AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



407 



ing and beautifying the country for us all, 

 we can take a little extra time and make 

 an extra effort to send in the best possible 

 illustrations we can for his magazine. 

 After development, if there are strong evi- 

 dences of under-timing, intensify. Nega- 

 tives properly timed and developed do 

 not need intensification; but the trouble 

 with .map shots is they are never properly 

 timed. Therefore it is difficult to give them 

 proper development. 



I wish to call the attention of readers of 

 the camera department to the picture, 

 Salmi of Duck, by John H. Wheeler, in the 

 September issue of Recreation. From 

 an artistic standpoint, I do not see how the 

 grouping of those birds could be improved. 

 Notice the skill with which the size, 

 shape, and color of the birds are brought 

 out. The finest, largest specimen is placed 

 in the middle, and thrown into still more 

 prominence by having a small bird placed 

 back of it. On either side are the darkest 

 birds of the lot, so that its full white breast 

 stands out plump and rounded. Notice 

 the dark head of the little one to the left, 

 with the white breast of the one under it 

 for a background, and the small one to the 

 right, with its back showing. Also the 

 bill, foot, and wing arrangement. The fo- 

 cusing is as masterly as the arrangement. 

 The bodies are plump and stand out well; 

 every necessary detail is given, and yet 

 they are just enough out of focus to take 

 the edge off. They look like real, round- 

 ed, feathered bodies, pleasantly blending 

 into the background, and not like the 

 shapes of ducks sawed from a block of 

 wood. Not only is every detail of light 

 and shadow judiciously brought out, but 

 the exposure is just right; hence the plump 

 bodies, round heads, and detail of feathers. 

 I have nothing but admiration and high 

 praise for this picture in every particular. 



In a recent number of the Philistine, in 

 setting forth his religious creed, Elbert 

 Hubbard reserves the right to change any 

 article of his faith as he grows older, 

 wiser, and gets more light. His is such a 

 shining example that I shall follow it in 

 my camera creeds. I reserve the right to 

 change any formula or advice I may give, 

 if in further study and experiment I dis- 

 cover or adopt anything new that gives 

 better results. . This is the only road to 

 progress. In discussing the use of alum 

 to prevent frilling, I have a hazy recollec- 

 tion that I once advised a fixing bath con- 

 taining hypo, citric acid, and alum, to be 

 made by the jugful and used until discol- 

 ored. _ I tried this myself, and after much 

 experience I discarded it as a dirty and a 

 lazy method. On a plate in a normal con- 

 dition use a hypo bath, and let it do its 

 quick, clear, clean work on the plate. 



Afterward use an alum bath to do the scav- 

 enger work. Hypo will do better, quick- 

 er work if used alone than if some other 

 agent is at work on the plate at the same 

 time. 



Then throw away both hypo and alum; 

 they are cheap, and it is better to use a 

 fresh fixing bath each time. 



If it be true that "where your treasure 

 is, there your heart is also," then my .heart 

 has been in a baggage room most of the 

 summer; for there, pitched by boats, jig- 

 gled by cars, and smashed about by bag- 

 gage masters, went a chest. The treasures 

 of my heart that it contained were a 6 l / 2 x. 

 8 l A Wizard camera, with 3 sets of lenses, 

 one for portrait work; an extra rapid wide 

 angle rectilinear, for outdoor work; and 

 a telephoto, for long distance work; one 

 of the new Reflex cameras, 6 l / 2 x S l / 2 , fitted 

 with a superb Goerz lens, worth $100; a 

 5x7 camera; a 4x5 snapshot and lenses; 

 hose and photographing paraphernalia ga- 

 lore, not to mention boxes on boxes of 

 plates. I could not keep from watching 

 when I knew it was being handled. When 

 I saw it pitched 3 and 4 feet through space, 

 my hair stood on end; but it was so strong 

 and so strapped and packed that it made 

 the trip and landed my treasures safe at 

 home. Now my anxiety is transferred to 

 the dark room. Many and anxious are 

 the hours I shall spend there; long and 

 fervent will be the prayers that my plates 

 are not covered with dirt or rubbed in the 

 jarring of travel. 



Most amateurs feel that when a print 

 comes from the last wash their troubles 

 are over. Really one of their severest 

 troubles has just begun. The great test 

 of an artist is to know what part of a 

 picture is picture, what is needed access- 

 ory, and what should be cut off. Do not 

 use stiff bordered enamelled cards, the size 

 of the plate. One who does that is al- 

 most sure to mount his prints full plate 

 size, to fill the card; whereas fully 9 prints 

 out of 10 can be vastly improved by ju- 

 dicious trimming. Trim your print down 

 to the heart of the subject, without giv- 

 ing the mount a thought. When you have 

 your picture, there will be time enough to 

 hunt up a mount to fit it. The most ar- 

 tistic mounts I know of are sheets of 

 cardboard in tans, greys and greens. For 

 most subjects I have a strong preference 

 for the greens. Beware of ovals. They 

 are a delusion and a snare. Not one print 

 out of 50 will yield a successful oval, if. 

 indeed, there is such a thing as a success- 

 ful oval outside of miniature work. I can 

 not recall an oval print in the recent Salon 

 of Photographic Art in Chicago. 



I recently saw something new in the 

 line of portrait lighting. Face full front, 



