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Title: Bromide Printing and Enlarging - A Practical Guide to the Making of Bromide Prints by Contact - and Bromide Enlarging by Daylight and Artificial Light, - With the Toning of Bromide Prints and Enlargements
Author: Tennant, John A.
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Bromide Printing and Enlarging - A Practical Guide to the Making of Bromide Prints by Contact - and Bromide Enlarging by Daylight and Artificial Light, - With the Toning of Bromide Prints and Enlargements" ***
BROMIDE PRINTING AND ENLARGING
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE MAKING OF BROMIDE PRINTS BY CONTACT AND BROMIDE
ENLARGING BY DAYLIGHT AND ARTIFICIAL LIGHT, WITH THE TONING OF BROMIDE
PRINTS AND ENLARGEMENTS
TENNANT AND WARD
NEW YORK
Copyright 1912 by
TENNANT AND WARD, NEW YORK
CONTENTS
Chapter I
VARIETIES OF BROMIDE PAPERS AND HOW TO CHOOSE AMONG THEM
Chapter II
THE QUESTION OF LIGHT AND ILLUMINATION
Chapter III
MAKING CONTACT PRINTS ON BROMIDE PAPER; PAPER NEGATIVES
Chapter IV
ENLARGING BY DAYLIGHT METHODS
Chapter V
ENLARGING BY ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
Chapter VI
DODGING, VIGNETTING, COMPOSITE PRINTING AND THE USE OF BOLTING SILK
Chapter VII
THE REDUCTION AND TONING OF BROMIDE PRINTS AND ENLARGEMENTS
CHAPTER I
VARIETIES OF BROMIDE PAPERS AND HOW TO CHOOSE AMONG THEM
What is bromide paper? It is simply paper coated with gelatino-bromide of
silver emulsion, similar to that which, when coated on glass or other
transparent support, forms the familiar dry-plate or film used in
negative-making. The emulsion used in making bromide paper, however, is
less rapid (less sensitive) than that used in the manufacture of plates or
films of ordinary rapidity; hence bromide paper may be manipulated with
more abundant light than would be safe with plates. It is used for making
prints by contact with a negative in the ordinary printing frame, and as
the simplest means for obtaining enlarged prints from small negatives.
Sometimes bromide paper is spoken of as a development paper, because the
picture-image does not print out during exposure, but requires to be
developed, as in negative-making. The preparation of the paper is beyond
the skill and equipment of the average photographer, but it may be readily
obtained from dealers in photographic supplies.
What are the practical advantages of bromide paper? In the first place, it
renders the photographer independent of daylight and weather as far as
making prints is concerned. It has excellent "keeping" qualities, _i.e._,
it does not spoil or deteriorate as readily as other printing papers, even
when stored without special care or precaution. Its manipulation is
extremely simple, and closely resembles the development of a negative. It
does not require a special sort of negative, but is adapted to give good
prints from negatives widely different in quality. It is obtainable in any
desired size, and with a great variety of surfaces, from extreme gloss to
that of rough drawing paper. It offers great latitude in exposure and
development, and yields, even in the hands of the novice, a greater
percentage of good prints than any other printing paper in the market. It
offers a range of tone from deepest black to the most delicate of
platinotype grays, which may be modified to give a fair variety of color
effects where this is desirable. It affords a simple means of making
enlargements without the necessity of an enlarged negative. It gives us a
ready means of producing many prints in a very short time, or, if desired,
we may make a proof or enlargement from the negative fresh from the
washing tray. And, finally, if we do our work faithfully and well, it will
give us permanent prints.
The bromide papers available in this country at present are confined to
those of the Eastman Kodak Company, the Defender Photo Supply Company and
J. L. Lewis, the last handling English papers only. Better papers could
not be desired. Broadly speaking, all bromide papers are made in a few
well-defined varieties; in considering the manipulation of the papers made
by a single firm, therefore, we practically cover all the papers in the
market. As a matter of convenience, then, we will glance over the
different varieties of bromide paper available, as represented by the
Eastman papers, with the understanding that what is said of any one
variety is generally applicable to papers of the same sort put out by
other manufacturers.
First we have the _Standard_ or ordinary bromide paper made for general
use. This comes in five different weights: _A_, a thin paper with smooth
surface, useful where detail is desirable; _B_, a heavier paper with
smooth surface, for large prints or for illustration purposes; and _C_, a
still heavier paper with a rough surface for broad effects and prints of
large size. _BB_, heavy smooth double weight; _CC_, heavy, rough, double
weight. Each of these varieties may be had in two grades, according to the
negative in hand or the effect desired in the print, viz.: _hard_, for use
with soft negatives where we desire to get vigor or contrast in the print,
and _soft_, for use with hard negatives where softness of effect is
desired in the print. For general use the _soft_ grade is preferable,
although it is advisable to have a supply of the _hard_ paper at hand as
useful in certain classes of work. The tones obtainable on the _Standard_
paper range to pure black, and are acceptable for ordinary purposes. For
pictorial work or special effects other papers are preferable.
_Platino-Bromide_ paper gives delicate platinotype tones, and where
negative, paper and manipulation are in harmony, the prints obtained on
this paper will be indistinguishable from good platinotypes in quality and
attractiveness. This paper comes in two weights, _Platino A_, a thin paper
suitable for small prints, and having a smooth surface useful for
detail-giving; and _Platino B_, a heavy paper with rough surface,
peculiarly suited for large contact prints or enlargements. Both varieties
are obtainable in _hard_ or _soft_ grades, characterized as above. _Matte
Enamel_, medium weight; _Enameled_, medium weight; _Velvet_, medium
weight.
_Royal Bromide_ is a capital paper in its proper place, _i.e._, for prints
not smaller than 8 × 10 inches, and then only when breadth of effect is
desired in the picture. It is a very heavy cream-colored paper, rough in
texture, and giving black tones by development, but designed to give sepia
or brown tones on a tinted ground by subsequent toning with a bath of hypo
and alum. This paper, also, may be had in two grades for _hard_ or _soft_
effects; it is further adapted for being printed on through silk or
bolting cloth, this modification adding to the effect of breadth
ordinarily given by the paper itself. I have seen prints on this paper
which were altogether pleasing, but subject and negative should be
carefully considered in its use. Rough Buff papers are very similar in
character. _Monox_ Bromide, made by the Defender Photo Supply Company, is
obtainable in six surfaces; No. 3, _Monox Rough_; No. 4, _Monox Gloss_;
No. 5, _Monox Matte_; No. 6, _Monox Lustre_; No. 7, _Monox Buff_, heavy
rough.
The Barnet bromide papers, comprising ten different varieties, differing
in weight and surface texture but very similar to the kinds already
described, are imported by J. L. Lewis, New York.
As a suggestion to the reader desiring to have at hand a stock of bromide
papers, I would advise _Platino A_, or a similar _soft_ paper for prints
under 5 × 7 inches; _Matte-Enamel_ for _soft_ effects, or a similar paper,
as an alternative; _Platino C_ and _Royal Bromide_ for _soft_ effects, or
similar papers, for prints 8 × 10 inches or larger, and for enlargements.
To these might be added a package of _Standard B_, and another of one of
the above varieties for _hard_ effects, to complete a supply for general
purposes. The beginner, however, will do well to avoid the indiscriminate
use of several varieties of paper, although he is advised to get
information of all the different varieties in the market. It is better to
select that variety which is best suited to the general character of one's
negatives and work, and to master that before changing to another. It is
true that an expert can get more good prints on bromide paper, from a
given number of bad negatives, than another expert can get with the same
negatives and any other printing paper; but it is also true that for the
best results on bromide paper the variety of paper used should be suitable
for the negative. It will be found, however, that this word "suitable"
covers, in bromide printing, a much wider range than is offered by many
printing papers. In fact there are only two sorts of negatives which will
not yield desirable prints on bromide paper: first, an exceedingly weak,
thin negative lacking in contrast and altogether flat; and second, a very
dense negative in which the contrasts are hopelessly emphatic. Even in
such cases, however, it may be possible to modify the negatives and so get
presentable prints.
The ideal negative for contact printing on bromide paper is one without
excessive contrasts on the one hand, and without excessive flatness on the
other. A moderately strong negative, such as will require from three to
five minutes in the sunlight with a print out paper, fairly describes it.
In other words, the negative should be fully exposed and so developed that
there is a fair amount of density in the shadows. I have never been able,
with bromide paper, to get the detail in the shadows of under-exposed
negatives, such as we see in a good print made on glossy printout paper.
For this reason the use of bromide papers with under-exposed negatives is
not advisable. But there are a great many negatives which, while
unsuitable as they come from the drying rack, can be easily adapted to the
process by slight modifications. A very dense negative, for instance, may
be reduced either with the ferricyanide of potash or persulphate of
ammonia reducer; and a thin negative with proper graduations can
frequently be intensified to advantage in the print. While, as has been
said, there is great latitude in the matter of the negative, this latitude
should only be availed of when necessary. Local reduction or
intensification of the negative is seldom necessary, as better results can
usually be obtained with bromide paper by dodging in the printing.
CHAPTER II
THE QUESTION OF LIGHT AND ILLUMINATION
Thus far we have gained a general understanding of the different papers
and the characteristics desirable in negatives. Before we take up the
actual manipulation of bromide paper there are a few elementary principles
bearing on the important detail of illumination which we must master.
These may necessitate a little thinking, but a practical grasp of them
will make our after-work much easier, and ensure that fairly good prints
from poor negatives will be the rule instead of the exception.
In the first place we have often read that a strong light overcomes
contrasts, while a weak light increases them. Yet how many of us realize
when we come to make prints by any process exactly what this means; in
other words, how many of us apply the rule in everyday practice? It is
very easy to see what is meant by the rule if we will take an ordinary
negative, such as a landscape with clear sky, and hold it first six inches
from a gas-flame and then six feet. It will be found in the first case
that the sky portion is translucent while the clear glass will, of course,
be clear; in the second the sky will be opaque and the clear glass still
clear. The contrasts have been rendered greater by removing the negative
further from the light-source. As this is true in the extreme case given,
so it is true in a smaller degree where the distances are only slightly
varied, as well as where we deal with the graded portions of the negative
instead of with only clear glass and the densest portions. It is this fact
that we utilize in bromide printing; and it is because we have such
unlimited control over the strength of our light that it is possible with
it to get equally good prints from a wide range of negatives. It is very
much simpler and more practicable to regulate the strength of the light by
increasing or diminishing its distance than by interposing sheets of
paper, ground glass, or opal, as is occasionally done with other
processes.
