AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



163 



Use equal portion of A. and B. as the 

 sensitizer. 



Keep A. and B. in separate bottles, pro- 

 tect from the light, and mix only as re- 

 required. 



Place your negative in the hypo fixing 

 bath until the film is clear; then wash 

 thoroughly. The plate being washed and 

 drained, but not dried, immerse in the 

 above blue print solution for 2 minutes. 

 Then place on rack and allow to dry. 



To print, place negative in printing 

 frame as usual, then place blue print plate 

 in contact with it, film to film. Replace 

 the back of the frame and print in direct 

 sunlight. The printing can be watched by 

 opening half of the frame and looking 

 through the glass, and should proceed 

 until the blue has become quite strong. 



When sufficiently printed, remove from 

 frame and place in clear water, changing 

 the water until no more discoloration is 

 apparent. Then transfer to a tray of water 

 containing a small quantity of muriatic 

 acid, which will intensify the color. After 

 the plate has been washed for 15 minutes, 

 allow to dry. Then flow face and back 

 with ground glass substitute, and frame to 

 taste. 



After securing the blue transparency 

 some interesting results might be had by 

 trying the formula given in September 

 Recreaton for obtaining different tints 

 in blue print paper. Also by combining 2 

 transparencies to obtain still other colors, 

 as for instance: Print one plate by con- 

 tact, film to film, as above, and leave this 

 blue. Then print another, placing the 

 back of your blue plate, insread of the film 

 side, in contact with the film of the nega- 

 tive. Change the color of this plate by 

 means of one of the formulae mentioned 

 Bind the 2 plates together, and the com- 

 bination will give another color. 



DO NOT WET YOUR PLATES. 



If you spill hypo on your floor wipe it 

 up as soon as possible, as it will become 

 dust when dried ; will get in your develop- 

 ing tray and cause pin holes. In filling 

 and emptying your plate holders pull or 

 insert your slides slowly or you will make a 

 bad mark on your plate, caused by friction. 

 I have been troubled with large transparent 

 spots on my negatives after developing and 

 before fixing. I took my troubles to a 

 photo dealer. He said, 'Do you wet your 

 plate before developing?" I said yes, a*nd 

 he told me that caused it. I went home 

 and ran 4 plates through dry. There were 

 no spots. I know good photographers who 

 always wash their plates before putting in 

 developing tray. Will some one report in 

 Recreation on this trouble of spots? 



If my brother camera cranks will try the 

 following formula as a reducer, they will be 

 pleased I am sure; 



Permanganate of potash, 7 x / 2 grains; sul- 

 phuric acid, i$y 2 grains, water, 32% ounces. 



This will thin down the thickest negative 

 wonderfully, and the beauty of it is that 

 it attacks the stronger portions before at- 

 attacking the weaker. Rock plate during im- 

 mersion. If the plate turns brown, dip it 

 in a y 2 or one per cent, solution of oxalic 

 acid for a moment or so to get rid of it. 

 Then wash well. 



Harry P., Seattle, Wash. 



HOW TO RETOUCH. 

 Will you please inform me how to re- 

 touch dry plates? I have bought several 

 "Guides to Beginners in Amateur Pho- 

 tography," but none of them give instruc- 

 tions for retouching dry plates. I am a 

 subscriber to Recreation, and the sec- 

 tion of your magazine devoted to amateur 

 photography is a great help to all amateurs. 

 Julius L. Lautz, Kirkland, 111. 



answer. 

 Prepare the plate first with some good 

 retouching medium. The plate will not take 

 the pencil without this preparation. When 

 a drop of this has been rubbed on the spot 

 to be worked over, use a hard lead pencil, 

 finely pointed, and lightly smooth out the 

 wrinkles by filling the shadows. Use a re- 

 touching frame, and cover the frame, head 

 and shoulders with a dark cloth when re- 

 touching. The frame should be before a 

 window. With light strikes fill in all de- 

 fects such as spots, scratches, blotches, etc. 

 Then smooth out the face, beginning at 

 the forehead, and working downward. The 

 stroke generally used is a sort of continu- 

 ous figure 8. It would be almost impossi- 

 ble for you to do anything at this difficult 

 work without at least a few lessons from a 

 professional retoucher. — Editor. 



TO PRINT LANTERN SLIDES. 

 Your magazine grows better every month, 

 especially your camera department, in 

 which I am much interested I noticed in 

 your January number a recipe for making 

 cheap lantern slides and I wish to ask if 

 when you wish to take a picture on one of 

 the plates, you put it in the printing frame 

 with the negative and print out in the sun. 

 or do you need a special camera for lan- 

 tern slides ? Can you give me a recipe for 

 making good dry plates at small cost? 

 Willie Irick, San Angelo, Tex. 



ANSWER. 



Use the plates exactly as you would 

 printing paper. I advise you to make a 

 print first on paper and time it. Then give 

 the same time to the plate, for it will be 

 found difficult to examine it while printing 

 as of course one side can not be bent up 

 and examined as paper can. Print 5 or 8 



