International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

Twelve The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER March, 1934 Miniature Camera Photography Notes on Enlarging NLARGING is of course resorted to by the miniature camera worker, for contact prints from the tiny negatives are not practical for average use. Many miniature camera photographers have prints from their negatives made by photo-finishers, thereby depriving themselves of one of the most enjoyable phases of this hobby. Enlarging his own negatives allows the photographer to exercise control over the final results, in the composition, selection of the printing paper, etc. Many negatives include much subject matter, which if all included in the print does not produce interesting results. Firemen at work: Made with a Leica camera, Hekto f:2.5 lens; 1/60 sec. at full diaphragm opening. A portion of the same negative properly composed and enlarged, may yield a print of salon quality. A photofinisher cannot be expected to select portions of a negative for printing. His selections may not coincide with that of his customer. It is evident that the miniature camera enthusiast who desires individual results in his prints, must produce them himself. The first requisite to the work is a suitable enlarger, one that is specifically built for enlarging miniature negatives. Such enlargers have optical systems designed to minimize defects in the small negative. They are also equipped with short focal length lenses to enable reasonable sized enlargements to be produced. We could not very well use an enlarger which accommodates 5x7 inch negatives, and which possesses a lens of about five inches focal length. Although the small negative can be masked off and inserted into the enlarger, its five inch lens would not allow enlargements of reasonable size. The market at present offers quite a variety of reliable projection apparatus amongst which are included the Valoy, Foth Derby, Valfa, Varyl, Filoy, Brooks Rajah, Vertex, Praxidos, Mirette, Baby Miraphot, etc. All of these enlargers are precision designed, and give perfect satisfaction. Most of these enlargers are provided with glass negative carriers, consisting of two pieces of optically flat glass hinged at one end. These carriers should be cleaned with the same care as lenses, employing either lens tissue or soft chamois skin. It is evident that any scratches imparted to the carrier will show up in subsequent prints. The other part of the enlarger will also have to be cleaned to insure that the negatives are kept By Augustus Wolfman free of dirt. This is especially true in the case of enlargers possessing film wings, which seem to have a pronounced affinity for dust. A small camel's hair brush will be found to be a handy tool in performing this work. Cleanliness cannot be too strongly stressed in miniature camera photography. It is really a necessity for sloppy methods will invariably be productive of poor results. After the enlarger has been thoroughly cleaned it will be necessary to submit the negatives to a similar treatment. They should first be wiped with a chamois which has been soaked for a considerable time in carbon tetrachloride. If the negatives are kept in rolls, the moist chamois is folded and the roll of film passed between the folds. Individual negatives, or strips of two or more negatives are laid upon clean, white paper and one side cleaned at a time. Each small negative is then carefully examined, with the aid of a magnifying glass if necessary, and any particles of dirt which are still adhering removed with a camel's hair brush. If water marks or other smudges are still present another carbon tetrachloride treatment is called for. We are now assured that avoidable print marring influences have been eliminated. A puzzling factor to the miniature camera photographer is the choice of paper to use. Papers are divided into three classes, chloride papers, chloro-bromide papers, and bromide papers. The latter is the fastest of the three, and is generally employed in enlarging. Chloride papers are the slowest being used in contact printing, and therefore usually designated as contact paper. The speed of chloro-bromide paper falls between that of chloride and bromide papers. An idea of the relative speed of these papers can be had from the following table of comparative exposures of Agfa papers. Of those mentioned, Brovira belongs to the bromide class. Indiatone is of the chloro-bromide type, and Noko is a chloride paper. Comparative Exposures of Papers Exposure in Seconds Brovira Soft ------- 3 Brovira Medium ----- 4 Brovira Hard ------ 5 Brovira Extra Hard ---- 10 Indiatone -------- 30 Noko Soft ------- 1200 Noko Brilliant Soft ---- 1500 Noko Medium ------ 1800 Noko Hard ------- 2800 The vast difference in speed between bromide and chloride papers can be seen at a glance. One must not construe from the above table that exposures such as 1200 seconds or 600 seconds are recommended for the papers under consideration. These figures merely repre (Turn to Page 20) Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers. I