The necessity, however, for occasionally changing the strength of our
light in this manner may seem to introduce an element of uncertainty into
the problem of exposure; but there is another rule which brings it back
again to simplicity itself, and enables us to quickly calculate equivalent
exposures at varying distances from the light-source. This rule is: "The
intensity of illumination varies inversely as the square of the distance
from the source of light." For instance if a given negative requires five
seconds exposure at one foot from the light, it will have an equivalent
exposure if exposed for twenty seconds at two feet, the square of one
being one, and of two being four.
It remains then only to apply these two rules to our actual work with
bromide paper. The shadows in a certain negative will receive full
exposure, say, in eight seconds at one foot from the light; but the high
lights of the negative are so dense that no light will penetrate them at
that distance from the light in that length of time. Hence a stronger
light must be used, or the action of the same light continued for a longer
time; but the latter will not do since the effect would be to over-expose
the shadows. Hence, knowing that a strong light overcomes contrasts, we
move the negative to the distance of six inches, where the rule tells us
the equivalent exposure will be one-fourth that at twelve inches, in this
case two seconds. Here the shadows get no more light, but it is possible
that the high lights of the negative will be penetrated by reason of the
additional force of the light.
On the other hand we have a thin, flat negative requiring for the shadows
two seconds exposure at one foot from the light. Knowing that a weak light
increases contrasts we move the negative three feet from the light, and
instead of two, give eighteen seconds exposure, the rule telling us that
this is equivalent. Thus we are enabled to regulate the strength of our
light to suit the character of our negative. But a standard distance of
one foot will not suit with all kinds of lights or with all sizes of
negatives. If, for instance, our light is a Welsbach burner, giving an
intense and comparatively white light, we will find that a normal negative
will print too flat if exposed at one foot. In such a case two or even
three feet would be a better standard. Experience with our light will,
however, furnish the best standard, always taking a standard negative for
the tests.
[Illustration: Fig. 1]
The size of the negative also has its influence on the unit of exposure.
For instance, we may have a half-inch oil-burner, in which case we would
probably have to expose a standard negative at four inches in order to get
the proper contrasts. But this is out of the question with a negative of 5
× 7 or over, as a reference to the diagram, Fig. 1, will clearly show.
Here we find that while the centre of a negative is four inches from the
light the extreme edges will be over five inches from it, the rule as to
intensities telling us that the light at the edges will be only 16/25 of
that at the centre. This would result in a marked falling off of light at
the corners, and would necessitate a constant motion of the printing frame
throughout exposure, which is not wholly satisfactory. The remedy would be
to use a stronger light at a greater distance. But another reference to
Fig. 1 will show that if a 5 × 7 negative be held at seven inches from the
light the difference will be only as 49 is to 56, which can in practice be
disregarded, though it would be better to have it even less. Hence we see
that it is never safe to have our unit less than the base-line of our
plate, and it is better to have it even greater, as we will frequently be
obliged to halve the distance to overcome contrasts. It follows from this
that the larger our negatives the stronger must be our light.
Now all of these considerations may make very dry reading, but the reader
who has followed them closely will see how vital they are to successful
work. It should not be thought, however, that every exposure on bromide
paper must involve an arithmetical calculation. On the contrary, once the
proper distance from the light for the normal negative has been
ascertained, it will be found that nine negatives out of ten will require
no change in the distance from the source of light. This, of course,
presuming that we classify our negatives and enlarge from those of the
same quality at the same time.
One great objection to the use of bromide paper is that it must be handled
in a dark-room. But this objection is not as serious as it may seem. An
ordinary living room at night furnishes a delightful place in which to
make prints, if we handle our solutions with reasonable care. The ruby
glass can be removed from the dark-room lamp, and the orange glass used
alone. But in this case, as indeed with the ruby light, care must be taken
to guard against too much light. Development should be conducted at a
distance of several feet from the light, and when almost completed, the
tray can be brought close under the light to enable the worker to stop it
at exactly the right moment. Ordinary bromide paper is about as sensitive
as the process or slow dry plate or the average lantern-slide plate, and
requires as much care as either, but not nearly so much as the most rapid
dry plates. If fogging is noticed, of course additional precautions should
be taken at once.
CHAPTER III
CONTACT PRINTING ON BROMIDE PAPER
Nothing more than will be found in an ordinary dark-room will be found
necessary in bromide printing by contact, unless it be some arrangement
for determining readily the distance of the negative from the source of
light. For this purpose and with an oil-lamp, use a board a foot wide and
about three feet long placed on the developing bench against the base of
the dark-room lamp. It should be marked with black lines six inches apart.
See Fig. 2.
[Illustration: Fig. 2]
Greater uniformity in lighting will be gained if a piece of white
cardboard be placed immediately behind the flame. Some lamps have
reflectors, in which case the card is unnecessary, provided that they
reflect the light uniformly; otherwise such reflectors are worse than
useless.
Having arranged the needful apparatus to our satisfaction, the last
preparatory step before manipulation is the making up of a developer.
Almost any of the modern developers (pyro excepted) will give good results
with bromide paper. In every package of paper will be found the developers
advised by the manufacturer of the paper used. Invariably there is among
these a formula for ferrous oxalate developer. This is probably the best
of all developers for pure black tones, but I cannot advise the novice to
take it up in the early stages of his work with bromide paper.
When this developer is used an acid clearing bath is necessary, and this
invites complications which may be disastrous to the prints. When
experience has been gained, and a large number of prints are to be made at
one time, it will be found advantageous as working longer with greater
efficiency and more uniformity than some of the other developers. It is
troublesome to prepare and does not keep well, apart from which there is
the disadvantage that it does not permit of control in development in as
large a measure as other developers.
A reliable metol and hydroquinone formula is as follows: Thoroughly
dissolve metol, 1/4 ounce; hydroquinone, 1/4 ounce; in water, 80 ounces;
add sulphite of soda (cryst.), 4 ounces; and carbonate of soda (cryst.),
2-1/2 ounces. Bottled in 4-ounce vials and well corked, this developer
retains its working power indefinitely. For normal exposures I take 2
ounces of the above and add to it 2 ounces of water. This will suffice for
the development of three 8 × 10 sheets of paper, or their equivalent in
smaller sheets. It is not wise to attempt to make it do more, as greenish
tones will result. For the same reason, contrary to common opinion, I do
not advise the addition of potassium bromide to the developer. It does not
improve the developer, and may do harm.
An excellent developer which must be used freshly mixed, and may be made
up in a moment, is as follows: Take 1-1/2 ounces of a 25 per cent solution
of sodium sulphite; dry amidol, 30 grains; 5 to 10 drops of a 10 per cent
solution of potassium bromide, and dilute with 4-1/2 ounces of water. A
supply of new developer should be added as this is seen to become
exhausted.
Other developing formulae could be given, but these two will be found to
fill all requirements if properly compounded and intelligently used.
The greatest difficulty in developing bromide paper is to get rich black
tones when desired, but this can be completely overcome by using entirely
fresh developer from time to time, and never over-working the developer,
whatever it may be. As compared with the paper, developer is cheap, and it
is poor economy to save on the latter.
Except in rare instances the developer is better without any modifications
whatever. In case of over-exposure, either general or partial, the
developer after having been diluted as stated should be again diluted with
its bulk of water. This gives blacker tones and more depth and life to the
shadows. When through inadvertence we under-expose a print it may
frequently be saved after partial development in the weak solution by
flooding with a strong undiluted developer.
The temperature of the developer is of the greatest importance. In summer
the aim should be to keep it approximately at 65 degrees Fahr., in winter,
70 degrees, but it should never be allowed to go over the latter. This can
readily be accomplished by placing the graduate in a receptacle containing
ice-water in summer or hot water in winter.
The paper is first opened at a safe distance from the dark-room light, and
it is well at first to cut up one sheet into several slips to use as
test-strips. If any difficulty is found in determining which is the
sensitive side, it will be well to throw a piece of the paper on a plane
surface when it will be seen that it has a slight tendency to curl. The
concave is the sensitive side. Taking a standard negative we first take
one of the test-slips and place it upon the negative so that it covers a
portion containing both high lights and shadows. With an oil-lamp having a
1-inch burner, expose the test-strip behind the negative in the printing
frame at one foot for ten seconds. Close the lamp and flood the exposed
strip with the developer. The image should appear in a few seconds, and if
properly exposed development will be completed in from one to two minutes,
usually one. Rinse for a moment, and place the strip in a fixing bath made
up by dissolving 3 ounces of hypo in 16 ounces of water. After a few
moments examine the strip in full light, and see whether the contrasts are
right. If so, expose a full sheet of paper, this time rinsing the exposed
sheet before development to avoid the formation of air-bubbles. If the
contrasts are too great try a strip at six inches from the light and two
and a half seconds exposure. If still too great, use a stronger light or
try a longer exposure and use a very dilute developer. If still too great
the negative is hopeless and should be reduced unless dodging will help
it, as set out further on.
It will be noticed that this method calls for a one-minute development.
This is desirable for several reasons: first, because it gives a unit and
assists us in determining the correct exposure of other negatives, and
second, because it is a comparatively short development, and yet gives
sufficient time after the image has acquired the proper depth to pour off
the developer and flush with water, thus stopping development. It also
leaves sufficient margin in the event of over- or under-exposure. With one
minute as the unit, over-exposure will result in a fully developed image
in, say, thirty seconds. This print we could save; but if our unit were
thirty seconds it would be extremely difficult to save a print which had
completed development in fifteen seconds. The chances are that the
development would go on to a ruinous extent before we could pour off the
developer and flood the print, or that it would go on even after the water
was poured on it. Moreover, in case of under-exposure, two minutes would
not be so very tiresome, but four minutes would, besides which we would
risk straining the print by such prolonged development. While I am not
prepared to assert it as a rule, yet it has been my experience that the
time of development varies almost inversely with the length of exposure;
so that if the test-strip concludes development in half a minute with ten
seconds exposure, I give the next five seconds exposure in the expectation
that it will take a minute to develop. This assists greatly in lessening
the number of test-strips required to ascertain the correct exposure of a
given negative.
