PHOTOGRAPHY 



275 



is important. When shadows are not wanted, 

 it is best to lay the spray or blossom hori- 

 zontally on a sheet of plate glass, supported 

 some distance above the background, and the 

 camera in a vertical position with the lens 

 pointed downward. The neutral gray tinted 

 mounting papers make good backgrounds. 



THE HYPO BATH. 



It is a common but mistaken practice to 

 dissolve the hypo immediately before devel- 

 opment. This leads to certain evils : Hypo 

 crystals dissolve slowly, so that there may be 

 several undissolved lumps in the dish when 

 the plate is ready for fixing, and these, if 

 large, may raise up the negative and prevent 

 the hypo from flooding completely over the 

 him ; if small, get on to the film and leave 

 indelible circular marks. In either case the 

 picture is ruined. Further than this, there is 

 a great tendency for the gelatine to frill in a 

 solution which is in the act of dissolving 

 the crystals. These three drawbacks can all 

 be prevented by preparing once for all a 

 "Winchester" of stock solution. To ensure 

 thorough and rapid solution of the hvpo 

 in trig quantities, it is best to suspend the 

 crystals from the neck of the jar in a muslin 

 bag, as the specific gravity of hypo being 

 higher than that of water, the former con- 

 stantly sinks to the bottom of the vessel as 

 it dissolves, leaving the plain water to act 

 upon the remaining crystals. 



REDUCING AND INTENSIFYING SLIDES. 



To rightly ascertain the exact depth to 

 which the development of a lantern slide 

 should be carried is always a matter of dif- 

 ficulty, especially in the somewhat dim light 

 of the dark-room lamp. Less anxiety, how- 

 ever, need be felt if the processes of reduc- 

 tion and intensification be mastered. Indeed, 

 many experienced lantern slide makers affirm 

 it their constant practice to reduce or inten- 

 sify their slides, as the brilliancy of the image 

 is thereby increased. Whether this is so or 

 not, a knowledge of the processes is useful. 



To reduce a lantern slide requires a me- 

 dium strength solution of hypo, in which a 

 few grains of potassium ferricyanide have 

 been dissolved. A good plan is to keep one 

 large crystal of the potassium salt in a, bottle, 

 shake it up well before use, and then add a 

 little of the powdery crystals that get broken 

 off the sides of the bottle. The reduction of 

 the slide should not be attempted until a 

 full half-hour's washing subsequent to ordi- 

 nary fixation, but it may be delayed indefi- 

 nitely after drying, so that a trial can be 

 made of the density required, by an exposure 

 in the lantern. It is necessary to immediately 

 plunge the plate into water after the right 

 amount of reduction has taken place, as the 



process is rapid and may easily be carried 

 too far if there be any delay. 



In the same manner intensification may be 

 carried on immediately after washing, or at 

 any future time, the only essential being 

 absolute freedom from hypo. If, however, 

 the film has been allowed to dry it should be 

 soaked for a moment in water, as uneven 

 intensification is likely to occur if the mer- 

 cury is poured on to a dry surface. Two 

 solutions are required for intensification: (1) 

 A 1-10 solution of mercury perchloride (cor- 

 rosive sublimate) ; (2) a dilute solution of 

 liquid ammonia. The lantern slide is kept 

 in the first for one to five minutes, according 

 to the degree of intensification required, 

 washed for about five minutes, and then 

 placed in another dish, and the ammonia 

 poured quickly over it. When uniformly 

 darkened it is given a final washing. The 

 greatest care must be taken to keep the two 

 stages entirely separate, keeping the bottles 

 apart from each other, using different dishes 

 and washing the hands well before touching 

 the plate. The plate being imperfectly washed, 

 before the mercury bath, and mercury get- 

 ting into the ammonia bath, or on to the film 

 after it has been in it, are the chief causes of 

 failure. 



INSTRUCTIONS TO COMPETITORS. 



In preparing prints for Recreation please 

 observe the following rules. By so doing 

 you will often insure the acceptance of a pho- 

 tograph that might otherwise be rejected. 

 Full answers to these questions should be at- 

 tached (in such a manner as to do no injury 

 to the photograph) to every print sent : 



Subject (very full description) ? 



Owner (if the prints represent houses, 

 grounds, stock or other objects of owner- 

 ship) ? 



Location (near what city or town ; geo- 

 graphical name, if a river, lake, etc.) ? 



Date of exposure? 



How many views taken of general subject? 

 Is this the best? 



Published or promise*! for publication else- 

 where? If so, what publication? 



Excellent results in reproduction are at- 

 tained by the use of Aristo Matt, Dekko or 

 Velox. 



The following are the rules governing the 

 forest reserve of Temagami, Ontario : 



(1) No more permits to take insectivor- 

 ous birds will be issued this year. 



(2) The statutes of Ontario prohibit the 

 use or possession of firearms in the Tema- 

 gami Forest Reserve during the close sea- 

 son for moose, reindeer or caribou with a 

 barrel longer than four inches. 



(3) No license or permit required to fish 

 in waters of Temagami Forest Reserve this 

 season. 



