Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.
PAPERS FOR BEGINNERS, NO. 13.
DARK-ROOM HINTS.
In guides to photography, directions are always given for varnishing the negative, but with ordinary care a negative need not be varnished except for the purpose of retouching. Retouching means covering the spots in the film with some non-actinic substance. Small spots are covered by touching them lightly with a rather soft lead-pencil. Sometimes water-color is used applied with a delicate brush, and sometimes crayons are used.
It is not necessary to varnish a negative in order to retouch it; for a fluid can be bought for this purpose, called "retouching fluid," which is applied locally with a piece of surgeon's cotton. To "apply locally" means to put the fluid on the part of the plate which needs retouching, instead of covering the whole plate. A bottle of retouching fluid costs twenty-five cents, and will last a long time. Full directions for use come with each bottle.
Fine retouching is an art, but the amateur can easily learn to cover the spots in his negative which would disfigure or spoil his prints.
The small clear spots on negatives are usually caused by dust on the plate. They make what are called pin-holes, and wherever these occur in the negative a black spot will show on the print. Amateurs are often advised to dust their plates with a brush before placing them in the holders. It requires a very soft brush and a careful hand to dust a sensitive plate without scratching the film, and if the plate-holders and camera-bellows are wiped frequently with a damp cloth there will be little danger of pin-holes from dust spots in the sensitive plate.