Should we wish to see a proof before the negative is dry, it is taken from
the fixing bath and well rinsed, though not necessarily thoroughly washed.
It is then placed face up in a tray of water, on which we place face down
a sheet of bromide paper. The two are removed together and squeezed
lightly into contact to remove air bubbles. The back of the negative is
then wiped to remove superfluous water, and an exposure of several times
the normal given, preferably the normal exposure at half the standard
distance from the light. The paper is then removed and developed as usual.
In this way it is possible to show a print in fifteen or twenty minutes
after the exposure of the plate was made.
The purpose of the rinsing before development is to avoid the possibility
of air-bells. The paper should be rinsed in cold water, as warmish water
will cause air-bells instead of preventing them. This rinsing can be
dispensed with if thought desirable. The rinsing after development is for
the purpose of stopping development immediately, and also in order that
the prints may not go into the fixing bath full of developer, as staining
would be likely to result in such case. With the iron oxalate developer an
acid rinsing bath is necessary, but it is not necessary with any of the
other developers.
The fixing is important, as upon this depends in a large measure the
permanence of the prints. The bath should be freshly made up, 3 ounces of
hyposulphite of soda to 16 ounces of water. Prints are placed in this bath
face down, and one under, instead of on top of another. The tray should be
occasionally rocked. With a fresh bath prints will fix in ten minutes, but
where many prints are made at one time it will be well to use a second
fixing bath. The emulsion of an unfixed print will appear a yellowish
tinge in the unfixed portions when examined by transmitted light; but this
is not an easy or certain test. It is better to make absolutely certain of
thorough fixing by continued immersion, occasional rocking and, where many
prints are made, a second bath. The fixing bath should not be allowed to
get too warm in hot weather. Blistering, staining and frilling will result
in such a case, and I have known a print which was left in a warm fixing
bath for an hour or more to be reduced beyond redemption. With freshly
made hypo baths at a suitable temperature there is absolutely no danger of
the paper frilling or blistering.
The final washing must be thorough, as the hypo is difficult to eliminate
from both the emulsion and the paper. Care must be taken to see that the
prints are well separated while washing. This ensures uniform washing.
It frequently happens that a negative may require more or less dodging in
printing. With bromide paper this is particularly easy. We will take the
simple case of a negative with dense sky which will not print out in the
ordinary way. All that we need in this case is a piece of paper cut
roughly to the sky line and kept moving during part of the exposure over
the part which is to be held back. If necessary, cut down the light in
order to prolong the exposure, or expose at a greater distance from the
light. One or more test-strips will be required for this purpose in order
to ascertain the relative times of exposure. A modification of this method
is when a small portion of the negative only needs extra printing--a face
or hand for instance. Here we take a piece of paper a little larger than
the negative and cut a small hole in it, moving it in front of the light
so as to throw the latter only upon the portions needing the extra
printing. Still another modification is where a portion only needs holding
back. Here we use a small piece of paper or cardboard stuck on a knitting
needle, moving the latter so that it will not intercept the light too long
at one place.
In all these and similar instances which will occur to the reader, the
dodging should be done during the first part of the exposure. The
subsequent exposure seems to obliterate traces of such dodging better than
when it is done at the end of the exposure, just as in cloud-printing
better results are achieved by printing the sky first and the foreground
afterward.
It is quite possible to make bromide negatives in the camera. They have
their advantages in classes of work not requiring the finest definition,
are much lighter, cheaper, more easily stored and less liable to breakage
or other mishaps. They are best made on a thin, smooth paper, a _soft_
paper being better than the _hard_. They are placed in the plate-holder by
means of the ordinary cut film holder. The exposure required is
ascertained by a trial or two, but roughly speaking is about one-twentieth
that of a rapid plate. After development in the usual way--it being
carried only a little further than usual--and after fixing, washing and
drying, the paper negative can be spotted or retouched, after which it is
waxed.
CHAPTER IV
ENLARGING--DAYLIGHT METHODS
In taking up enlarging a full knowledge of what has been said as to the
manipulation of bromide paper will be necessary, as the principles
governing exposure apply here as in contact printing, errors being even
more serious, owing to the greater waste of material.
For the illuminant used in enlarging, we may employ either daylight or
artificial light. The former is cheap, but variable; the first cost of the
latter is quite a little sum, but the light is uniform. A daylight
enlarging apparatus can be made for a dollar or two, and hence is within
the reach of all; and if the process be given up, the loss is not serious.
If the cost is of little or no moment, very serviceable enlarging cameras
can be bought for about twenty-five dollars. Such a camera is adapted for
reducing as well as enlarging, and so will be found useful for lantern
slide making, copying, etc. As a matter of fact, few things are as useful
to the amateur as a good enlarging outfit.
We will first consider enlarging by daylight with home-made apparatus. For
this purpose a room with at least one window will be needed. It should
preferably be convenient to the dark-room. If the window of this room
commands a view unobstructed by buildings, trees or the like, so much the
better. I personally prefer a south light. With this one can get soft
enlargements from the most contrasty negatives, while by shielding the
negatives from the direct rays of the sun we can work from negatives which
are quite flat and lacking in contrasts.
[Illustration: Fig. 3]
But whatever the room chosen, all windows but the one at which we are to
work must be blocked up. This can be done by heavy dark curtains, or by
specially constructed frames covered with light-tight material and made to
fit closely in the windows. If there are any transoms these should
likewise be covered. White light entering under the doors can be shut out
by placing a rug along the bottom of the door. Care must be taken that the
window-frames fit closely, as the light from openings at the windows would
soon fog a sheet of bromide paper if it fell upon it even for a few
moments.
[Illustration: Fig. 4]
Assuming that the room chosen can be made practically light-tight, we will
need some arrangement to hold the negative. The details of a box for this
purpose can best be shown by a diagram (Fig. 3). ABCD is a strong and
neatly made box open at both ends, and about two inches larger each way
than the largest negative from which enlargements are to be made. E
represents a section of a board which forms part of a window frame, a
general view of which is given in Fig. 4. Reverting to Fig. 3, F is an
opening cut in the side of the negative box two inches or a little less
from the back of the box, AD, and wide enough to admit the free passage of
a negative in a kit or other holder. On the inside of the box are tacked
strips, GGGG, to serve as a guide to the kit when placing it in the box.
An opening similar to F should be made in the other side of the box to
permit lateral adjustments when we come to use the apparatus, besides
enabling us to put the negative in or withdraw it from either side. A
convenient modification of the strips, G, is found by placing the front
ones a short distance further forward, to wit, toward BC, as they are
shown in the cut (Fig. 3), and tacking to them a piece of watch spring, H,
this then serving both as a guide and as a means of pressing the kit or
negative holder against the other strips, GG (Fig. 5).
[Illustration: Fig. 5]
J is a sheet of ground-glass, which is tacked over the opening when the
box is firmly set in the board, E. It is well to have this ground-glass
fixed in place so that it can be readily removed if desired.
[Illustration: Fig. 6]
The necessity for having the box at least two inches larger each way than
the largest negative from which enlargements are to be made is shown in
Fig. 6. Here AB represents the negative in place, CA, DB and EG represent
rays of light entering the box. It will be seen that the rays CA and DB
strike the ground-glass at an angle, but nevertheless at an angle which
results in their passing through it in a considerable degree. They strike
the negative AB, but if the negative were the full size of the box, to wit
FG, it will be seen that while the section AB would be fully lighted, the
sections AF and BG would receive no oblique rays at all, and hence the
negative would not be even approximately uniformly lighted. This point is
too often overlooked in the construction of apparatus of this character,
but is necessary in all cases of daylight enlarging and especially when
direct sunlight is used. Now with the negative box in place, some
arrangement must be made for holding the lens, which can be the lens used
for making the negative. This for enlargements of a fixed size from
negatives of a given size can be accomplished by simply extending the
section BGGC Fig. 3, to a proper distance and placing the lens in the end
of it; but this permits too little opportunity for adjustments and is not
advisable. A double box, one sliding within the other, would be better,
but still not quite satisfactory. It is far better to adapt one's camera
to the apparatus, and this can always be done; it being very simple with a
reversible back camera, which can be backed right up to the opening, and
more difficult but always possible with others. Fig. 7 shows the entire
apparatus in place, and the manner in which it is used. AB is the window
board, C is the negative box, D is the camera adjusted to the latter, E is
the enlarging screen on an easel to hold the bromide paper, and F is the
reflector. The screen on the easel can be made either to rest on the floor
or on a table. It can be made to run on a track or otherwise, and it can
also be made so as to admit of either vertical or lateral adjustment or
both, or it can be nothing more than an ordinary box set on a table. But
however constructed it must be considerably larger than the largest sheet
of bromide paper which is to be used, thus allowing for nearly all
necessary adjustments of the paper. It is preferably covered with white
paper or fine blotter to aid in focusing. The reflector F is considerably
larger than the negative-box, and adjusted at an angle which will reflect
the light from the sky or sun evenly upon the ground glass. It is best
covered with good white blotting paper. G is a hood which I have found
useful in sunlight enlarging, especially in summer when the sun is almost
overhead. It is placed on the outside of the window-frame, some distance
above the ground-glass, and shields the latter from the direct rays of the
sun, which would otherwise cause uneven illumination owing to their too
great obliquity. The direct sun on the white reflector will give a light
of high intensity. In winter, however, when the sun is low, it will fall
directly on the ground-glass, and this, if the negative box be constructed
as advised, is not objectionable, but on the contrary an advantage. In
Fig. 4 the opening, FGHI, represents a sheet of ruby glass, and can be
screened while focusing if found to interfere with the worker's
convenience in that operation.
