably roll film ) camera . Albi is entertaining his siblings . Mary Ellen hovers in the cabin doorway .
Glass plate cameras were fading out of use at this time because they were so bulky , but in the hands of an expert could produce brilliant results .
Glass plates with dry gelatine emulsion were carried to site along with the camera . These plates were in light-proof sleeves . The photographer had a glass focusing plate on the back of the camera that he used to get the focus right . Then the photographic glass plate sleeve was clipped on or inserted and a dark slide removed to ready the plate for the exposure . It is probable that Hofmann developed his own plates in a darkroom on Motuihe rather than sent them away to Auckland for processing .
| To Walk Under Palm Trees - The Germans in Samoa : Snapshots from Albums | Tony Brunt
94