AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



407 



pleasing and less brilliant results. Harsh 

 negatives may be divided into 2 classes : 

 General harshness, that is, all over the 

 negative, and local harshness, such as the 

 whole of one side of an interior being dense 

 and the other side thin and void of detail. 

 One of the best methods of improving neg- 

 atives of the former class is that recom- 

 mended by Mr. T. N. Armstrong. The 

 negative to be modified by this method must 

 first be bound. This is done by placing 

 a clean glass against the film and binding 

 the edges together by means of lantern slide 

 binding slips. When set, the glasses should 

 be carefully cleaned, so as to remove any 

 finger marks or dirt. Then flow over the 

 glass side of the negative a little gelatine 

 chloride print-out emulsion. The negative 

 should then be laid flat in a dark place, free 

 from dust, to dry. When dry, place in the 

 ordinary printing frame, with the glass side 

 out, and the P. O. emulsion against the 

 back of the frame, close the spring of the 

 frame, and clean the glass. Then put in a 

 brilliant light to print. This should be 

 carried out till it is judged to be about the 

 depth of a finished print. All that then re- 

 mains to be done is to fix it. This may be 

 done by going over the emulsion several 

 times with a flat camel's hair brush dipped 

 in a strong solution of hypo. When it is 

 judged to be fixed enough, it should 

 be quickly washed under the tap, and 

 brushed over with alum solution, again 

 washed, and placed to dry. Care should be 

 taken that none of the above solutions are 

 allowed to go through the binding and 

 touch the film. The negative should then 

 be unbound and placed in the frame, the 

 original film side in. On the glass side of 

 the negative will be found a positive image. 

 If the light is allowed to pass through this 

 while printing, it will considerably harmon- 

 ize the result. 



Another method, not so complicated as 

 the above, will give equally good results. 

 Wash well in water the negative to be 

 treated, and then place in a solution of 



Bromide of potassium 1 drm. 



Bichromate of potash 30 grs. 



Water 6 ozs. 



It should be left in the solution till it is 

 bleached through to the glass, washed, and 

 redeveloped with hydroquinone developer. 

 Any good formula for developing plates 

 will do, but the following is recommended : 



A. — Hydroquinone 1 drm. 



Sulphite of soda 4 drms. 



Acetic acid i x / 2 drms. 



Water 5 ozs. 



B. — Carbonate of potassium 2 drms. 



Water 2]/ 2 ozs. 



The development should be carried on 

 until the details in the shadows begin to 

 appear. By holding it up to ■ transmitted 



light, the results can easily be judged. 

 When the high lights and shadows har- 

 monize, the negative should be taken out, 

 washed, and placed in an ordinary fixing 

 bath for negatives. By this method either 

 a soft or a plucky negative may be ob- 

 tained. Another formula for harmonizing 

 negatives is : 



Potassium bichromate 30 grs. 



Alum 150 grs. 



Hydrochloric acid 2 drms. 



Water 8 ozs. 



Negatives placed in this solution require 

 the same treatment and development as de- 

 tailed above. 



Negatives may also be stained so as to 

 harmonize the result. The only objection 

 to this method is that it takes longer to 

 print the negatives. The negative requir- 

 ing treatment must first be placed in a so- 

 lution of — 



Bichromate of potassium 2 drms. 



Water 8 ozs. 



for 5 minutes, after which it should be 

 taken out and dried in the dark. When 

 dry, it should, be placed, face down, on a 

 piece of black cloth, and exposed to strong 

 daylight for 10 minutes, after which it 

 should be well washed. The light has 

 by that time influenced the high lights in 

 such a way that they will not soak up any 

 color, and the half tones and shadows will 

 soak up in proportion. The negative must 

 then be placed in a weak aqueous solution 

 of some pigment — blue or green, or a mix- 

 ture of both. It will absorb the color in 

 proportion to the silver reduced in the film. 

 If too much color has been absorbed, it 

 can be reduced by careful washing under 

 the tap. Another good method, which will 

 answer as well as the above, though it is 

 rather tedious, is to coat the back of the 

 negative with matt varnish, or to cover it 

 with a sheet of tracing paper, and with a 

 stump and some Conte chalk go over the 

 thin parts. Black lead will do as well as 

 the chalk. 



Tissue paper will also do in the place of 

 tracing paper, but the high lights must be 

 gone over afterward with a brush dipped 

 in vaseline so as to render them transpar- 

 ent. Negatives dense on one side and thin 

 on the other may be improved in printing 

 by stretching across the printing frame a 

 piece of tissue paper, covering only the 

 side that is thin. Negatives sometimes 

 show clouds which will not print out 

 because of the density of the sky. These 

 clouds may be obtained in the print by cov- 

 ering the lower portion of the negative 

 with a piece of cardboard until the clouds 

 are a satisfactory depth, then removing 

 the cardboard and allowing the lower por- 

 tion to print. 



— Osborn Thornbery in The Amateur Pho- 

 tographer. 