[Illustration: Fig. 7]
The apparatus as sketched will suffice for all ordinary work.
Modifications of it will depend upon the ingenuity of the man who attempts
to design or construct one. It should be noted that the distance of the
ground-glass from the negative has its influence in the strength of the
light, and it is better to have this distance not over two inches. If less
than one inch, however, the diffusion of light is not so good. When the
light is weak the ground-glass can be removed entirely; the negative will
thus be viewed directly against the white reflector. Very strong negatives
giving undue contrasts may also be dealt with in this way. Or, if the
light is too strong for flat negatives, the reflector can be removed
entirely, or to the same end a sheet of yellow glass can be substituted
for the ground-glass, thus increasing contrasts. In fact, a very useful
and easily arranged modification of the negative-box consists of an
opening in the top of the box inside the room through which can be dropped
an extra sheet of ground-glass or opal to cut down the light, or of yellow
glass to increase contrast. This opening should be at the point K, Fig. 3.
I have referred to a kit as being the proper arrangement for holding the
negative. This, after much tribulation in working with home-made
contrivances, I have found to be the best arrangement. They come a size or
two larger than the negative with which they are to be used, and can
easily be cut down to the proper dimensions. With it, also, other kits to
hold smaller negatives can readily be used. It is also simple with them to
fasten the negatives in place. If they extend beyond the box on either
side so much the better; greater lateral adjustment can then be made. The
negative box, Fig. 3, is best painted dead black inside in the section
GBCG, and white in the section AGGD. The reasons for this will be obvious
at a glance.
In enlarging from films it is well to place them between two sheets of
glass of proper size, and fasten the whole in the kit or negative-holder.
For this purpose use thin glass without flaws or scratches. If the films
are smaller than the opening in the kit, it is well to paste a black mat
on one of the glasses, when, after proper adjustment, the film will remain
in place between the two glasses with very little pressure.
Enlarged negatives are very easily made with the apparatus described. A
contact positive can be made, preferably on carbon transparency tissue,
and from this the enlargement made, or an enlarged positive made first,
and from this a contact negative. The latter plan is preferable, since it
admits of retouching on both positive and negative. Slow plates should be
used throughout. For those who do not care to go to the expense of
experimenting with large plates, I would suggest that good contact
positives be first made and from these negatives on bromide paper,
_Standard A_, _soft_. These negatives are treated as already described.
The best positive for this purpose is a thin one with full gradations of
tone from clear high light to deep shadow, without veil or fog, but free
from any suspicion of flatness.
CHAPTER V
ENLARGING BY ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
The apparatus for enlarging with artificial light is, as has been stated,
more expensive than that for use with daylight. The negative box and
screen, however, remain as given. But we need in addition two extra
pieces, a light-box and a pair of condensing lenses.
The form of light-box presupposes the choice of illuminant, and in this
there is a wide range. Suffice it to say that a kerosene lamp with one or
more one-and-a-half inch burners will be found suitable for very small
work or weak negatives. For larger work or stronger negatives a stronger
light will be needed.
Of these, the first in point of strength is the arc-light, which is too
strong for ordinary negatives to be enlarged not more than fourfold on
ordinary bromide paper. Used with any of the slower papers it will be
found very serviceable and satisfactory. Next comes the lime-light, which
has pretty much the same advantages and disadvantages. After these come
acetylene, a gas giving an intense light of high actinic power. This is
within the reach of nearly all, as a first-class generator costs only
about twelve dollars, and the uses of the gas are manifold. The same
generators and burners can be used with a projecting lantern and will be
found far more satisfactory than oil. Acetylene burners can be had in
various sizes, ranging in power from thirty to several hundred
candle-power. The carbide from which the gas is generated is not expensive
and costs only a few cents each time the machine is loaded. By an
adjustment attached to the generator the gas is kept at a constant
pressure, and hence the light is unusually steady. All in all this light
has many advantages. After it in strength comes the Welsbach burner,
suitable for those having gas in the house. After this comes the ordinary
gas-burner, and then oil. The reader, knowing now what will be required of
his light, can take his choice.
Perhaps the simplest form of light-box is where the light is placed in one
room and the enlarging done in an adjoining one, the light being admitted
through a suitable opening. This prevents the possibility of stray light
reaching the paper and is productive of no additional heat in a room
presumably already hot enough.
If this is not feasible a light-box must be constructed. As these vary so
much in material and design, and must be altered with different forms of
light in use, I will merely state the requirements. First of these is that
it must be light-tight, and second, that it must have adequate ventilation
and be fire-proof. Following these in importance, there should be a simple
arrangement for looking at the light from time to time to see that it is
burning properly and some means for readily attending to it if it is not.
Having the light-box, the burners must be placed in it properly. Here the
shortest way out of the difficulty is to go to an expert. If electricity
is used go to an electrical supply house; if gas, go to a gas-fitter. As
will be seen later the flame itself must be placed in a certain relation
to other portions of the apparatus, and provision must be made
accordingly.
In looking over the magazines and annuals we will now and then see some
new method given for illuminating evenly the back of a negative in
enlarging or reduction. The most of these the writer has tried, but he has
never found one of them which could be relied upon to give even reasonable
satisfaction. If the light is apparently evenly diffused it is too weak.
If strong enough it is not evenly diffused. Hence I will recommend nothing
short of a pair of condensing lenses, as these have been proved by
experience to be satisfactory in every respect if properly handled and
cared for. The diameter of these must be slightly greater than the
diagonal of the largest negative from which enlargements are to be made.
These can be bought in pairs, mounted or unmounted, at about the following
prices:
---------+-----------------+----------------+------------------
Diameter | Focus | Pair of Lenses | Per Single Lens
Inches | Inches | Mounted | Unmounted
---------+-----------------+----------------+------------------
4 | 5-1/2 or 6-1/2 | $ 4.00 | $ 1.25
4-1/2 | 5-1/2 or 6-1/2 | 6.00 | 1.50
5 | 6-1/2 | 7.50 | 1.75
6 | 8 | 12.00 | 3.00
8 | 12 | 32.00 | 7.50
9 | 14 | 40.00 | 10.00
---------+-----------------+----------------+------------------
The prices asked for condensers vary considerably in different
price-lists. They can often be had at second-hand at a decided saving of
expense.
If it is desired to save the additional cost of the mounted condensing
lenses, they can be comparatively easily mounted by anyone at all familiar
with tools in the following manner:
A piece of quarter-inch pine or poplar is cut to a square about an inch
larger than the diameter of the lenses. In the center of this is sawed out
a circular opening the exact size of the lens. In another board of the
same dimensions is cut a circle a quarter of an inch less in diameter.
These boards are placed together with the grain running in opposite
directions, to prevent warping, and the lens kept in place by a wire bent
in a circle and clamped in place so as to hold the lens, or other similar
arrangement. See Fig. 8. The other lens is mounted in the same way. The
two are mounted with their convex sides facing each other and a slight
distance apart. It is better to place between them a thin sheet of finely
ground glass, as this overcomes the bad effects of slight flaws in the
lenses, which are not uncommon. The combination is then boxed up.
[Illustration: Fig. 8]
Having now our light-box, condensers, negative box, camera and screen,
they are next arranged in the order shown by Fig. 9. A long table
especially constructed for the purpose makes the best base for this
purpose.
In putting the apparatus together there are several points to be noticed.
First, the planes of the lenses, negative, projecting lenses and screen
must all be parallel; second, the centers of all these should be in a
single straight line, and third, either the light or the condensers should
be so mounted as to easily slide backward or forward, since every time the
projecting lens is racked backward or forward it necessitates a
corresponding motion of the condensers to or from the light.
[Illustration: Fig. 9]
In constructing the apparatus, for use with condensers and artificial
light, the same provision should be made in the negative box for inserting
a piece of colored or ground glass as was made in the daylight apparatus.
When the diameter of the condensers is but little greater than the
diagonal of the negative it will be necessary to have the latter quite
close to the former, as the cone of light from the condensers has its apex
at the lens, and hence if the negative in such a case is at a distance
from the condensers the corners will receive no light. Reference to Fig. 9
will show this plainly. For this and other reasons it is always best to
have the condensers of ample size for a given negative. In fact, before
beginning to make enlargements the worker should work with one good
negative until he finds out exactly what light-intensity is best suited to
it. This will then serve as a standard for all other negatives of the same
general grade, and variations of the light can be made as required for
particular negatives, or where the extent of enlargement is materially
changed for various purposes.
In using the daylight apparatus, which we will now consider, the negative
is placed in the holder opposite the center of the ground-glass, upside
down and facing into the work room. The room is darkened and lens
uncapped. An image more or less blurred will appear on the screen. If the
enlarged picture is to be only slightly larger than the negative, the lens
must be racked out until its distance from the negative is but little less
than its distance from the screen. To make the enlargement greater we
simply rack back the lens and move the screen further off. There are
tables which show exactly the distance which the lens must be from the
negative and screen in order to get an enlargement of a given size: The
table here inserted covers the ordinary requirements and may be of service
in constructing the apparatus:
TIMES OF ENLARGEMENT
Total distances from the negative, in inches.
-------------+---------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------
Times of | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6
Enlargement | | | |
-------------+-------+-------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------
Focus of | To | To | To | To | To | To | To | To
Lens | Easel | Lens | Easel | Lens | Easel | Lens | Easel | Lens
-------------+-------+-------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------
6 inches | 27 | 9 | 32 | 8 | 37-1/2 | 7-1/2 | 49 | 7
8 " | 36 | 12 | 42-2/3 | 10-2/3 | 50 | 10 | 65-1/3 | 9-1/3
10 " | 45 | 15 | 53-1/3 | 13-1/3 | 62-1/2 | 12-1/2 | 81-2/3 | 11-2/3
12 " | 54 | 18 | 64 | 16 | 75 | 15 | 98 | 14
-------------+-------+-------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------
A table for enlargements of from one to twenty-five times, with lenses
varying in focal length from three to nine inches is here given.
