AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



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AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



RECREATION'S FOURTH ANNUAL COMPETI- 

 TION. 



Recreation has conducted 3 amateur 

 photographic competitions, all of which 

 have been eminently successful. A fourth 

 will be held, which it is believed will be far 

 more fruitful than either of the others. This 

 one opened on January 1, '99, and will close 

 September 30, '99. 



List of prizes to be announced later. 



Subjects are limited to wild animals, 

 birds, fishes, camp scenes, and to figures 

 or groups of persons, or domestic animals, 

 representing, in a truthful manner, shoot- 

 ing, fishing, amateur photography, bicy- 

 cling, sailing, or other form of outdoor or 

 indoor sport or recreation. Cycling pictures 

 especially desired. Awards to be made by 3 

 judges, none of whom shall be competitors. 



Conditions: Contestants must submit 2 

 mounted prints, either silver, bromide, 

 platinum, or carbon, of each subject, which 

 shall become the property of Recreation. 

 The name and address of the sender, and 

 title of picture to be plainly written on back 

 of each print. Daylight, flashlight, or elec- 

 tric light pictures admissible. Prize winning 

 photographs to be published in Recrea- 

 tion, full credit being given in all cases. 



Pictures that have been published else- 

 where, or that have been entered in any 

 other competition, not available. No entry 

 fee charged. 



Don't let people who pose for you look at the 

 camera. Occupy them in some other way. 

 Many otherwise fine pictures failed to win 

 in the last competition, because the makers 

 did not heed this warning. 



PRACTICAL NOTES ON PLATINOTYPE 

 PRINTING. 



Beginners with platinotype, says G. E. 

 Brown, in Photo News, often complain of 

 the monotonous coldness of the tone; but 

 warm tones can easily be obtained. The 

 sepia paper can be used or prints can be 

 toned in the uranium bath used for bro- 

 mides. Better than either of these — for the 

 first method means stocking 2 kinds of 

 paper, and the second cannot be considered 

 permanent — are (1) the addition of mercuric 

 chloride to the developer, and (2) Packham's 

 catechu process. For method (1) make a 

 10 per cent, solution of mercuric chloride 

 and add a little of this (say 1 dram to 5 

 ounces) to the ordinary developer. The 

 more mercury added the warmer the tone. 

 The bath containing mercury should be used 

 fresh — certainly within 3 or 4 hours after the 

 addition of the mercury — and after use is 

 thrown away. 



The prints should be a little over-printed. 

 They lose density in the acid baths, and 

 should therefore be passed through 2 weak 

 baths as quickly as possible. Therefore 



keep moving while in the acid so as to 

 remove all iron as completely and at the 

 same time as rapidly as possible. 



Packham's process is simple and yields de- 

 lightful results. A weak solution of catechu 

 powder (obtained from photographic deal- 

 ers) is made, and the print, after being well 

 washed, is steeped in it till the desired tone 

 is reached. The bath may be used hot or 

 cold. At a temperature of 130 to 150 F. 

 toning takes place in a few minutes. At 60° 

 F. the process takes much longer, but prints 

 require no attention beyond an occasional 

 turn over. Use the hot bath for a single 

 print and the cold bath for a greater number. 



Platinotypes, like other matt surface 

 prints, are liable to collect dirt and dust on 

 their surface. To clean them the following 

 method is useful. Make a fairly stiff paste 

 of flour and cold water, of about the con- 

 sistency of cream. Add to this a little com- 

 mon alum, about half a teaspoonful to a tea- 

 cupful of flour. Rub all together with a 

 spoon into as smooth a paste as possible. 

 Now with a soft brush apply this paste all 

 over the print, and wash off again under the 

 tap,. when it will be found that the paste has 

 gathered up all the dirt out of the grain of 

 the paper, and has left it as clean as on the 

 day it was made. Use plenty of paste on a 

 soft brush, or the more delicate tones of the 

 print may be abraded. 



Some taste is required in mounting pla- 

 tinotypes. The mount is a more important 

 factor in the effect produced by the print 

 than in most other processes. Grey boards 

 suit the black toned prints well. For warmer 

 toned proofs brown is suitable. If the nega- 

 tive is masked all round its edges, and the 

 print trimmed so as to leave a white margin 

 about 1-16 inch in width all round, the ef- 

 fect when mounted is pleasing. Sometimes 

 a black mount will be an advantage, especi- 

 ally if the print is rather flat. A print, on the 

 other hand, possessing too much contrast, 

 is helped by mounting on a white board. 



Platinotype prints make good transparen- 

 cies, and are useful for window decoration. 

 The prints produced in the usual way are 

 blotted with clean blotting paper, and with- 

 out drying or trimming are treated in the 

 following manner: A frame of thin wood or 

 stout cardboard, cut slightly smaller than 

 the print, is taken and the damp proof 

 mounted on it. In using a wooden frame 

 glue the print to the edges of the frame; 

 but if using cardboard affix it to the face of 

 the frame. A piece of ground glass is placed 

 behind the print, and it is framed. Various 

 effects can be produced by interposing tis- 

 sue paper of different colors between the 

 ground glass and the print. For example, in 

 the case of a seascape, by backing the whole 

 print with light blue tissue paper, and then 

 placing a piece of pink paper to cover the 

 upper portion down to the water line, the 

 water is given a greenish effect, and the sky 

 the appearance of late evening. 



