The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-04-06
PHOTOGRAPHY
FOR AMATEURS.
R.-THE TREATMENT OF MEGA.
TIVES.
BY FELIX RAINIER

las HUI GOll6 uD lASI
as neal perfect as it should, so that a.
little "doctoring' becomes necessary.
There are many instances where the
negative can be improved. Sometimes
everything is all right with the excep-
ton OF n thing. This being the case.
II becomes a matter of no little i'm
portance 70 know how to help that one
point. There is nc photographer who
VIII claim that doctoring is as good
Tor a negative as to get that negative
just right in the first place. but all
Will agree that there are times when il
becomes a positive necessity to remedy
some trouble.
Let US first take up what is known
as lntensification. If the negative has
not peen carried lar enough in the
developer, or If too cool a develoDer
has been used, the picture on the glass
VIII have a weak. transparent appear
ance, and should a print be made from
II the print viii be weak and lifeless.
This is the kind Of negative that re-
quires lntereffying. All such negatives
nave plenty or time on the exposure,
but have not been carried far enough
N the developer. A negative hat is
thin from under-eXpoSure must not be
mistaken for a negative that requires
intensifying, for it would do no good
to try to work up a negative that has
been under-expesed. In the case of the
under-eOPosed negative it will be
found that the whites are very dark
while the shadows are perfectly trans
parent with no detail in them. The in
tensffying solution should be made
up in two bottles, and about the easiest
to understand and handle is made az
follows:
A.-Bichloride Of mercury, so grains.
Bromide of potassium, 60 grains. Water,
6h ounces
B.-Sulphite soda, l ounce. Water, 4
ounces.
The negative should be washed for
about half an hour and then placed in
a dish or tray containing enough Of
the "A" solution thoroughly 10 cover
the negative. The tray should be
rocked back and forth until every part
Of the negative has turned a cream or
milk color. Then take the negative
from the solution and rinse well, after
which place in another tray containing
enough of the Z" solution to cover
the plate. Rock the tray back and
forth until all the milky appearance
has disappeared and the negative has
returned TO its former color. 1t VIII be
necessary now to wash the negative
again thoroughly. It will now be seen
that the whole appearance Of the mega
tive is more "snappy." If the first trial
does not intensity the negative quite
enough, a second trial may be made,
and a third, and so on until the re-
quired intensity has been accomplished
After intensifying, the negative should
be washed thoroughly about n hour,
then dried.
It sometimes happens that a negative
may be carried too far in the develop
ing. If his is the ease the negative
will look too black all over when held
up and examined by light coming
through it. If a print be taken from
this negative it viii require quite a
long time to do the printing, and after
the print is made its appearance will
be anything but pleasing, from the fact
that IL will nave q snowy" look. 1t
will be necessary 10 reduce this mega
tive to a proper degree. For that pur-
pose the following solutions are used:
A.-Ferricyanide of potassium,
ounce. Water, 16 ounces.
B.-Hyposulphite OF soda, 1 ounce.
Water, 16 ounces.
Place the negative in a tray contain
ing enough of "B" to it We'll and
add to it a little at a time just a small
quantity of "A" The more of A
that Is uSCu the ldSLCA VIII NC N4AE ~
duction. Do not hasten the work too
rapidly, however, as there is danger of
going too far. Solution "A" should
have an opaque paper wrapped about
the bottle, as it is sensitive to the light.
It is very necessary thai the plate
should be washed thoroughly after this
treatment. Wash for at least n hour
in running water. or if changed from
one tray TO another give it as least
twenty-five changes.
At times II is only beneficial to a
negative to be intensified or reduced
locally-that is, certain parts only re-
quirs treatment. If such a negative is
in hans the treatment can be made
while the negative is wet with very
satisfactory results Take a tuft OF
absorbent cotton and dip it into the
solution desired n touch only hose
parts Of the plate that need improving.
Care must be exercised or an irregular
streak may show around the place
worked on.
Sometimes the negatives may be too
yellow. This is caused by not using
enough Of the sulphite of soda in the
developer. To remedy this it will be
necessary to clear them up with what
IS known as the Clearing solution"
One might think this color in the mega
tive would make no difference, but il is
quite a drawback TO getting a good
print. The more yellow there is in the
negative the more of a chalky look
there will be to the print. This yellow
cast in the negative is sometimes
caused by the water in which it il
washed being exceptionally impure. A
negative may be taken from the fixing
bath and have just the correct tone or
color and placed under a tap Of i'm
MIRA mn Tar rs uroch ond II mill have
color in a verv few moments. The
clearing solution is made as follows:
Water, 16 ounces.
Alum (pulverized), / ounce.
Sulphuric acid, l dram.
Place the negative in a tray and pour
over il the clearing solution and rock
back and forth for a few minutes, wher
il viii be found that the color viii
change for the better. After clearing
ii will be only necessary to rinse the
I plate well, when it may be hung up t.
dry.
When the negatives are dry it should
be the first care Of the operator to gc
over them carefully to see if they are
1awless@that is, 10 see If there are
any pinholes caused by dust which
may have by some accident not beer
removed from the plate before ex-
pcSure or before development. If it is
found that there are pinholes they
should be removed by the use of Z
small camel's hair brush. They arc
known among artists as pencil brushes
A No. 2 viii be found to give the best
satisfaction for this purpose. The
agent 10 be used for removing or plug.
ing the pinholes is what is known a!
India ink, and 81 be obtained either
in a liquid or in stick form. Start il
by moistening the end of the stick and
rubbing a little Of it on the thumbnail
Now take the brush and dampen witt
saliva and work in the ink On the mai
until the proper consistency has beer