ENLARGEMENTS
_From the British Journal of Photography Almanac._
+----------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Focus of | |
| Lens | Times of Enlargement and Reduction |
+----------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+---------+
| Inches | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| | inch | inches | inches | inches | inches | inches | inches | inches |
+----------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+---------+
| 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 27 |
| | 6 | 4-1/2 | 4 | 3-3/4 | 3-3/5 | 3-1/2 | 3-3/7 | 3-3/8 |
+----------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+---------+
| 3-1/2 | 7 | 10-1/2 | 14 | 17-1/2 | 21 | 24-1/2 | 28 | 31-1/2 |
| | 7 | 5-1/4 | 4-2/3 | 4-3/4 | 4-1/5 | 4-1/12 | 4 | 3-9/10 |
+----------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+---------+
| 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 36 |
| | 8 | 6 | 5-1/3 | 5 | 4-4/5 | 4-2/3 | 4-4/7 | 4-1/2 |
+----------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+---------+
| 4-1/2 | 9 | 13-1/2 | 18 | 22-1/2 | 27 | 31-1/2 | 36 | 40-1/2 |
| | 9 | 6-3/4 | 6 | 5-3/5 | 5-2/5 | 5-1/4 | 5-1/7 | 5-1/16 |
+----------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+---------+
| 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 |
| | 10 | 7-1/2 | 6-2/3 | 6-1/4 | 6 | 5-5/6 | 5-5/7 | 5-5/8 |
+----------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+---------+
| 5-1/2 | 11 | 16-1/2 | 22 | 27-1/2 | 33 | 38-1/2 | 44 | 49-1/2 |
| | 11 | 8-1/4 | 7-1/3 | 6-4/5 | 6-1/2 | 6-5/12 | 6-2/7 | 6-3/10 |
+----------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+---------+
| 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 | 36 | 42 | 48 | 54 |
| | 12 | 9 | 8 | 7-1/2 | 7-1/5 | 7 | 6-6/7 | 6-3/4 |
+----------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+---------+
| 7 | 14 | 21 | 28 | 35 | 42 | 49 | 56 | 63 |
| | 14 | 10-1/2 | 9-1/3 | 8-3/4 | 8-2/5 | 8-1/6 | 8 | 7-7/8 |
+----------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+---------+
| 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 | 48 | 56 | 64 | 72 |
| | 16 | 12 | 10-2/3 | 10 | 9-3/5 | 9-1/3 | 9-1/7 | 9 |
+----------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+---------+
| 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 | 54 | 63 | 72 | 81 |
| | 18 | 13-1/2 | 12 | 11-1/4 | 10-4/5 | 10-1/2 | 10-2/7 | 10-1/8 |
+----------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+---------+
The object of this table is to enable any manipulator who is about
to enlarge (or reduce) a copy any given number of times to do so
without troublesome calculation. It is assumed that the photographer
knows exactly what the focus of his lens is, and that he is able to
measure accurately from its optical center. The use of the table
will be seen from the following illustration: A photographer has a
_carte_ to enlarge to four times its size, and the lens he intends
employing is one of 6 inches equivalent focus. He must therefore
look for 4 on the upper horizontal line and for 6 in the first
vertical column, and carry his eye to where these two join, which
will be at 30-7-1/2. The greater of these is the distance the
sensitive plate must be from the center of the lens; and the lesser,
the distance of the picture to be copied.
In practice it is convenient, after having once found the focus for a
given enlargement from a given negative with the lens in use, to mark on
the base of the apparatus the point to which the lens has been extended.
Then in making future enlargements of the same size, it is only necessary
to set the lens at that point and move the easel backward or forward until
an approximate focus is obtained, when the image will be of the proper
size on the screen.
As an approximate guide it is sufficient to know that the nearer the lens
is to the negative the greater will be the enlargement, as may be seen in
Fig. 7. If a piece of thin cardboard, or a sheet of paper cut to the exact
size of the enlargement desired, is placed upon the easel-screen, little
difficulty will be experienced in getting an enlarged image of the proper
size and correctly focused.
It is advisable to focus the enlargement with the largest aperture of the
lens. If the lens, when working at its largest aperture, covers the plate
from which the enlargement is being made, it will give proper definition
over the enlargement. With a lens of the better sort, of course, the
definition will be equally good whether a large or small aperture is used;
but with a low-priced lens it is better to stop down to No. 8 (f/11.3) or
No. 16 (f/16), to avoid spherical aberration. Stopping the lens down
increases the time of exposure, and enables one to have greater control
over the operation of exposing the paper, permitting time to shade or
locally increase the exposure at any portion of the image. This is
sometimes useful, but as a general thing stopping the lens down is not
advisable, as interfering with one's judgment in calculating exposures for
various negatives. Having secured the image correct in size and focus,
place thumb-tacks at all four sides of the sheet of paper or card used to
focus the image. These will serve as a guide to the placing of the
sensitive paper. Adjust the lens stop as desired and cap the lens, leaving
the room totally dark save for such safe light as we may have for working.
Place the bromide paper on the screen, using the thumb-tacks as a guide to
the correct position in this.
In making his first enlargements, the beginner should avail himself of the
help of test-strips. These should be about one inch wide and the length of
the paper. The exposure depends on a number of factors, among which are
light, negative, focal length of lens, size of enlargement, stops,
sensitiveness of paper, developer, temperature of developer, and length of
development. The first experiment had best, therefore, be made on a purely
arbitrary basis, for which we will take ten seconds.
Pinning a test-strip on the screen, we uncap the lens and with a piece of
cardboard shade two-thirds of the strip during five seconds; move the
cardboard, and give the next section five seconds making ten for the
first; then remove the cardboard entirely and give five seconds more,
making fifteen for the first, ten for the second, and five for the third.
Now develop the strip. If the fifteen seconds portion finishes development
in less than one minute, and the ten takes approximately a minute, we will
know that our basis was correct. But if all three were over-exposed or
under-exposed, as shown by one minute's development, we can expose the
next test-strip accordingly.
In determining the correct exposure, the method already set forth for
contact exposures is a reasonably good one. If the paper with a given
exposure takes half the proper time to develop, halve the next exposure;
if double the time, or more, double it. More could be said on the subject
of exposure, and possibly to advantage; for instance, there are tables
showing the exact relation of exposure to the number of times of
enlargement, but complicated calculations in the dark-room are troublesome
and a test-strip is simpler. After a while one gets the ability to
determine the approximate exposure required by looking at the enlarged
image on the screen, correcting slight errors by length of development,
and greater ones by modifying the developer by diluting or strengthening.
It should be remembered, however, that in judging exposure by reference to
the screen, we must consider the high lights, as well as the shadows. It
is in the high lights that we need the detail if we are to have soft
pictures. If this detail in the high lights is plentiful and clear we may
know that our light is strong enough for a very short exposure. If it is
very faint, we will have to give a long exposure and use diluted developer
to save the over-exposed shadows. On the other hand, if the image on the
screen is a flat one, we may know that our light is too strong for the
negative, and it must be modified by removing the reflector or by
interposing ground or yellow glass; and if neither of these suffice, we
can simply lay the negative aside for a dark day when the light will be
very much weaker. Frequently all necessary contrasts can be obtained by
the use of the _hard_ paper before referred to. As under-exposure tends to
increase contrasts, we should also give the minimum exposure in the case
of flat negatives, abandoning for a time our standard one-minute
development. As will be seen by this time, there are many wrinkles about
using bromide paper, and it will be found that new ones appear at every
_seance_ in the enlarging room.
But why is it that so many of our enlargements are black in the shadows
and chalky in the high lights? Why, simply because our light is too weak
for our negative. We forget that if we cannot modify our negative we must
modify our light. It is this characteristic of the bromide enlargement
which has prevented the process from enjoying the popularity it deserves.
And I sometimes wonder whether this chalkiness is due to the use of the
north light!
CHAPTER VI
DODGING, VIGNETTING, COMPOSITE PRINTING AND THE USE OF BOLTING SILK
Of all printing processes, bromide enlarging offers the best opportunities
for successful dodging and modification. We can cut our light down and
take all the time we want, or we can take as little time as we want. A
hand, a finger, a slip of paper, or anything within reach, will suffice to
shade the light just as we want it. In this connection it is well to
always hold the shade nearer the lens than the easel, as greater diffusion
results and there is less danger of sharp lines. In shading a foreground
to bring up a dense sky, first make a test-strip or two, noting how long
the shading is carried on and how long the light is allowed to act on the
whole. If the sky is then over- or under-printed we can modify it in the
enlargement proper.
The best arrangement for vignetting in enlarging is a piece of cardboard
the size of the negative, with an opening cut out at the proper place and
about the size of the portion of the negative to be vignetted. This is
held near the lens and moved backward and forward between the latter and
the screen, the opening showing larger as we near the lens and smaller as
we recede from it. Very tasteful vignettes can be made in this way. A
favorite method of the writer's is to use a sheet of bromide paper,
preferably that with rough surface, and print on it a small vignette of a
portion of a negative. These sheets being of a uniform size are then bound
in book form, and make very attractive souvenirs. Variety can be added to
the collection by printing some of the pictures through a mat fastened on
the screen over the paper, when, of course, they are bounded by straight,
sharp lines.
Double printing in enlarging is not at all difficult. Assuming that
test-strips have been made determining the proper exposure for each
negative, I will briefly outline the process. Taking a landscape negative
with clear sky in which we wish to print clouds, we first tack on the
screen a sheet of paper the size of our bromide, and after properly
adjusting and focusing it, trace with a pencil the outline of the skyline.
We then remove the foreground negative and, after tracing, cut out a mask
conforming to the size and shape of the foreground, cutting away the sky.
