4U 



MCRMAtlON. 



AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



"For sport the lens is better than the gun." 

 2" wish to make this department of the utmost 

 use to amateurs. I shall, therefore, be glad to 

 answer any questions and to print any items sent 

 me by practical amateurs relating to their experi- 

 ence in photography. 



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INSTANTANEOUS TONING. 

 '" The following formula gives absolute per- 

 manency and a beautiful rich and uniform 

 tone on Solio within 30 seconds after leav- 

 ing ,the printing frame. I have exposed 

 prints to direct sunlight for 3 months, with 

 one-half covered by black paper, and can 

 not now see the line between the covered 

 "and the uncovered parts. 



Mix a 10 per cent, solution of sulpho- 

 cyanide of ammonium, mark A ; dissolve 15 

 grains chloride of gold in 7^2 ounces water, 

 mark B ; mix a 10 per cent, solution of 

 phosphate of soda, mark C ; mix a saturat- 

 ed solution of borax, mark D. 



To use, take in the following order: 



A 1 dram 



.Water .8 drams 



' . v B 4 drams 



; C 1 dram 



; D. • .2 drams 



For the professional this formula may 

 be found expensive, as it uses more gold 

 than the old baths ;. but that need not be 

 considered even by the most economical 

 amateur, for it is such a small percentage 

 of his expenses. It has cost me consider- 

 ably less than the old baths did, because, 

 even with the combined bath, it was im- 

 possible to avoid waste, while with this one 

 need ' not waste one grain of gold in 10 

 years. Pour from the 4 bottles of perfectly 

 -stable solutions each time sufficient to tone 

 4 t 10, or 50 prints, or as many as may be 

 ^eady, and use it all. 



No preliminary washing is needed. Print 

 a shade deeper than the mounted print is to 

 be, and put prints direct from the frames 

 into the mixed bath, or they may be kept 

 a week or 2 in a dark place. They will 

 turn red, but in less than 30 seconds they 

 will change to a beautiful dark purple, al- 

 most black in the shadows, and will not 

 change again, even if left an hour or more 

 in the bath. As soon as they reach a uni- 

 form color they may be thrown at once into 

 a fixing bath, one ounce of hypo to 10 

 ounces of water ; or they may be put in clear 

 water until all are toned and then fixed. 

 Fix 20 minutes, being careful not to let 

 them mat together too closely for the hypo 

 to do its work, but I have not found it 

 necessary to keep them moving. Lastly, 

 wash an hour in running water or in 10 

 changes in about the same time. They may 

 be hung up to dry or squeegeed on ferro- 



type or glass or ground glass. If the parts 

 are drams, as above, the aggregate 2 ounces 

 will tone 104x5 prints. The last few will 

 take a little longer to reach the full tone, 

 and if more are put in, or if the chemicals 

 are not pure, they will have a reddish tone, 

 showing the bath to be weak or exhausted.' 

 Make up a fresh lot. If you have only 4 

 4 x 5 or 2 5 x 7 prints to tone,, pour out only- 

 one cubic centimeter, or 15 minims of sul- 

 pho-cyanide, 120 minims water, 60 minims 

 gold, etc., and the 4 drams will be just 

 enough. Instead of immersing the prints, 

 lay them, one at a time, on a sheet of glass, 

 such as an old negative, and swab them over 

 lengthways and crossways with a wad of 

 cotton or a brush, holding the corner of the 

 plate over the graduate in order to use the 

 drainings until the uniform tone is reached. 

 It is a peculiarity of this bath that, no mat- 

 ter how streaky the prints look at first, if 

 they are brushed over they will become en- 

 tirely uniform in tone. Give the print all the 

 gold it can take, and it will keep it, appar- 

 ently for all time. It is easy to make a table 

 from the foregoing 2 examples which will 

 enable one to pour off. each time just enough 

 to tone the number ready. The 4 original 

 solutions will keep indefinitely, but it is 

 better to keep them in dark bottles or in a 

 box, away from the light, and well corked. 

 I have kept them months without deteriora- 

 tion, but after mixing the 4 the bath must 

 be used within an hour. If called away, 

 throw it out and mix afresh. It is worse 

 than useless to keep it. The easiest way to 

 make a 10 per cent solution is to measure 

 10 ounces of water, pour into a clean bottle 

 and paste on a label so that the top edge 

 just marks the height of the 10 ounces. Then 

 pour out half the water, put in the ounce 

 of dry chemical, and after dissolving, fill- 

 up to the 10-ounce mark again with water. 

 Next time it will not be necessary to meas- 

 ure at all. In the borax bottle, one can 

 always keep a saturated solution by add- 

 ing water and borax, it being only necessary 

 to see that some undissolved borax is al- 

 ways present at the bottom. , Use pure 

 borax, not that sold. for laundry purposes. 

 Ask for plain phosphate of soda, not the 

 tribasic— Percy . M. Reese, in The Camera. 



ORTOL AND OTHER THINGS. 



In order to answer Earl Dunn's inquiry 

 in March Recreation as to best 4x5 cam- 

 era for a beginner to buy, one should know 

 what the beginner is willing to pay for the 

 instrument and what use he expects to 

 make of it. I would say, however, that for 

 a moderate priced outfit, a camera with a 

 long bellows, reversible back, and double 

 lens of which the back combination can be 

 used alone, should be selected. The cvcle 





