Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1908-04-25
PHOTOGRAPHS ON APPLES.
Surprising Richness OF Color ana
Wealth of Detail Secured.


Wealth of Detail Secured.
II is a simple matter to print photo
graphs upon the ordinary red apple
the tomato and smooth skinned pump
kin if one goes about 1t In the right
way. In addition to the process being
most simple, there is no expense In
CURED, not even for so cheap a chem
lcal as hypo, as no chemical or water
Is required. while the resultant prints
can only be said to be as permanent
as the support on which the image Ii
formed The skin of an apple, tomato
or pumpkin, particularly at a certain
stage of it's ripening. bears strong
resemblance to our Photographic plates
and printing paper for the reason that
1t Is sensitive to light. 1t is this sensi-
tiveness to light that causes the side
exposed to the sun to burn red or
yellow, and, as one can often notice,
where leaf intervenes to cut Off the
light close to the pumpkin, apple or
tomato 1t will print an outline OF IT.
self. a silhouette, as 1t were, In green
upon the red or yellow ground. 1t was
through noticing this that | conceived
the idea of printing from negative
upon the same surface. My first at
tempt was with apples first hunted
out an apple having a leaf close to Its
surface, placed a piece Of glass be-
meath the leaf and on II cut my initials
with a Sharp knife. | then removed
the glass and pasted the leaf firmly
to the apple so IT would not be blown
away by the wind and left 1t for a
week.
At the end Of that time I took the
apple, soaked off the leaf and found
my initials in bright red on light
green ground having the outline Of the
leaf. My success prompted me to try
an actual photograph or one printed
from a photograph negative. To this
end | selected some apples Of the red
variety that were yet green and en-
cased them in bags made Of the black
paper In which plates and paper are
usually packed. These bags were left
on for ten days to exclude the light
and add to the sensitiveness OF the
surface. At the end of this time the
bags were removed and film negatives
were pasted in position by using the
white of an egg. This white Of an egg
| found later TO be the only adhesive
that would not show In the print. In
order that all except the image when
printed might be green the apples
were again lnclosed in the protecting
bags, this time an opening little larger
than the portrait being cut opposite the
film. This acted much as would q
vignetting device over printing frame
and greatly enhanced the results. 9th
er apples were given negatives made
by scratching monograms, initials and
sketches In spoiled films with an etch-
ing knife and attached In the same
manner and provided with the same
protection for the remainder Of the sur
face. The richness Of color and wealth
of detail that can be secured in this
way are really astonishing. am tempt
ed to say that the results are superior
to any that could be obtained on pho
tographic papers. A week was allowed
for printing. The fine deep red OF the
picture upon the delicate green OF the
ground must be seen to be fully appre-
ciated. Only nature could give just
the exact tones of the two colors that
would harmonic so perfectly. The
method for printing on tomatoes or
pumpkins is the same as for apples.
hope that others will try the expert
ment and | can assure them that they
will be amply repaid for their trouble.
| ST Nicholas.