We now put in the box the sky negative, and readjust our sheet of paper
until after proper focusing the desired portion of the sky occupies the
portion reserved for it, leaving the thumb-tacks as a guide when we put
our bromide on the screen. Now using the sheet of paper as a guide, place
on the edges of the bromide paper two little pencil marks to show how far
we shall shade the lower portion of the paper. Our mask being the size of
the foreground negative, it is now only necessary to hold it at the proper
distance from the lens to have its edge conform to the sky-line when
enlarged. But this would leave a sharp line if held exactly at that point,
so using the pencil marks on the margin as a guide, we slowly raise and
lower the mask very slightly and just sufficient to cause an agreeable
blending of the sky into nothing. The proper exposure given, we cap the
lens, remove the paper and insert the foreground negative. Now we must
again adjust our sheet of plain paper until the sky line marked on it
coincides with the sky-line on the screen, leaving thumb-tacks as usual.
Registry being thus secured, we simply expose the foreground and develop
the composite print.
Needless to say, our clouds must be lighted from the same general
direction as the landscape. But if in the negative they are not so lighted
it can be reversed in the holder and will then print properly. In almost
all cloud printing the tendency is to give undue prominence to the clouds
by printing the sky to too deep a tone. This, besides making the blending
very noticeable at the horizon, results in unnatural effects and should be
avoided.
If the sky portion of the landscape negative is thin, it might print
slightly and spoil the effect of the clouds. This can be overcome by using
a weaker light in enlarging. Where this is not desirable, a mask can be
cut for the sky portion and used slightly while the foreground is being
printed. By using it a very little during the first part of the exposure
the tint will be overcome, while objects projecting above the horizon will
be sufficiently printed. It will be found easier, no doubt, to print the
landscape first and sky afterwards. But this does not result in good work.
The landscape should invariably be printed after the sky portion.
Bolting silk enlargements were for a time very popular. Sometimes they
were artistic. Then every-one began making them, too often from unsuitable
negatives, and they fell into disrepute. This method of enlarging is, in
fact, suitable for very few negatives and only where broad effects of
light and shade are desired. To cut up a spotty negative with a succession
of lines does not necessarily give a broad effect in the picture. But for
softening down heavy masses of shadows, and blending them harmoniously
with masses of light or half light, the process is without an equal. The
bolting silk can be bought by the square yard of dealers in photographic
supplies, and should be stretched evenly over a frame made of quarter- and
half-inch wood, being tacked between the two strips. This frame can be
easily adjusted to fit over the paper on the screen. By using the side,
bringing the cloth within a quarter of an inch of the paper, the lines are
more evident, which is not so objectionable for very large work. But for
the softest effects, reverse the frame and use it at half an inch from the
paper. In this way we get a soft diffusion of the lines and much greater
general softness. It should never be used nearer than a quarter of an
inch, as the lines then become too evident, and hence fail in the effect
desired. The bolting silk comes in three grades, fine, medium and coarse.
The medium is the best for general work. It should not, however, be used
for sizes under 8 × 10. The interposition of the cloth requires about
one-half additional exposure. Focusing, of course, must be done without
the frame in place. The bolting silk should only be used with paper which
is to be toned to some color other than black, as there is something
incongruous in its use with black tones.
Few branches of photographic work, outside of negative-making, are as
fascinatingly interesting as the making of enlarged prints on bromide
paper from small negatives. Every amateur has negatives worthy of
enlargement in his collection, and the process is so simple as to be
within the capacity of the amateur who is still in his first year in
photography. Its practice will stimulate his interest and help him in all
his other photographic work. Especially will it help him in
picture-making, the merits and defects of composition being a hundred fold
more plainly evident in an enlargement than in the small print from the
hand-camera negative. Moreover, in its essentials, bromide enlarging calls
for no special equipment other than the ordinary hand- or view-camera, and
a dark-room or other convenient work-room from which all "white light" can
be excluded on occasion.
CHAPTER VII
THE REDUCTION AND TONING OF BROMIDE PRINTS
The subsequent manipulations with bromide paper do not differ materially
from those with negatives. The support being paper of course makes some
difference and the fact that while in the negative we aim to get printing
density and printing color only, in the positive we aim to please the eye,
makes another. But generally speaking, it may be said that whatever we can
do with the negative we can do with bromide paper, that is, in so far as
the emulsion itself is concerned.
The first operation to be taken up is the reduction of prints which are
too dark. This can best be effected just after the prints come from the
hypo. A few grains of red prussiate of potash are dissolved in a suitable
quantity of water, the latter being barely tinged, not of a strong yellow
color. If the print is too dense throughout, it can be immersed without
previous washing in this solution. Reduction should take place gradually,
and this is best accomplished with a weak reducer. If the tray be rocked
gently the reduction will be quite uniform. If, however, only a portion of
the print needs reduction, this can be effected by applying the
ferricyanide solution locally with a brush or bit of absorbent cotton.
Extreme care is needed in this operation. In this way unduly deep shadows
can be softened, veiled high lights brightened, or almost any modification
obtained which may be deemed desirable. When reduction is almost completed
quickly rinse the print in running water and then wash thoroughly. If the
print has been dried, it is only necessary to soak it for a few moments in
a fresh fixing bath, when the ferricyanide can be applied as before.
Latterly the toning of bromide prints has become popular. There are many
methods and innumerable formulae. Here we shall concern ourselves with the
sulphide method which best fulfills the three chief requirements, namely:
(1) Certainty of results; (2) the use of few baths; (3) the production of
permanent prints. Processes which, as regards color, vigor, etc., are
beyond the control of the worker, are of very little practical use.
Equally so, if the toning involves a whole string of operations, the final
outcome of which is usually--a spoilt print. And, lastly, a process
which--however satisfactory it may be in other respects--impairs the
undoubted permanency of a black-developed print is not one worthy of
adoption. In one or two other respects, processes vary chiefly as regards
the depth or intensity which the print must have in order to produce the
most satisfactory result when toned. Thus, prints to be toned with uranium
require to be distinctly on the pale side, whilst those for sulphide
toning are best a little vigorous. One or two other methods, on the other
hand, require the use of the costly gold or platinum salts. The latter,
except under exceptional circumstances, are far better employed in the
legitimate form of platinotype or other platinum paper; bromide prints
toned with platinum will probably cost more, and will never have the
absolute permanence peculiar to the platinum print.
Placed in rough order of merit, the processes available are: Sulphide
toning (hypo-alum toning is a cheaper, slower, and not quite so effective
form of this method, whilst the thio processes represent sulphide toning
at its best); copper toning; toning by re-development. These methods
differ, not only in the results which they give, but also as regards the
perfection with which each attains its particular effect; on the principle
of the lady in the play who spoke the "absolute truth under the
circumstances," each may claim to be included among the really serviceable
processes.
In the sulphide process, the image which, in a black-developed print,
consists of metallic silver in fine division, is converted into silver
sulphide, a substance which in the ordinary way is also black, but when
produced in a fine condition on a photographic print is brown to sepia
color. Silver sulphide is a most permanent substance. Therefore a
sulphide-toned print should be permanent, too, a conclusion which is fully
borne out in practice. A sulphide-toned print is at least as permanent as
the bromide from which it is made. The image of the latter is susceptible
to practically only one agent likely to come in contact with it, namely,
sulphur fumes from burning gas, which partially sulphurize it and give
rise to iridescent markings resembling those due to stale paper. Now, as
the sulphide-toned print is the result of this sulphurizing process
carried out with intention to a state of completeness, the result should
be--and proves to be in practice--immune to this one cause of defacement.
In converting the silver image into one of silver sulphide, the method is
to first act on (bleach) the silver image with some reagent which will
change it into a compound of silver susceptible to the action of sulphide.
Iodine has been used for this, giving an image of silver iodide. Bromine
gives one of silver bromide. A mixture of potass bichromate and
hydrochloric acid gives silver chloride, as does also a solution of
chlorine, though in the former case the presence of the chromium compounds
affects the color obtained. But the best of the lot is a solution of the
two substances potassium ferricyanide and potassium bromide, which forms
an image of silver ferrocyanide and silver bromide. Both of these are
converted into silver sulphide when treated with a solution of sodium
sulphide. In the case of the hypo-alum process, in which the prints are
toned direct (without bleaching) in a mixture of hypo and alum, the image
is also changed into silver sulphide, but only to a partial extent.
Theoretically, the method is not so good as sulphide proper; it is much
more inconvenient in practice except on a commercial scale, while the
results cannot be said to quite equal those by the sulphide process as
regards permanency.
So much by way of theory. We will now give the formulae for the two
solutions required in the sulphide process. The first of these is the
"bleach," or oxidizing mixture of bromide and ferricyanide. Within
reasonable limits, the proportions of these salts and the quantity of each
in the solution does not matter very much. Each chemical can, if desired,
be kept in a separate solution if care be taken to keep the mixture in the
dark,--that is, in a cupboard where it will not be exposed constantly to
daylight. The ferricyanide suffers in time by exposure to daylight; but,
as both it and the bromide are comparatively cheap and serve for a large
number of prints, there is no need to take excessive care. The
ferricyanide-bromide mixture, however, keeps very much better than a plain
solution of ferricyanide alone. Formulae which place the salts in separate
solutions are a mistake.
As good a formula as any is: Potass ferricyanide, 300 grains; potass
bromide, 100 grains, water 20 ounces; Ammonium bromide may be used in
place of the potassium salt in the above formula; the difference is not
marked, but the ammonium compound tends to give a somewhat warmer brown or
sepia. In the case of many formulae, it will be noticed that equal
quantities of bromide and ferricyanide are recommended. Although, as just
stated, variations in the formula are not at all marked in their effects,
a proportion of bromide over one-quarter of the ferricyanide does tend
towards the yellowish color of which complaints are now and again heard. I
want to make it clear that the opportunities for going wrong with the
bleacher are very small indeed. Without encouraging the reader to be
careless let it be said that "any old formula" (of ferricyanide and
bromide) for the bleacher will prove successful. Not so, however, in the
case of the sulphide solution, which requires to be very carefully made up
and used.
