320 



RECREA TION. 



HIS TALE OF WOE. 



Brooklyn, N. Y. 



Mister Editor : I am a dealer in cameras 

 and photographic stock. The readers of 

 the photo, department in Recreation 

 naturally know all about photography. 

 However, some of them may go to a photo 

 supply store to buy, and wonder why the 

 salesman has " that tired " look. I know 

 why. I often wonder how soon I shall be 

 fit for a lunatic asylum. As I stand behind 

 my counter Miss Smith, who has a P. K. 

 camera,, brings some films to be developed. 

 As she gracefully sweeps out of the door, 

 she turns and says, " By the way, Mr. Dark- 

 room, when I took that film out of the 

 camera I found* a long string of yellow wax 

 paper inside. Was that good for anything?" 

 She had brought the black backing paper 

 only. 



Next comes Mr. Brown. He is a, staid 

 business man, who has made half a million 

 through his own ingenuity and brain work. 

 For the third time he had his B. E. loaded 

 with film around the outside of the back- 

 board. Consequently only a small round 

 picture, I inch in diameter, appeared on his 

 3>2-inch film. When told he has loaded his 

 camera wrong, he gets mad, and says if we 

 knew our business we would develop the 

 whole of the picture, and not a little round 

 spot in the center, only. 



All this within half an hour. It is the 

 same all day. John Darkroom. 



HOW TO CURE THEM. 

 What is the best method of retouching 

 spots and pin-holes in negatives? 



Arthur R. Griswold, 

 241 Laurel st, Hartford, Conn. 



A small box of ordinary water-colors is 

 useful for this purpose. If holes or spots 

 are in a dense sky, any opaque substance, 

 with which to fill the holes, is satisfactory ; 

 but other parts of the negative can be spot- 

 ted with transparent color, blue or red, 

 using a fine-pointed sable brush. A little 

 practice will soon show how thick or how 

 thin to put color into spots, so as to print 

 even with the rest of the negative. 



Yellow stains in negatives can be re- 

 moved by using the following solution : 



Water 20 ounces 



Sulphate of iron 3 " 



Sulphuric acid 1 ounce 



Alum 1 " 



Dissolve the sulphate of iron and alum in 

 the water first ; then add the sulphuric acid 

 slowly, continually agitating the solution. 



A NEW PRINT PAPER. 



Make a mixture of pure gum Arabic and 

 water. Grind into it Venetian red, Prussian 

 blue, Vandyke brown, or any dry color. 

 Squeeze through a fine cloth to get rid of 

 grit, taking care not to have the mass too 



thick. Then with a soft brush eoat a stout 

 piece of paper — helios will do — evenly and 

 thinly. Allow to dry, then float it on a bath 

 of 5 per cent, solution of bichromate of 

 potash (1 oz. in 5 oz. water) for 3 to 5 min- 

 utes. Float or brush the back only, as the 

 solution will dissolve the gum arabic. 

 When dry, print in strong sunlight, and 

 develop with hot water. Any color may be 

 obtained in this manner. I have made nice 

 prints by this method. 



Make solution in the dark, dissolve the 

 gum, and add the dry color. It must be 

 used within a day or 2. The unsensitized 

 coated paper may be kept for weeks, and 

 floated or brushed as needed. 



A little practice is required both in mak- 

 ing and manipulating this paper. C. 



KITS. 



Kits are used in making pictures smaller 

 than size of plate holder. Those sold are 

 made of thin wood with strips across the 

 corners. They cost about 30 cents, each, 

 but may be made for less. Take a good 

 card, about the thickness of a plate, mark 

 the exact center, and cut it out. Tack on 2 

 corners, with copper tacks, narrow- strips of 

 zinc, or of a discarded ferrotype plate. 

 From heavier tin make a turn button, and 

 tack on with a copper tack. This does 

 away with the necessity of removing the kit 

 from the holder each time, as the plate may 

 be pushed under the ends, and the button 

 turned to hold it in place. C. 



MOONLIGHT EFFECTS. 

 On a bright day, when there are plenty of 

 large clouds occasionally obscuring the sun 

 for a moment or 2, set up your camera. 

 Point the lens directly at the sun, use any 

 kind of plate, insert the smallest stop, and 

 use the highest speed. When the sun is be- 

 hind a fleecy bank of clouds, and just peep- 

 ing through some thin portion, squeeze the 

 bulb. Develop- for clouds only. The trees 

 and other objects will come up only in sil- 

 houette, owing to the brief exposure. Fol- 

 low these directions, and you will be sur- 

 prised at the beautiful moonlight effects you 

 will get. C. 



I have some good 4x5 pictures of dogs 

 pointing birds, and the dogs did not look at 

 the camera either. 



J. P£. Crawford, Deadwood, So. Dak. 



That's where the dogs showed more sense 

 than most men show when posing for ama- 

 teur photographers. — Editor. 



» To prevent sticking of prints, rub a little 

 paraffin over a squeegee plate or a glass; 

 then polish clean with a soft cloth. 



If you would live next to nature, read 

 Recreation. 



