AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



79 



thus seen brightly illumJnated. The brush 

 is known to the trade as a spotting out 

 brush, or artist's pencil. It may be bought 

 at any artists' supply store for a few cents. 

 It is one of the smallest brushes made. 

 The hairs should be about % inch long, 

 elastic though not very stiff, and the brush 

 when wet should have a fine point. The 

 pigment is the ordinary china or India ink 

 sold in stick form. A 5-cent stick is suf- 

 ficient for a lifetime. 



Place the negative on the easel and with 

 the brush lightly charged apply ink to 

 any spots of clear glass you wish to fill. 

 The brush, which is charged by dipping it 

 in water and drawing it over the stick of 

 ink, must be applied to the glass in a series 

 of delicate touches. Stroking the glass is 

 not the way' to handle the brush; light 

 stippling is what is required. Care must 

 be taken not to have too much water on 

 trie brush, as the result will be destructive 

 to the work already done, and will make 

 the ink flow to the edges of the spot. It 

 is better to work slowly and to go over 

 the same places several times than to 

 hurry. If there be too much ink on any 

 part it may be removed by lightly picking 

 it off with a sharp pointed instrument, like 

 a brad awl. 



The entire operation is one requiring 

 ?reat care and delicacy of touch, and good 

 work is seldom done without long ex- 

 perience. Spotting out pinholes is easy, 

 but when it is an extensive scratch that is 

 to be treated, it is another matter. 



Spotting out prints is simply applying to 

 the paper a suitable pigment which will 

 blend with the color of the print. On 

 solio and similar papers Venetian red is 

 sometimes used. On black and white pic- 

 tures the India ink is the best medium. 



While it is better to have all changes 

 made on the negative, it is sometimes im- 

 possible to secure the desired result with- 

 out a combination of the 2 methods — doing 

 the principal work on the negative and 

 finishing by slightly touching up the print. 

 Jas. W. Manson, Troy, N. Y. 



SAVING THE CLOUDS. 

 In the first place, use orthochromatic 

 plates. Their manipulation is exactly the 

 same as that of the ordinary plate, and 

 their rendering of clouds and distance is 

 so far superior that they are by long odds 

 the best plate for outdoor work. The sky 

 being by far the most strongly lighted 

 part of the view is, under ordinary circum- 

 stances, always over-exposed. So the de- 

 velopment necessary for the balance of the 

 plate carries it clear beyond the point 

 where the delicate lights and shadows of 

 the clouds will print, leaving the sky as 

 viewed on the negative a blank, opaque 

 expanse. 



Here are 2 methods for "saving" the 

 clouds, either of which will much improve 

 the negative: In one the end is accom- 

 plished by restraining the development of 

 that part of the plate, and in the other by 

 local reduction after the negative is de- 

 veloped and fixed. 



In the former, as soon as the sky and 

 clouds appear fairly well defined remove 

 the plate from the developer, and, with a 

 tuft of absorbent cotton wet in a 10 per 

 cent, solution of bromide of potash, rub 

 the part of the plate you wish to restrain 

 lightly but briskly with a circular motion, 

 getting as close to the sky line as conve- 

 nient. Return plate to the developer and 

 finish as usual. With everything ready, ap- 

 plying the bromide need not keep the plate 

 out of the developer but a few seconds. 



When using the other method the plate 

 is developed and fixed as usual. Have on 

 hand a saturated solution of red prussiate 

 of potash, and mix a little of it with about 

 4 times its volume of water. Exact 

 strength does not matter. When thor- 

 oughly fixed take negative from the hypo 

 and apply the potash solution to the sky 

 with a tuft of cotton, in the same way as 

 when using the bromide. Watch the effect 

 closely and return the negative to the hypo 

 occasionally for 2 or 3 seconds at a time, 

 to blend the reduction between sky and 

 landscape. 



This latter method will be found excel- 

 lent for the reduction of any of the harsh 

 high lights which are frequently found on 

 negatives. A. Neal, Macon, Col. 



PLEASE READ THE CONDITIONS. 



Many of my readers who have sent in 

 pictures for the photo competition seem 

 not to have read carefully the conditions 

 governing the contest. 



One paragraph in these conditions, 

 which has been printed in every issue of 

 Recreation the last 6 months, reads: 



"Subjects are limited to wild animals, 

 birds, camp scenes, and to figures or 

 groups of persons, or domestic animals, 

 representing, in a truthful manner, shoot- 

 ing, fishing, amateur photography, bicy- 

 cling, sailing, or other form of outdoor or 

 indoor sport or recreation." 



Notwithstanding this plain, simple rule, 

 some 200 pictures were submitted which 

 are not admissible under any of the 

 heads given. For instance, one of these, 

 entitled, "My Assistant Bookkeeper," 

 shows a little girl sitting at a desk. An- 

 other shows a group of darkies standing 

 near a house and doing nothing but star- 

 ing at the camera. Another is a moon- 

 light view of a portion of London, Ont. 

 Several others show bunches of cattle, 

 sheep or horses. Still another shows a 

 bird's eye view of a part of Chicago, from 



