AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



159 



AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



"A Bird on the plate is worth 2 in the bag" 

 CAMERA NOTES. 



G. S. PORTER. 



The markets are flooded with new de- 

 velopers. Pyro is still 35 cents an ounce, 

 and almost all professionals, as well as ex- 

 pert amateurs, use it. 



This is the time to catch exquisite land- 

 scape effects. There are nearly always 

 clouds in the winter skies. Negatives of 

 these should be developed and preserved. 



Why don't you write to the Ray Camera 

 Company about their offer of a free round 

 trip ticket to Paris in 1900? See their ad. 

 in Recreation and mention it. 



Oliver Lipencott, of Los Angeles, Cali- 

 fornia, whose work in photographing the 

 Grand Canyon of the Colorado is well 

 known throughout the country, has again 

 entered the canyon, with a complete outfit 

 for panoramic work. This consists of Zeiss 

 Anastigmat lenses of various series, from 

 high speed planer 6><x8^, working at 

 F4, into the wide angle series. Mr. Lip- 

 encott's work has been made possible by 

 the development of the liquid rayfilter, 

 which he always uses. The failure of many 

 expert photographers who have attempted 

 this subject has been due to the lack of a 

 suitable rayfilter for illuminating the haze 

 which continually fills the canyon. Mr. 

 Lipencott expects to return from this trip 

 hi time to participate photographically in 

 the snake dance of the Moqui Indians, 

 where he expects the high-speed shutter to 

 do effective work. As this dance begins 

 only an hour before sundown, it has here- 

 tofore baffled photographers. 



Western readers of Recreation may be 

 pleased to learn that they can get ray- 

 filters from Woodward, Clark & Co., Port- 

 land, Oregon,, without waiting to send 

 East. 



Wash bottles that have contained es- 

 sences with sulphuric acid and rinse well 

 with water. Bottles that have contained 

 resinous substances, with potash or soda. 

 Rinse with alcohol and then with water. 

 Bottles that have contained fatty matter 

 should be washed with benzine and rinsed 

 with water. 



A plate can be intensified by drying it in 

 the warmest place that will not injure the 

 emulsion and in a slight draft. 



Clean lenses by dusting with a sable 

 brush and swabbing with absorbent cotton, 

 wet in one ounce alcohol, 3 drops nitric 

 acid (C. P.) and 20 ounces distilled water. 

 Polish with a dustless chamois skin, kept 

 only for that purpose, in a tight box. 



Pyro, sulphite of soda and salsoda are 

 the staples of the best developers. Pyro 

 gives strength. Sulphite of soda preserves 

 the pyro and prevents yellow stains. Sal- 



soda yields detail by opening the pores of 



the emulsion and allowing the pyro to act 

 more freely. These 3 in proper proportion, 

 with a correctly timed negative and a dark 

 room temperature of 70 to 75 degrees F., 

 will yield a good negative in 3^ to 5 min- 

 utes. Too much pyro gives a contrast, with 

 proper time of development; too little gives 

 a weak, flat negative. Too much salsoda 

 clogs up the negative by forcing it. Too 

 little causes contrast and slow develop- 

 ment. 



Pyro stains can be removed from the 

 finger nails by a strong solution of chloride 

 of lime, ^ followed by a dilute solution of 

 citric acid and a thorough rinsing. This 

 may also remove the skin from fingers. 



Plates that are properly exposed, devel- 

 oped and dried need no intensification. 

 But how many amateur plates are properly 

 exposed? To t~v the effect of intensifica- 

 tion, especially with snapshot plates that 

 are universally weak from under exposure, 

 pick out a plate that would fill all your best 

 ideas of a good picture if it only had a little 

 more density and contrast and give it the 

 following treatment, using neatness and 

 despatch, with plenty of water: 



Wash the plate y 2 hour in running water, 

 to soak up the coating. Then lay it in a 5 

 per cent, solution of alum for 10 minutes. 

 Wash off the alum thoroughly. If you do 

 not it will turn the plate yellow in the in- 

 tensifier and ruin it. Then immerse the 

 plate in solution of 



Bichloride mercury ....240 grains 

 Chloride of ammonia. . .240 grains 

 Distilled water . 20 ounces 



Leave the plate in this solution until it 

 fades to a milky, opalescent white. The 

 longer it is left the greater will be its final 

 density. Do not be frightened when the 

 color begins to fade and think you have 

 ruined the plate. It will come all right in 

 the end. Wash thoroughly. Then flow 

 over it for a few seconds a solution of 



Chloride of ammonia . . .240 grains 

 Distilled water 20 ounces 



and wash well once more. Then place in 

 the final solution, 



Strong, clear ammonia. .1 dram 



Distilled water 8 ounces 



and leave until the white image has dark- 

 ened through to the back of the plate and 

 the whole plate assumes the required de- 

 gree of density. Do not make it too dense. 

 A few trials will teach you just what you 

 want. Give the plate a last thorough wash- 

 ing, and set it up to dry in the warmest 

 place that will not injure the coating, and 

 in a slight current of air if possible. 



This formula will intensify 4 plates; */> 

 the amount will answer for one. New trayf 

 must be used and the solutions kept flow 

 ing over the surface of the plate as in de 



