AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



407 



brands, and they do not come up to my 

 expectations nor to results I have obtained. 

 I am not stuck on myself, but am on the 

 the paper I use, namely, Vinco, in carbon 

 matt. Amateurs, as a rule, do not realize 

 that good negatives are required to make 

 good prints. They are inclined to think 

 any old negative should yield a good 

 print; but such is not the case, as they 

 will find out sooner or later. Except for 

 portraits, which I consider above the aver- 

 age amateur unless he be equipped with 

 both special appliances and special skill, I 

 consider carbon matt Vinco the simplest 

 developing paper on the market for ama- 

 teurs and the one that will give the best 

 results. 



In working Vinco paper, do not use day- 

 light. Be content with an oil lamp, with 

 a small wick, which does not give a great 

 heat-producing flame. A small 25-cent 

 lamp, with $/% or % inch wick, is sufficient. 

 Expose about 8 inches from the lamp, 

 turning the frame during exposure, to in- 

 sure even exposure, using only a small 

 piece to test by. When the correct ex- 

 posure has been ascertained full size sheets 

 may be used. The developer should be 

 fresh and strong. I use a metol-hydro 

 with bromide of potassium. Too much 

 bromide or over exposure is certain to 

 give olive green prints. One advantage 

 which Vinco has over all other developing 

 papers is the alum and salt short stop 

 which stops development instantly. Where 

 some portions of the print develop more 

 rapidly than others, the short stop may 

 be applied with the finger, arresting devel- 

 opment at any particular place or stage 

 and allowing the other portions to develop 

 fully. Negatives will often yield better 

 prints by a little manipulation of that kind. 

 Take, for instance, a view of a park when 

 the trees are in full foliage. Unless cor- 

 rectly exposed and developed parts of the 

 negative will show almost clear glass while 

 other portions will be dense. Such a nega- 

 tive should be "masked," but not many 

 amateurs take time to do this, thinking it 

 too much trouble. Such is not the case. 

 I have a negative of a small stream, with 

 the trees on either side leaning toward the 

 stream and forming an arch so dense that 

 sunlight cannot penetrate. I made an ex- 

 posure and even with careful development, 

 of over an hour, the result was not per- 

 fect. The print, however, is all that can 

 be desired. I merely used a piece of card- 

 board, larger than the frame, with a hole 

 roughly torn out, and gave the whole plate 

 5 seconds exposure. Don't cut smooth 

 edges in masks. Then I placed the mask 

 before the frame, keeping it in constant 

 motion just in front of the dense portions. 

 They required 55 seconds more exposure 

 than the other parts. I have a print which 



is a gem. Try it and don't think it can't 

 be done. If your first trial does not yield 

 a perfect print try again. I made 8 or 10 

 prints before I had the proper exposure. 



About 75 per cent, of exposures are too 

 short. The development of most negatives 

 is what ruins them. Amateurs, as a rule, 

 force development. They are anxious to 

 "see what it looks like." I recently de- 

 veloped a roll of film, 12 snaps, which 

 took me over 3 hours. I used a fresh di- 

 luted developer, weak in alkali, pouring it 

 away and making up a fresh lot as the 

 one being used became exhausted. Re- 

 sult, 10 good negatives. A few evenings 

 later I called on another friend who said 

 I was just in time to see him rush a dozen 

 films through. He did rush them; using 

 a developer strong in alkali. The results 

 were accordingly. The next time you go 

 out give, instead of 8f 1-25 or, worse yet. 

 1-100, longer exposures, using a small 

 enough stop to give a sharp image. De- 

 velop slowly, and you will be surprised at 

 the difference. 



A 4x5 lens should have not less than an 

 8-inch focus. Don't try to get 4/3 of the 

 universe on one plate. Be satisfied with 

 a small bit, which may be selected from 

 any large landscape. Do not take snow 

 scenes except early or late in the day. 

 You can then obtain long shadows instead 

 of chalky and sooty effects. 



TRANSPARENCIES FOR ENLARGED NEGATIVES. 



When making transparencies for en- 

 larged negatives, says Harold Baker, in 

 Photographic Scraps, the means employed 

 must depend on the density of the origi- 

 nal negative. When it is of good density a 

 carbon transparency is usually made, but 

 the negative may perhaps be too dense or 

 too thin to give a good carbon transpa- 

 rency, and, besides, many people do not 

 care to buy sensitive tissue for enlarging 

 one or 2 negatives. It is possible, oi 

 course, to sensitize the tissue so as to 

 make it suitable for negatives of almost 

 any density; but few photographers, ex- 

 cept those who use large quantities, will 

 go to the trouble of sensitizing their own 

 tissue, and prefer to fall back on ordi- 

 nary dry plates, or perhaps lantern plate-. 

 As there is such a large choice as regards 

 speed and power of giving density, this 

 plan is a good and convenient one. 

 It is possible to entirely alter the char 

 acter of the large negative, as compared 

 with the original, by a judicious choice of 

 plate. This latitude is so great that it is 

 possible, by using a quick plate, to pro 

 duce a transparency by contact that will 

 give a broad, soft, diffused effect, in the 

 large negative, from an original that was 

 hard and chalky. And on the other hand 



