Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1934)

November 28th, 1934 H AMATEUR PHOTOORAPHER ta 6 CIMEMATOGRAPHER a negative that would give a print with the following features. The paper must be white where the artist had left his paper white. There must be a deep black deposit of silver where the artist had used full-strength colour. Between the two must be as complete a series of gradations of silver deposit as there were inter¬ mediate tones in the sketch. My original print shows all these features exactly, although the reproduction does not. I refer to Fig. 2 ; because it is evident that Fig. i does not show anything corresponding to the white paper or the black touches, nor does it show more than a scanty few of the other tones. Both negatives had the same exposure, and were put into the developer at the same time, but No. i was taken out long before No. 2. The difierence between the two results is due to different development times. I could print No. i darker or lighter, but it would be false either way. Suppose that soon after the two negatives were put into the developer I took one out, and could examine it in a good light without its fogging all over, what should I see ? The greater part of the surface would have its original creamy appearance, and here and there might appear little patches of grey, some rather darker than others. The darker greys would indicate the white paper of the original ; the lighter greys the lightest tones in the sketch. So that we might indicate the condition of the negative by the figures o, i, 2 ; where o is the unaltered emulsion, i the light grey, and 2 the darker one. If I had left the negative in the solution longer, the two greys would have got darker, and other various depths of grey would have appeared in the previously blank areas ; so that we might now represent the condition by o, i, 2, 3, 4, 5. But even then some of the very dark greys in the sketch might not have appeared in the creamy areas, and the number 5 density might not be sufficient to stop the light so completely as to leave white paper on the print. Therefore we should have to continue development, so that we obtained such a series of gradations as o, I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 9, 10. Then the clear parts (o) would give blacks on the print; the densest parts (10) would keep the paper white ; and the other parts (i to 9) would fill in the intermediate greys. This is about as far as I can go at present. It shows, at any rate, that short development will give little contrast, and that prolonging develop¬ ment increases it. We must assume that the exposure was such that by the time the high-lights in the print were dense enough in the negative, the greys, down to the lightest, had all appeared ; and that the only clear parts in the negative were those representing the blacks in the sketch. W. L. F. W. Ietters to the Editor ai0 The Editor is not responsible for the opinions of his correspondents. AT AUCTION. Sir, — In this school we have a boys’ magazine club, and included in the list is The Amateur Photographer. This is a new venture, and it was thought that probably some boys would like to have the copies as they were with¬ drawn from circulation. Consequently, they were afterwards put up for auction, and I thought that perhaps you might be interested to know that for forty-two numbers of your paper, the published price of which is los. 6d., the buyer paid 8s. Surely a testimony to the value of your paper, which I, per¬ sonally, endorse. — Yours, etc., W. F. W. KING. (Headmaster, Blue Coat School, Reading.) A HINT TO THE R.P.S. — Reading in " The A.P.” some time back of the possible change of premises of the " Royal ” in the near future, it has often occurred to me that there is further scope for extension of its amenities in the formation of a luncheon club with club licence, where members could sit and chat in comfort over lunch or refreshment. If this is of interest, your " Letters to the Editor ” page might bring other suggestions on the matter. — Yours, etc., RAYMOND H. DUDLEY. NUMBERING NEGATIVES. Sir, — With regard to the difficulty experienced by Mr. Slade in finding a method of marking index numbers on negatives, may I point out to him that an ordinary pin will scratch on th’e film side of the rebate a number which is perfectly legible by transmitted light ? — Yours, etc., W. O. WITTON. BRITISH AND FOREIGN. Sir, — I was recently told that to be successful in British photography one should either be a foreigner or go abroad for one’s subjects. This I denied, but was forced to admit that my informant was apparently right, when faced with " The Year’s Photography,” the R.P.S. publication. Of fifty plates, about forty are by foreigners, or of foreign subjects ; of the other ten, about six are possibly British, and only one really British, Plate V. — ^Yours, etc., ' H. STUART Mackenzie. A PHOTOGRAPHIC HUSTLE. Sir, — Some very excellent advice given in the first column of " Pictures of the Week,” attracted me. There is a class of workers, however, that it does not touch. One belongs to a society such as the Royal, or British Archaeological Societies. I belong to both. Once a year a Congress is arranged lasting a week or more. A programme of visits to churches, castles, abbeys, etc., compiled, the time allowed for inspection of each church is limited, and often curtailed from a photographic point of view by a lecture. The distance from one’s home is generally considerable. To secure photographic records of the churches, etc., visited, much ingenuity of procedure is necessary. I am writing after years of experience. How one should secure photographs of interiors you often explain — focussing camera, with swing back, backed plates, several lenses, firm tripod. Could any reader describe the best way to secure such photographs when : Forty minutes is the scheduled time of the visit ; a lecture is given from the pulpit lasting twenty minutes ; the church contains inside : 12th-century font, double piscina, fine stone screen, wine-glass pulpit; outside: a scratch dial, doorway in buttress, sanctuary knocker on door under heavy porch. This looks almost impossible. I am astonished myself at the results I secure under such conditions. Do any of your readers make the attempt, and with what results ? What is it essential to possess in the way of apparatus in order to get passable photographic records in the time ? — • Yours, etc., FRED. J. BRAND. MINIATURE CAMERA WORK. Sir, — Mr. C. W. Martin advises Mr. Burr to use fine-grain developer and so rid himself of his difficulty in getting definition. Alas ! I know from painful experience that the trouble goes deeper than that. Can you buy for £6 to /lo an f/2.9 miniature camera which will give definition sufficient for enlargement up to postcard size ? Our own " W. L. F. W.” recently reviewed one and was delighted with it, but his snaps were not at the full f/2.9 of the lens. Having tried three times I can tell Mr. Burr that it can be done, but only if he is lucky. These cameras are mass-produced, and the price does not allow of much testing. Anyone who buys one, .especially a second-hand model, should carefully test it with camera rigidly supported, and at measured distance. If under these perfect conditions the definition is not good enough then it is useless, and though many of them are, the rest are excellent. But it is pure luck. —Yours, etc., R. E. DICKINSON. 489 17