AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



243 



For the holders saw a half inch board 

 long enough to fit tightly the shortest way 

 across the box, and about 3 l / 2 or 4 inches 

 high, or the whole height of the box if pre- 

 ferred. Bore 3 or more holes one-quarter 

 inch in diameter in the bottom of this 

 board, as shown in diagram herewith, and 

 put the board into the box. Get 2 strips 

 of one-half inch stuff about 3 inches wide, 

 and the same length as the board. Make 

 as many grooves or cuts in the strips as 

 you wish. The diagram shows 13. Make 

 these 2 strips exactly alike. Nail one on 

 the board as shown on diagram and the 

 other on the opposite side of the box from 

 where the board will be put. Put the board, 

 strip outward, one-half inch from the 

 shortest end of the box, fit tightly, and nail. 

 The other strip nail directly opposite, about 

 i l /2 inches from the bottom. Be sure the 

 plates fit into these groves easily, before the 

 final nailing. Bore a hole in the box one- 

 half inch from top on same side where the 

 small strip is nailed, to let the water run 

 •out. The diagram shows the whole system. 

 Varnish the box with shellac after puttying 

 all the cracks. 



If the water runs too fast, tie a twine 

 around the rubber tube to check the flow. 

 'This system is cheap, reliable and does its 

 work quickly. The water flows in below 

 and goes out with hypo at the top, while 

 the plates are on the edge. The space that 

 is left open on top between the board and 

 the strip can be closed by nailing a small 

 strip across so as to force the water through 

 the holes at the bottom of the board. 



Edgar R. Thome. 



PRACTICAL ADVICE. 



Flour paste, beaten thoroughly and well 

 boiled, with a few drops of oil of cloves 

 and a little alcohol added makes a mount- 

 ing paste which keeps well. 



Many amateur photographers will en- 

 deavor to secure snow scenes at this sea- 

 son of the year, and it may. save them dis- 

 appointment and loss of material to know 

 beforehand that their principal source of 

 failure 'would be over exposure. Show 

 scenes are more difficult to render than 

 any other branch of the art, not excepting 

 portraits. In the latter, under exposure is 

 most common, but over exposure is al- 

 most always present in snow pictures. The 

 light that is reflected from the snow is 

 under estimated, and a stop half the size 

 that would be used in ordinary circum- 

 stances will be about right. The point of 

 view should be chosen so as to 'bring some 

 dark object in the foreground, and if the 

 snow lies smooth it should be broken by 

 footprints or mounds before exposing, so 

 as to give some light and shade to what 

 would otherwise be a flat, uninteresting 

 picture. 



A short exposure gives brilliancy, which 

 is characteristic of sunshine. A prolonged 

 exposure gives a negative that will con- 

 vert the brightest day into an effect re- 

 sembling the shades of evening. 



Some developers, such as metol, rodinal, 

 weak pyro, bring out detail early in devel- 

 opment, and gain slowly in density. Others, 

 as hydroquinone and strong pyro, gain 

 density rapidly. All, however, give identi- 

 cal results if carried to the same stage, 

 but in general practice it is found advis- 

 able to combine a rapid developer for detail 

 and a slow developer for density. 



Print or negative washing dishes made 

 of metal soon wear out. A satisfactory 

 investment for this purpose was an empty 

 butter tub from the grocery. A small hole 

 drilled near the bottom carries away the 

 dissolved hypo. Set under a tap, with the 

 water regulated to keep the tub just full, 

 it needs no further attention. Plates can 

 be put in a washing rack and lowered in 

 the bucket. 



To find the exact focus of a lens, focus 

 any object, a foot rule for example, so 

 the image on the screen is the exact size 

 of the object itself. Measure from focus- 

 ing screen to the object and Y of that dis- 

 tance is the focus of the lens. 



Brown wrapping paper, such as is used 

 in hardware stores, is a good thing on 

 which to mount warm-toned prints. If the 

 print is first mounted on a piece of white 

 paper so as to show a marginal white line, 

 1-16 inch, the effect is much better. 



To develop films in the roll, take 2 bowls 

 or small basins from the kitchen, in one 

 put clean water in the other the developer. 

 Take hold of each end of the film with a 

 wooden clip clothes-pin and pass it 

 through the water in a seesaw motion, 

 then through the developer until develop- 

 ment is complete. 



Artistic fuzzytypes can be printed from 

 sharp negatives by placing a sheet of glass 

 or celluloid between print and negative, 

 and printing at the bottom of a deep box. 

 — The Camera and Dark Room. 



THE CHEMISTRY OF PYRO DEVELOP- 

 MENT. 



Constantly changing conditions of light 

 and temperature may make it necessary at 

 times to change the proportions of the dif- 

 ferent chemicals given in developing form- 

 ulas. The effect of each ingredient on the 

 plate is as follows : 



Pyro is the agent that gives strength. 



Sulphite of soda preserves the pyro and 

 prevents the negative from staining yellow. 



Sal soda gives detail by softening and 

 opening the pores of the film, causing the 

 pyro to penetrate and act more vigorously. 



If pyro alone were used, the development 

 would be slow and decomposition of the. 



