Choose a room which has but one window. It is better to take a room on the second floor where an unobstructed view of the sky can be obtained. If the room has two windows one must be completely darkened and the other covered, except a small space large enough to admit the glass plate on which the picture is squeegeed. On the outside of the window arrange a large piece of white card-board at an angle of about 45° so as to reflect the light through the picture.
The camera used for enlarging may be a 4 by 5 or larger, and a little practice will enable one to make excellent negatives. Take the focussing-glass out of the frame, and place the glass containing the picture in its place. The focussing-glass is easily removed by loosening the screw in the side of the frame and slipping out the piece of wood which holds it in place. Put the focussing-frame in the camera, and place the camera close to the window, so that all the light that enters the space left in the window passes through the camera. The lens is of course turned inside the room.
The camera should be supported on a table, and fixed so that it cannot jar. Directly opposite the camera, on the same plane, must be placed something to serve as a support for the sensitive paper, and a wooden box with the bottom covered with white paper will be found to answer every purpose. A convenient way of arranging the camera and box is to take a board, place the camera at one end, and the box at whatever point the clearest focus is obtained.
Having everything in place, shut out all the light except that which enters through the camera, and focus the picture on the plain white paper. Mark where the image falls, close the shutter, and by a red light place a sheet of bromide-paper on the space covered by the image, holding it in position by means of small thumb-tacks.
Open the shutter of the camera and expose for ten or fifteen minutes, according to the density of the negative. If the light is poor, a much longer exposure must be made. One can time the exposure by making one or two experiments with small strips of paper and developing.
For developing this enlarged negative use hydroquinone. Do not over-develop, clear with acetic acid, fix, and wash thoroughly. When dry the paper may be rendered more transparent by waxing, or it may be printed from without further manipulation. If the negative is inclined to curl, straighten it by drawing it over the sharp edge of a drawer.
S. W. Hines, Jun., asks if it spoils plates to cut them with a glass-cutter; whether dark or light objects take quicker in snap-shots; how to print lantern slides, and where an outfit for lantern-slide-making can be obtained. Sensitive plates may be cut into smaller sizes and used if great care is taken not to scratch the sensitive film, though if one has plates too large for the camera it is a better plan to change them for a size that will fit the camera. See Nos. 798 and 799 for directions for making lantern slides. All the outfit required is a box of lantern-slide plates, some good negatives, a printing-frame, and a lantern. The finishing, cover glasses, binding strips, and name-markers will be required. We will publish soon another article on lantern-slide-making for the benefit of the new members of our Camera Club. Light objects always take quicker than dark ones.
D. Saylor Wilson, 120 McDonough St., Brooklyn, N.Y.; William Seymour, Marshall, Mich.; Arthur S. Dudley, West Salem, Wis.; Ralph Bulkey, Jun., 345 Miller Ave., Columbus, O.; S. W. Hines, Jun., Cumberland, Wis.; Charles Boyden, Jun., 4053 Washington Ave., St. Louis, Mo.; E. L. Dedham, Orysa, Tenn.; John D. Duff, 922 Duquesne Way, Pittsburg, Pa.; Arthur Nilsen, 69 West Fiftieth St., New York city; Horace A. Williams, Parkesburg, Pa.; Donald C. Vaughn, 1 West Eighty-second St., New York city; Arthur Ehrhart, Maywood, Ill.; Evarts A. Graham, 672 West Monroe St., Chicago, Ill.—wish to become members of the Camera Club.