Sulph_ide_, not sulph_ite_. The material for the toning or darkening of
the bleached print is the chemical substance, sodium sulphide, of the
formula Na_2S.9H_2O. This is purchased as small crystals which greedily
absorb water and rapidly become almost liquid if not properly corked. Not
that this totally unfits the sulphide for use. Sulphide which has gone
liquid will at all times be found to work perfectly, but it is of course
open to suspicion, and, in any case, it is not possible to know what is
the strength of a solution made up with such a supply. For this reason, it
is best to make up the sulphide into solution of 20 per cent strength, and
add this to water to make the toning bath. And it is here that a caution
must be noted. The weak working solution, which is only about 1 to 2 per
cent strength, keeps very badly indeed, and should be made up fresh from
the stock solution at the time of toning each batch of prints. This is one
of the most necessary items to bear in mind in using the sulphide process.
Sodium sulphide is sold in various degrees of purity, and the label on the
bottle is not always in exact correspondence with the condition of the
substance inside, but the two forms which must be adhered to for sulphide
toning are the ordinary "pure" and the "pure for analysis." The former can
be obtained from any reliable drug store or photographic dealer. It comes
in small lumps, yellowish to greenish in color; when dissolved in water
the solution will be yellow, and will usually show a deposit which must be
filtered off. This sulphide will give tones which are sepia brown with
most papers. In the case of the "pure-for-analysis" sulphide, which is the
recrystallized variety, the salt will be pure white and will form a quite
colorless and clear solution in water. The tone given by this kind of
sulphide is usually of a more purplish color. The distinct difference
between the two commercial varieties of sulphide should not be overlooked,
as it allows the worker to modify the process usefully when dealing with
papers differing (as all papers do) to a slight extent in their
adaptability to sulphide toning. The purer form has certainly much better
keeping properties than the other, but either, if made up in 20 per cent
solution, keeps for a month or two at least--which is enough for all
purposes. The chief difference between the two is noticed in the diluted
or working solutions. That of the purest sulphide _may_ be kept and used
again, though it is not really good policy to do so.
The supply of sulphide should therefore be dissolved as soon as purchased,
as follows: _Stock sulphide solution_--20 per cent; sodium sulphite 4
ounces; water to make 20 ounces. The actual toning solution is made up at
the time of treating the prints by mixing the above stock with water, as
follows: _Sulphide toning bath._--Stock 20 per cent solution 3 ounces;
water to make 20 ounces.
This makes a bath which contains about one per cent real sulphide,
corresponding with about a 3 per cent solution of the sulphide as
purchased. If the bath is much weaker, the tone obtained is usually not
quite so good; while, if it is stronger, there is danger of the print's
blistering while toning, or afterward in the washing water. Indeed, some
papers need to be toned in a weaker bath, and require also to be fixed in
an alum-hypo fixing bath (see later), so that the strength of the toning
bath given above may be taken as the maximum, and used at half or
one-third strength, as circumstances show to be necessary. And, to repeat
the caution once more, the toning bath is to be thrown away as soon as the
prints have been passed through it. With these points in our mind as to
the making up of the solution, we can come to the process proper.
The prints require to be well washed and free from hypo before being
placed in the bromide-ferricyanide bleacher, because any hypo in
conjunction with the ferricyanide will form the well-known Farmer's
reducer, and cause patchiness of the prints. It is immaterial whether the
prints are taken direct through the toning process or dried in the
meantime. Some workers contend that the toning process is more regular if
the prints are dried before bleaching. In either case, immersion in the
bleacher will cause the fully developed bromide to disappear, leaving only
a faint brown image behind. In some cases the image is fainter than in
others, the difference appearing to depend chiefly on the developer
employed. Developers with a liability to stain will give prints which do
not bleach out so completely as those made with cleaner working
developers. But, in all cases, two to three minutes' action of the
bleaching solution will be ample; if all pure black is not gone in this
time, it is a sign that the bleach is becoming exhausted. The prints
should be kept constantly on the move whilst in the solution, and turned
over and over to ensure equal action. They are then given quite a brief
rinse in running water--half a minute to a minute--and then transferred to
the sulphide solution, where they should darken to the full brown or sepia
tone in a few seconds. It is well always to leave them here for twice to
three times the period required to give the full tone. A wash of half an
hour will remove the salts left in the film.
Granted that bleacher and sulphide are in proper working order, there is
one further factor in the making of sepia prints which is of vital
importance, and that is the proper preparation of the print itself. A good
sulphide tone presupposes a good black and white bromide. Not only that,
defects in the bromide which may lie latent while the print is untoned
come to light in the sulphide bath. This applies to uneven fixation (due
to omission to keep prints moving in the hypo bath) and fingering of the
surface; while, as regards the original development of the print, making
the best of a wrong exposure will not do when sulphide toning is in view.
A print that is forced by long development will suffer in tone, the result
being colder and less satisfactory as regards vigor. Full exposure, and
development which is complete in the normal time for a perfect black
print, are the conditions for a good sepia tone, and, when a batch of
prints is being put through, it is well to take steps to preserve a
uniform time of development in order to secure an identical tone
throughout.
There are many different formulas for the uranium toning of bromide
prints, and I suppose that most of them have given good results with the
workers who published their methods. Of those which I have tried, however,
none has yielded the results which I have been enabled to obtain from my
own formula--my own in that I arrived at it by patient experimenting. It
may be that this formula is not wholly original with myself. At any rate,
I do not claim anything for it except that it works, with me, better than
others I have tried.
The requirements for toning bromide prints with uranium are: 1 ounce of
uranium nitrate; 1 ounce of potassium ferricyanide (the red crystals); 1/2
pound bottle of acetic acid--c. p. glacial preferred; water; a supply of
blotting paper, to be kept exclusively for this purpose, and a few
absolutely and chemically clean trays.
The expense attached to these toning processes is slight. Uranium nitrate
costs from forty to sixty cents per ounce, and an ounce will last a long
time. Potassium ferricyanide costs about twenty cents per pound, and a
pound is ample for a lifetime. Glacial acetic acid is a little more
costly, but a half-pound bottle will prove a good investment. It is used
also, as the reader will recall, in making acid hypo for acid fixing.
To prepare the toning baths, dissolve the ounce of uranium nitrate in 10
ounces of water. The water should be distilled if this is easily
obtainable, and the solution should be kept in an orange-glass bottle or
an ordinary bottle protected from light by a non-actinic paper wrapping.
Dissolve the ounce of potassium ferricyanide in 10 ounces of water. Keep
this also in an orange-glass bottle, well corked. There are many cautions
about this particular salt, and it has been said that it will not keep in
solution. In my practice I find no difficulty whatever in the use of a
solution six months old, despite the difficulties mentioned in the
text-books.
To tone the bromide prints, first note that the prints should have been
developed and fixed and washed just as usual. It is necessary that prints
to be toned shall contain no trace of hypo. To secure this, the prints
should be specially prepared for toning by being again thoroughly washed,
as any hypo remaining in the print will cause spots and streakiness. With
care at this stage the toning will give clean and bright prints, which
should be as permanent as the original bromide print.
I cannot give the reason why, but, as a general rule, bromide prints tone
better if the print has been dried after washing and rewet just before
toning. There may be a chemical reason for this, but I am inclined to
think that it is a physical one, viz., that the emulsion is softer after
its first washing than after having been dried and wet, so that it allows
toning solution to get into the film more quickly. This naturally results
in more rapid toning, and quick toning does not yield as good prints as a
slower and more gradual building up of the color image.
Having the print ready for toning as here outlined, take 1 dram of the
uranium solution, add 1/2 dram of acetic acid and then 5 ounces of water.
In a separate graduate put 1 dram of ferricyanide solution and 5 ounces of
water. Just before toning, pour these two solutions together into the
third graduate and use immediately. To proceed, lay the rewetted print
face up in a clean tray and flow the freshly made toning bath (the two
solutions combined) over the print. The print and tray must be kept in
motion by gentle rocking during the toning operation. The toning solution
tends to throw a red precipitate as it works. This precipitate should not
be permitted to settle on the face of the print. Some workers tone their
prints face down, but I do not advocate this, as it is important to take
the print from the toning bath at just the right moment, and, as the
toning process is short (six or seven minutes is usually sufficient even
for the deepest red) you need to watch the print all the time. In the
toning operation note that a constant quiet motion of the tray, to keep
the solution moving over the print, is essential to success.
I have already given, in an earlier paragraph, the order in which the
colors come. But that order was for a normal print. Some prints behave
differently, and it is in the control of these unavoidable variations with
different prints that skill and success come. A print of a half-tone
subject against a jet-black background, a portrait, for instance, will
hardly follow the normal order in the appearance of colors. This because
the half-tones will be brown and even red-brown before the toning solution
has changed the dense black deposit of the background at all. If the
toning was stopped at this stage, some very pretty effects in double
toning might result.
From this explanation of the toning process, the discerning reader will
perceive the need for caution in selecting the best kind of a print for
uranium toning. Thus a print which has a bald-headed sky will tone only in
the body of the print, but if there is any tint at all to the sky, it also
will tone, giving an effect not much to be desired except for sunset or
sunrise pictures. If white high-lights are desired in the toned print,
they must be white originally and not the least bit fogged. As
double-toned effects in a print are not usually desirable, those prints
having deep black shadows or dark masses will be avoided. The best kind of
print for this method of toning is one fully exposed and slightly
under-developed, since, when the uranium does take hold of the shadows, it
makes for an increase of contrast.
Experience is the best teacher, and I could not begin to describe in
detail what the reader can himself ascertain from a few experiments. Some
prints needing contrast should be carried far in the toning solution;
others, not needing contrast, will give better results if they are toned
only through the browns, and so on. The reader who can spend a Saturday
afternoon with a few bromide prints, varying in character, will learn more
from his experimenting than I could tell him in many pages. For these
experiments waste or imperfect black prints can be used with practical
economy, the chief object being to watch the progress of toning and
chemical changes.
When the desired tone is reached, remove the print from the toning
solution and wash quickly and well in running water for fifteen minutes.
If washed too long, the color of the print will fade and a dead and
lifeless print will result. If not washed long enough, the yellow of the
ferricyanide will remain in the print, robbing its gradations of
brightness and purity of color and impairing the permanency of the print.
A big advantage in this method of toning is its wonderful adaptability.
