72 



RECREATION. 



AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



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

 / 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. 



TANK DEVELOPMENT. 



At last the amateur photographer is 

 falling into line and following the lead of 

 his professional brothers by the use of a 

 tank and a weak developer to produce the 

 best results on under exposed plates. _ This 

 method of developing is a great saving of 

 time and patience, and instead of using a 

 number of sloppy trays, one can develop a 

 dozen plates in the tank, which makes a 

 pleasure of developing. 



Formula for a tank developer: 



Water 3^ ounces 



Carbonate of soda (dry) 2 ounces 



Sulphite of soda (dry) I to i J A ounces 



Bromide of ammonium 3° grains 



Citric acid 30 grains 



Hydroquinone l dram 



Olycin 2 drams 



Metol 2 drams 



Pyro 4 drams 



Dissolve the chemicals in the given rota- 

 tion. _ 



To preserve the stock solution nut it into 

 small bottles of the exact size to hold 

 enough for making the dilute solution for 

 the tank. The bottles should be tightly 

 corked. 



For use, take 



Water 120 ounces 



Stock solution 6 ounces 



The developer should be used fresh, and 

 its temperature kept between 60 and 65 de- 

 grees Fahrenheit until development is com- 

 pleted. The average time taken for the 

 complete development of exposures of 

 i -300th to i-700th part of a second, was i l/ 2 

 to 2 hours. There are some extreme cases 

 where workers of the tank method still fur- 

 ther dilute their developer, and extend the 

 time of development to 12 hours or 

 more without in any way endangering the 

 film. There is a delicate pink tinge to the 

 shadows of the negatives after a prolonged 

 development, but this is a help rather than 

 a detriment to the printing qualities of a 

 rapidly exposed negative. For beauty of 

 grain there is nothing: to surpass a tank 

 developed negative, and by using rubber 

 finger cots on thumb and first finger, dis- 

 agreeable stains and dangerous metol 

 poisoning will be unknown. The late Mr. 

 Ernest Marv the father of fast horse pho- 



tography in this country, used this formula 

 for tank development: 



Water (boiling) 8 ounces 



Glycerin 1 ounce 



Meta bi-sulphite of potash.. 1 oz. " drams 

 Caustic potash 1 oz. 3 drams 



For use : 



Developer 1 ounce 



Water 40 ounces 



Average time of development 15 minutes. 



— Exchange. 



FIXING PLATES IN LIGHT. 



To develop an exposed dry plate in trie 

 dark room and fix it in light is not new, but 

 is not generally practiced, because at first 

 glance' it shows no particular advantage to 

 those equipped with modern appliances. To 

 develop a plate in the dark room, or such 

 room or closet as one may be able to use 

 for developing under difficulties, rinse in 2 

 or 3 changes of water, dry and fix at leis- 

 ure is of more recent origin and can be best 

 appreciated by those afield, away from mod- 

 ern conveniences, with a desire to know 

 how their work is turning out. 



It is generally possible to secure suffi- 

 cient water to develop a plate or 2, and to 

 rinse it afterward, but few hotels or out 

 of the way places frequented by the enthu- 

 siastic amateur photographer afford run- 

 ning water sufficient and convenient for 

 eliminating the sodium hyposulphite used 

 in fixing the negative, which unless entirely 

 removed will cause the negative to de- 

 preciate very soon. 



There are no hard formulae to remem- 

 ber nor chemicals necessary which are diffi- 

 cult to secure. Simply use your favorite 

 developer and when development is com- 

 pleted, rinse in 3 changes of water, not 

 over a minute each, after which you may 

 expose to all the light you please, dry the 

 plates and fix them at leisure in the or- 

 dinary manner. There is no more reason 

 why a developed plate, washed free of the 

 developer, should not be exposed to light, 

 than there is why a finished negative should 

 be exposed to rubv light only. The sodium 

 hyposulphite will dissolve the silver salts 

 not reduced by the developer as readily in 

 the light as .in the dark, regardless of the 

 degree of light to which the plate may have 

 been exposed after development, having 

 been properly washed before exposure. 



It is sometimes desirable in the case of 

 under exposure, to develop to a degree of 

 harshness, wash and expose to light, then 

 with a weak developer again develop the 

 plate until a thin veil is formed over the 

 entire surface, after which the plate should 

 be treated the same as any plate after a 

 single development. This does not build 

 up the image, but gives a better printing 

 value to the shadows and prevents the print 



