AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



161 



tives from them tor the purpose of making 

 the final pictures. This is necessary on ac- 

 count of the small size of the negatives and 

 prints received, and on account of the poor 

 quality of most of them, as they have been 

 taken under disadvantageous circum- 

 stances, often by persons inexperienced in 

 the handling of their cameras, and at times 

 under circumstances when it would have 

 been impossible to have taken any other 

 kind of pictures. After obtaining as much 

 material as possible, the final compilation 

 will be made. 



"This work is important, having already 

 served to determine disputed questions. It 

 is thought that in time, the collection will 

 be of such value as to induce Congress to 

 publish it for distribution to libraries 

 throughout the country/' — The Profes- 

 sional Photographer. 



DEVELOPING LARGE BROMIDE PRINTS. 



After 2 or 3 years' trial I have concluded 

 that the best way of developing bromide 

 prints of large size is by means of a brush. 

 By that method only could I get com- 

 plete control over the finished picture, and 

 how many negatives are made that have 

 the right density all over? Most negatives 

 have some small part that would be better 

 either printed darker or lighter. 



The way I have found most convenient 

 is to use a board instead of a dish, such 

 board Laving an edge all round not more 

 than x /\ inch high, which is just to keep 

 the developer from running off and making 

 a mess. The board is water-proofed by 

 varnishing 2 or 3 times with a mixture of 

 paraffin wax and benzine collas. This must 

 be done out of doors, on account of the 

 inflammable nature of the benzine. 



The print is laid on this board, and 

 mopped with water on the face, and then 

 on the back. It will then lie flat. The 

 board is then tilted, and the excess water 

 runs off. 



The developer is then applied in the 

 same way. This being weak, there is 

 plenty of time to bring up any part that 

 requires it by using a stronger developer, 

 applied locally by means of another brush, 

 and any part that is rather quick can be 

 slowed down in the same way, using water 

 instead of developer. As soon as develop- 

 ment is complete, the print is transferred 

 to the fixing bath, without washing. 



Always use a fresh fixing bath with each 

 batch of prints, as a bath discolored with 

 oxidized developer has a reducing action 

 on the print. 



The developer I like best for this work 

 is as follows: 



(i)Hydroquinone 160 grains 



- Bromide of potassium. . 20 grains 

 Water 20 ounces 



Sulphite of soda 2 ounces 



(2) Soda hydrate 80 grains 



Water 20 ounces 



Weak developer — 1 part No. 1, 1 part No. 

 2 and 2 parts water. 



Strong developer— 1 part No. 1, and 1 

 part No. 2. — The Professional Photog- 

 rapher. 



A FEW NOTES ON RETOUCHING AND SHADOW 

 PICTURES. 



T. A. MORGAN, 



In the Professional Photographer. 



Retouching is one of the most important 

 branches of protography. No photograph- 

 er can succeed unless he be a first-class re- 

 toucher. I always use a 34 pencil for gen- 

 eral work, but of course have all kinds on 

 hand to be used when wanted. Do not 

 put on much lead. What you do use, put 

 on as lightly as possible. Don't do too 

 much work on a negative. The old bil- 

 liard ball retouching is a thing of the past, 

 and the aim now is for artistic retouching. 

 Before you finish a negative always sit 

 back and inspect it from a distance. You 

 can see large shadows that you can never 

 see if you are close to it. These can be 

 removed by a few strokes of the pencil, and 

 then you get that beautiful soft finish, 

 which is the aim of modern retouching. A 

 few light strokes of the pencil in the right 

 place will do more good than 3 hours' hard 

 work by an incompetent retoucher. A sharp 

 knife is a wonderful help, and almost any- 

 thing can be done with it. Never change 

 the likeness of the face, but remove all 

 blemishes. Be sure to cover the collar 

 bones, and remove all freckles from the 

 faces of the ladies. Always aim to make 

 people better looking without changing the 

 likeness. I find the outline or shadow pic- 

 ture quite a money making specialty. I 

 make these in the following manner: Pose 

 the sitter before a white background as for 

 an ordinary profile. Then fire a flashlight 

 behind your sitter so as to get no light be- 

 tween the lens and the sitter. Develop with 

 a developer strong in pyro, to give con- 

 trast. You then have a negative with clear 

 glass in the face and with a white back- 

 ground. If it is not white enough only a 

 little time is needed to block it out with 

 India ink and then proceed to finish as 

 from any other negative. By my method 

 it is necessary to make these pictures after 

 dark. 



PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE BOER WAR. 



One of the most remarkable innovations 

 in warfare is being tested in South Africa. 

 Lieut. Foulkes, a young officer of the Roy- 

 al Engineers, has been detailed to employ 

 photography as a means of indicating the 

 exact position and formation of the enemy. 

 He uses a telephoto equipment of his own 



