Evening star., 1928-05-29

Those who take up the interesting
laboratory experiment OF developing
and printing their own pictures, as sug-
gested in this column yesterday, ought
rot to expect too good results at first.
They may have beginners luck" OF
course. in which event they will be en-
couraged to go ahead Discouragement
probably will come with the next batch
of negatives and prints.
Every branch Of endeavor from base
ball to writing, from building bridges to
examining plants under the microscope,
knows this form of secondary failure.
1t comes with perhaps too much
overconfidence, but is based solidly on
the fact that nothing takes the place
of experience. After all, how could
even the most enthusiastic expect any
thing different?
It is one thing to plunge into work,
but quite another to make success at
it. Not every one. either, Is destined to
find a given pursuit congenial. In
school DAYS or after one will develop
an aptitude, it is called, for given
line. 1T comes easy TO him." they say.
Thus one student Shines" in the
study of English, another in mathe-
matics another in foreign languages.
He who eXcels in English composition
most often finds mathematics, In its
various branches, an almost impossible
task.
All this applies with especial force to
the developing and printing Of ones
own photographs on a strictly amateur
basis Although a world Of experience,
including years of patient experiment.
ing, has been put into cameras film,
paper. and so on. there are two factors
which even the most progressive Of
manufacturers cannot control
These are the variations in sunlight
and the yagerics Of the human mind.
If 1t we're not for sunshine and human
minds amateur photography might be
practically automatic, but as long as
the sun refuses to be controlled by hu-
man agencies, and as long as human
beings refuse to use. their heads, the
taking and finishing Of pictures" must
remain on a delightfully."- experimental
plane.
This. of course. Is exactly why the
thing is interesting. Suppose you buy
your boy a nice camera and set him
up to complete developing and print
some pictures Studiously he studies
directions, develops and prints.
Much TO his delight land your utter
amazement, he presents the world with
10 good prints out Of IL sheets of
paper They are not as good as a pro-
fessional could do, Of course. but each
and every one is a presentable speci-
men.
You have visions Of Junior becoming
great photographer. maybe making
photographs of the great and the near
great at an untold number OF dollars
per photograph.
Junior, no doubt feels somewhat the
same way about himself.
Then he shoots" some more pic
lures. Again ne develops, but this time
the negatives are weak. thin, lacking
in contrast. HE overlooked the fact
that the sunshine was very weak when
he took the pictures.)
He prints and oVerexpoSeS the first
two or three, with the result that the
prints fash black almost before he can
get them out of the developer.
Then he gets two pieces of paper
stuck together and hence wastes one.
His next trial results In a fair print.
but the whites are grayish in tone.
Something Is wrong. He tries again.
This time he holds his fingers too long
in one place, with the result that these
spots print out nice and black.
When Junior gets his dozen prints
or what is left Of them-spread out to
dry he decides that maybe he isn't cut