4io 



RECREATION. 



and now I lay it all to her that I have be- 

 come a camera fiend. Her advice is all 

 right. After reading her articles, and 

 every one of the back numbers of Recre- 

 ation. I bought a camera and started in. 

 Have just used 3 dozen plates, and have 

 some pictures I am proud of. My friends 

 say I have done well, considering that I 

 press the button and do the rest myself. I 

 send you a picture of our cycle path; we 

 have about 20 miles of just such dense 

 shade. 



Harry P., Seattle, Wash. 



This picture is excellent. — Editor. 



Will the following formula produce pa- 

 per which is practically the same as the 

 ferro-prussiate paper? 



Compound of citrate of iron and am- 

 monia, 1 ounce 7 drachms dissolved in 8 

 ounces of water. 



Red prussiate of potash, 1 ounce 2 

 drachms, dissolved in 8 ounces of water. 



Mix the 2 solutions in equal parts. 



Wm. I. Brock, Ames, la. 



ANSWER. 



The formula is all right, and when 

 brushed on good white paper will produce 

 ferro-prussiate paper. Coat the paper 

 quickly, brushing both ways to avoid 

 streaks. Coat and dry in a dimly day- 

 lighted room or by gaslight. Don't make 

 up more than % the quantity, as the solu- 

 tions do not keep well, and the mixed 

 solution is only good when quickly used. 

 Keep solutions in bottles wrapped in black 

 paper. — Editor. 



Recreation's Fifth Annual Photo Com- 

 petition is now open, and Mr. Fee has con- 

 sented to offer a round-trip ticket, St. Paul 

 to Cinnabar and return, as a special prize 

 for the best photograph of a live, wild ani- 

 mal or bird, made in the Yellowstone Park, 

 and entered in this competition . 



Therefore, if you are going to make a 

 trip this summer go to the Park. Take 

 your camera with you. There is no close 

 season in the Park on camera hunters, and 

 no licenses required to shoot with that kind 

 of weapon. 



Then, if you capture this special prize 

 which Mr. Fee offers, you can go again 

 next year, or send your best girl, or your 

 mother, or your brother, or some other 

 chum. 



I lately learned an excellent method of 

 making perfect prints from cracked nega- 

 tives. Secure a board slightly larger than 

 your printing frame and in each corner 

 drive a tack. To each tack tie a string. 

 Knot the strings together some distance 

 above the board, attaching to them another 

 and longer string. By this string suspend 

 the apparatus in the sun, and lay the 



loaded printing frame on the board. Then 

 start the string to twisting by whirling the 

 board, and it will do the rest. The light, 

 striking the crack at all angles, does not 

 reproduce it on the print. 



H. L. Hill, Lake Mills, la. 

 Replying to A. G., Hartford, Conn., in 

 May Recreation: If the developer used 

 is clear working, obtained by the addition 

 of a small amount of bromide of potas- 

 sium, the development is the same as 

 usual. Good results in cloud photography 

 can not be obtained without the use of an 

 iso-chromatic or other color value plate. 

 Cloud photographs on ordinary plates are 

 poor; on ordinary plates with the use of 

 a color screen the results are slightly bet- 

 ter; while a combination of slow iso-plate 

 and color screen gives the best results. 

 The difference between the last 2 nega- 

 tives, however, will be slight. 



S. E. C, San Francisco, Cal. 



In a recent lecture on the photographic 

 work of the expedition made by Sir Mar- 

 tin Conway, "Crossing Spitzbergen," Mr. 

 E. T. Garwood stated that the chief photo- 

 graphic difficulty was a lack of density in 

 the negatives taken, doubtless owing to the 

 long period elapsing between exposure 

 and development. I have already re- 

 marked on the fading of the latent image 

 in some makes of bromide papers where 

 development was delayed. It would be in- 

 teresting to know whether this defect is 

 inherent in all sensitive photographic sur- 

 faces or is confined to certain makes. 



Will you please publish a formula for 

 making a transparent paste for mounting 

 photos on glass paper weights? 2. What 

 shade or color should a photograph be 

 when toned in the platinum bath men- 

 tioned in November, 1898, Recreation? 

 Lloyd O. Ingalls, West Durham, Me. 



ANSWER. 



i. Try good white shellac, quite thin. 2, 

 From olive brown to olive black. With 

 some papers pure jet blacks can be ob- 

 tained. — Editor. 



White draperies are apt to give in re- 

 production a too white and detailless re- 

 sult. A great improvement is to dye them 

 slightly with an infusion of coffee. The 

 idea is old, but it is one of those little 

 things which the photographer of genre 

 subjects will do well to bear in mind. 



M. Massias, in several Continental con- 

 temporaries, mentions a simple method of 

 preparing a print for the application of 

 colors. Simply rub over the surface with 

 a freshly cut slice of potato, 



