Evening star., 1948-03-21

Photographic enlarging Is rapidly
becoming top indoor sport. Some
Of the things that can be done with
an enlarger are truly amazing, even
to the experienced photographer.
This Is the one phase Of photography
where the cameraman can meet the
painter on his own ground and hold
his own. Many a salon. winner has
been the product Of skillful work in
printing from an apparently in
ferior negative. and with a little
practice you can start turning your
shots into things of real beauty-by
way of the enlarger.
The three-fold purpose Of projec-
tion printing Is to produce prints
that are larger than the negative,
to eliminate certain bad features of
the original composition, and to cor
rect errors of composition and light
ing during the printing process. You
may pick up a negative and discov-
er that while the composition as a
whole is unbalanced, a certain area
contains a very desirable picture.
As most amateurs use small films, 1t
will not be practical to eliminate the
unwanted portion Of the picture by
trimming as this would leave an area.
too small to be worthwhile in a
contact print. You put the negative
In the enlarger and increase the size
Of the image until only that portion
which. you want fills the area Of your
printing easel. You will have pro-
duced a picture Of suitable size for
framing or mounting. and you will
have had the opportunity, through
skillful manipulation, to detract
from any bad features and add to
or emphasize the better ones.
Papers Not as Sensitive.
Let's take a look at the activity
that goes on in the average dark
room during the process of photo
enlarging. To begin with, your dark
room will not have to be totally
dark as it was when you developed
the film because the emulsions of
printing papers are not as sensitive.
While printing papers can be han
died safely under a No. 0 safelight,
which is orange in color, the light
green No. GA is more suitable as
prints can be judged more accu-
rately under it.
Before starting to work with the
enlarger, have your paper develop
er, hort-stop, and fixing bath solu-
tions mixed and In their respective
trays. Be certain that the solutions
are all at the recommended temper
ature. Check the enlarger thor
oughly for dust, dirt, and finger
prints. The lens should be carefully
inspected and wiped clean with a
camel's hair brush and lens tissue
The film holder should get the same
treatment, and If 1t is the double
glass type, be sure that both glasses
are crystal clear. Last. go over the
negative carefully 1t will pick up
surprising amount of dust and usu-
ally will have q full record of your
fingerprints. Dust alone can be re-
moved from the Aim by a light
brushing with soft cloth or the
camel's hair brush. Carbon tetra-
chloride can be swabbed over the
negative to remove fingerprints and
dust.
Next insert the negative In the
carrier, making sure that the emul-
sion side of the film is down.
Otherwise the image will be reversed
In the print. With the negative
properly centered in the carrier,
adjust the masking slides, which
are found on many enlargers, so as
to eliminate all light that extends
beyond the borders of the negative.
This will serve to prevent Jogging Of
the paper by the surplus light. If