Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1933)

October 18th, 1933 Tht AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER v 6 CINEMATOGRAPHER a pair, even though its thickness may exceed the total of the other two. Woollen underclothing is essential, and it is far better on a climb to be uncomfortably warm than to run the risk of severe chill resulting from sudden and extreme temperature and weather changes. As to bever¬ ages, Mr. Bloch at first drank wine or wine and water, but latterly he has preferred to carry cold sweetened tea, with a tin of condensed milk. When exhausted, he says, the eat¬ ing of raw eggs is extraordinarily revivifying. _ The Pace-maker. A seventy-fifth part of a second hardly gives one time to say “ How d’ye do ? ” although, of course, compared with lightning and photographic shutters and so forth it is a mere snail’s speed. The other evening, in illustration of the extra¬ ordinary quickness with which ani¬ mals will react when alarmed, Mr. Dudley Johnston, in the course of a lecture, showed a couple of photo¬ graphs both taken within the same flash lasting a seventy-fifth of a second. The first photograph showed a mouse comfortably ensconced — that is the word — within a loaf of bread, and eating its fill, only its tail appearing outside. The second photograph, taken before you could say the first syllable of “ Jack Robinson,” shoved that the " wee timorous beastie” had turned com¬ pletely round, had come out of the hole in the loaf, and was halfway across the edge of the plate. That was only one of the little exploits in quick action and quick record¬ ing which Mr. Johnston mentioned. Much easier, it might be supposed, except to the photographer who has tried it, is it to get a moon sailing through a clouded sky. The clouds will not remain still, and the light of the moon is relatively feeble. But still, it can be done. Fully Invented. We must assume that photography is invented up to saturation point, that there is no new gadget which is worth while bringing forth. For on going round the Exhibition of Inventions at Westminster, where there are five hundred neat ideas worked out in the appropriate ma¬ terials, and designed to do certain things which have wanted doing since Cain slew Abel, we fail to find anything whatever of photo¬ graphic interest. There are folding beds and portable back-rests, and devices for cutting up runner beans, and no end of things to do with wireless, and no end of other things to do with motor cars ; and there are self-cleaning pipes, and electrical safety-razors, and thief-proof pockets and new toes for stockings, and goodness knows what, but nothing that can lighten a photographer’s labours or suggest further fields that he may conquer. Television is there, along with its history, for the apparatus was on view which has been used for various experiments from time to time, leading up to the complete home receiver. Something was told us of the occupations of the inventors, and it was interesting to learn that a table-fork guard for use in carving was produced by the technical manager of a cine¬ matograph works. To such purpose is spent the leisure of the great. jFacts and /formulae NEW SERIES A selection of useful hints classified according to subject BROMOIL. II. One of the “touchy” points about bromoil is the soaking of the paper previous to pigmenting. A temperature of 70° or 75° Fahr. is generally right, but the temperature and the time of soaking must be found by trial and error for any given paper. Some papers should be pigmented straight away after tanning, etc. ; others should be dried and re-soaked. He * * It is not good policy to use inferior brushes for pigmenting. They do not last well, and the work is made more difficult. The best brushes are made of pole-cat hair, and although expensive they are the most economical in the long run. A set of three, of different sizes, is generally sufficient. * * * Printers’ litho ink may be used for the work, but the best pigments are those specially prepared for the purpose. The black known as “ encre machine ” is excellent used alone, and it may be made of different degrees of warmth by the addition of varying quantities of burnt umber. Megilp or Roberson’s medium may be used for thinning down, but linseed oil, being slow-drying, is more suitable for transfer work. * * * A useful palette is a sheet of opal, as this enables the exact colour of the pigment to be judged. ♦ ♦ ♦ The action of the brush in pigment varies with different workers, and also with the same worker. Some build up the image by degrees by means of gentle and patient tapping ; others apply the pigment liberally and clear up the imagb by more or less vigorous " hopping.” Over-violence may punc¬ ture the surface of the gelatine and ruin the print. When, as the work proceeds, the ink begins to " take ” all over the surface it is a sign that the paper is drying. It is not generally known that in such a case the print can be re-soaked, moisture removed as at first, and the inking resumed. He * * A granular image, sometimes deliberately obtained, is the result of too dry a surface, too stiff a pigment, or insufficient brush action. * * * If there is objectionable glossiness in the pigment after the print is finished it may be removed. The print is slid gently into a shallow depth of carbon tetrachloride, removed after a few minutes, and laid flat to dry. The surface must not be touched or the pigment will be removed. The tetrachloride is the best medium for cleaning brushes. Petrol may be used for either purpose, but the tetrachloride, although more expensive, has the advantage of being non-inflammable. * * * For transfer work, a rather stronger print is required, and the high-lights should not be veiled. If a strong print is boldly inked up, with good contrast, a single transfer may give a satisfactory result. A mangle, with unworn rollers, may be used for transfer work, but a proper press is much more satisfactory. * * * It has been suggested that complete transfer of the pigment can be facilitated in the following manner. When the print and the paper for transfer are in contact, the back of the print is brushed over quickly with a little petrol before being put through the press. A certain amount of practice is required to manage this successfully. 6 347