There is no hard and fast rule as to the proportion of the chemicals to
the bulk of water used. Try two drams of each of the two solutions; then
three drams of each, but watch that the print does not get beyond you in
toning. The only practical difference in my formula and others that I have
seen is that I make my stock solution weaker than that ordinarily advised
and use less of it to a certain amount of water, because I prefer slow
toning and the accompanying ease of control which the flash-in-the-pan
formula does not admit. Quick toning, like quick development, tends to
block the shadows in the print, and if you once get bronzed shadows the
print is practically hopeless. Not quite ruined, however, as a bath in a 5
per cent solution of sodium carbonate will discharge the color and then,
if the print is faded, it may be redeveloped in an alkaline developer such
as metol-hydro. But before it is retoned the print must be thoroughly
washed, as the presence of sodium carbonate does not permit the toning
solution to do its work.
Finally, I may say that, while a bath of acetic acid and water is often
advised to stop the toning action in this method, I have never found it
necessary.
All the thin varieties of bromide paper curl badly in drying. If they are
to be kept unmounted it is well to immerse them in water to which has been
added a few drops of glycerine. This will ensure their lying flat after
drying. A solution of 2 ounces of glycerine in 25 ounces of water is
advised when it is desired to make bromides on heavy rough paper remain
flat, after drying, for book illustration and similar purposes.
If one is trying to rush through a bromide print, it can be trimmed while
wet by placing it on a sheet of stiff paper and cutting through both.
The paper will be found to cockle the mounts badly in drying. Aside from
the glue mountant, formula for which accompanies the paper, I know no
preventive except to mount the prints while dry with the dry mounting
tissue. As the paper when wet stretches one way considerably, as much as a
third of an inch on a ten- or twelve-inch length, provision must be made
in trimming, especially if mounts with centers of a given size are used.
The paper being covered with an emulsion which in warm weather is very
soft while wet, mounting is somewhat more difficult than with some of the
other papers. My method is to mount not more than half a dozen at once,
placing them face down, one on top of the other, on a glass or ferrotype
plate, blotting off the surface water and spreading the paste over the top
one in the usual way. I place this on the mount and then stretch over it
smoothly a damp handkerchief or piece of very thin rubber cloth, rubbing
the print down with my hands, seldom using the squeegee and then very
lightly. By this method abrasion of the surface seldom results and
air-bells are unknown. Owing to the strong contracting power of the paper
in drying, the mounting paste must be used freely, especially at the edges
of the print.
Apart from the methods of procedure here given, there are innumerable
modifications covering every detail of contact printing and enlarging on
bromide paper. Most of these have been given careful trial as published,
but few have quite fulfilled the expectations they created.
BOOKS.
Manuals dealing with the manipulation of the various brands of paper may
also be obtained, generally _gratis_, from the various manufacturers of
bromide paper or their American agents as follows: The Eastman Kodak Co.,
Rochester, N. Y.; The Defender Photo Supply Co., Rochester, N. Y.; J. L.
Lewis, New York City.
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over the entire surface of the negative.
PRICE
Including Negative Carrier and Kits and three sheets of diffusing Ground
Glass.
No. 1. For Negatives 5 × 7 and smaller $28.00
No. 2. " " 8 × 10 " " 35.00
No. 3. " " 11 × 14 " " 45.00
FOLMER & SCHWING DIVISION
Eastman Kodak Co.
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
WE RECOMMEND "Agfa" AMIDOL FOR DEVELOPING BROMIDE WORK
¶ Send an "Agfa" Label and 10 cents for a copy of the "Agfa" Formulæ Book.
It contains complete formulæ for all makes of paper and other valuable
information.
BERLIN ANILINE WORKS
215 WATER STREET
NEW YORK
$15.00
[Illustration]
From a Small Negative You Can Print a Picture Any Size
The Radion Enlarging Printer is a device which, used in connection with
your camera, produces prints from either film or glass negatives in any
dimensions you wish.
The printing is almost as quick as contact printing, and the size of the
prints can be varied instantly.
THE RADION ENLARGING PRINTER
enables you to get all the results of a big camera with a small and
inexpensive equipment. It comes to you complete and ready to operate at
any time of day or night. It is equipped with new, specially constructed
Mazda lamps ready to attach to any electric light socket.
The Radion Enlarging Printer works without the use of condensers, which
thereby reduces the cost of the machine and secures a better detail on the
print.
PRICE $15.00
Most dealers in photographic supplies can sell you a Radion Enlarging
Printer. If yours cannot, write direct to us. Write anyway for descriptive
circulars that will be of great interest to every camera user.
H. C. WHITE CO.
_Lens Grinders and Makers of Optical Instruments for over Forty Years_
503 RIVER ST., NORTH BENNINGTON, VERMONT
Branches:
45 W. 34th St., New York City San Francisco London
The First Essential in Enlarging is the Curry Utility Enlarging and
Copying Board and Springs
[Illustration]
It is 20 × 30 inches, made of well-seasoned wood, nicely finished.
Will hold without injury any size copy of any thickness.
=Utility Springs= are made of the best nickeled steel.
Price, including 24 Springs, =$3.50=.
* * * * *
THE CURRY STEREON Anastigmat Lens
Series A--F 4.5
Series B--F 6.3
[Illustration]
The finest lens at any price for portraits, views or enlarging.
Send for Price List and "Photo Developments."
* * * * *
FRANK J. CURRY
_Importer, Manufacturer and Dealer in Photo Goods of Every Description._
812 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, Pa.
For Enlarging
Bausch & Lomb-Zeiss Tessar IIb-F:6.3
because of its excellent optical corrections.
The =Tessar= has a flat field allowing exposures at full aperture.
No danger from vibration because of long exposure.
Saves exposure time on dense negatives.
For Sale by Dealers.
Send for Booklet 70 H, "Useful Tables for the Photographer," free on
request.
Contains tables on enlarging.
_Our name, backed by over half a century of experience, is on all our
products--lenses, microscopes, field glasses, projection apparatus,
engineering and other scientific instruments._
[Illustration]
Bausch & Lomb Optical Co.
NEW YORK WASHINGTON CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO
LONDON ROCHESTER, N.Y. FRANKFORT
You see the picture before you on the ground glass, right up to the moment
of exposure and are sure of success if you use
REFLEX CAMERAS
FOR YOUR CAMERA WORK OUT-OF-DOORS AND AT HOME
[Illustration]
REFLEX CAMERAS EXCEL
all other similar types in curtain velocity, ease and speed of operation,
simplicity of construction, freedom from outside mechanism, perfect
workmanship.
REGULAR 4×5 and 5×7
LONG-FOCUS 4×5 and 5×7
JUNIOR REFLEX 3-1/4×4-1/4 (fixed focus)
Price $12, with either one Holder or Adapter.
_Ask any independent dealer or write for catalogue and sample print to_
REFLEX CAMERA CO.
Newark, N. J.
GOERZ CAMERAS
ARE UNIQUE IN THE HAND CAMERA LINE
OUR NEW VEST-POCKET TENAX
is the finest pocket camera ever made. It measures, closed,
3/4×2-3/4×3-1/2 inches. Equipped with Compound Shutter, all speeds up to
1-250 second. We furnish with it a purse case containing six nickel
holders for plates 1-3/4×2-5/16 inches. Our fine enlarging apparatus, made
especially for use with this camera, will afford good enlargements of
various sizes up to 5 × 7 inches.
Our =Ango=, =Manufoc Tenax= and =Folding Reflex= are all splendid cameras
for the professional photographer and ambitious amateur.
They show the same high qualities of workmanship which distinguish
GOERZ LENSES
Get our new illustrated catalog from your dealer or direct from
C. P. GOERZ AMERICAN OPTICAL CO.
OFFICE AND FACTORY: 317 EAST 34TH STREET, NEW YORK
Dealers' Distributing Agencies: For Middle West, Burke & James, Chicago.
Pacific Coast, Hirsch & Kaiser, San Francisco.
[Illustration]
HOW TO MAKE YOUR CAMERA PAY
Here are books you'll surely want to read! For they show how you can
increase your ability to make money with your camera. They tell how to
make prints for book, magazine and newspaper publishers, and show how you
can make money during spare time.
The LIBRARY of AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY
contains the boiled-down experience of years. Collier's, Leslie's and
dozens of publications are always glad to consider any interesting
photographs. They pay from three to five dollars apiece. A score of other
profitable branches are covered. Here are the money-making facts you have
wanted. These books are just from the press.
Now is the time for you to get full information. We have interesting
literature to mail upon receipt of your postal. Write now for our special
offer to LIVE AMATEURS.
AMERICAN PHOTO TEXTBOOK CO.
608 Adams Avenue SCRANTON, PA.
Enlarging Simplified
The all by daylight way of making enlargements is with the
Brownie Enlarging Camera
No focusing--no dark-room--no experience necessary when Velox is used.
Just the few simple directions for finishing the prints.
The enlargement retains all the quality of the negative. The results are
certain.
[Illustration]
THE PRICE
No. 2 Brownie Enlarging Camera, for 5 × 7 Enlargements
from 2-1/4 × 3-1/4 negatives, $2.00
No. 3, ditto, for 6-1/2 × 8-1/2 Enlargements
from 3-1/4 × 4-1/4 negatives, 3.00
No. 4, ditto, for 8 × 10 Enlargements from 4 × 5
negatives (will also take 3-1/4 × 5-1/2 negatives), 4.00
EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY,
ROCHESTER, N. Y.
_All Dealers._
[Illustration]
Prints by Gaslight
VELOX increases the number of negatives that are worth printing from.
The results from contrasty negatives are softened by the use of "Special"
VELOX--improved brilliancy is secured from flat negatives by using
"Regular" VELOX.
_ASK FOR THE VELOX BOOK._
NEPERA DIVISION,
EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY,
ROCHESTER. N. Y.
_All Dealers._
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Bromide Printing and Enlarging - A Practical Guide to the Making of Bromide Prints by Contact - and Bromide Enlarging by Daylight and Artificial Light, - With the Toning of Bromide Prints and Enlargements" ***
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