The photographic news

• Bandzählung: 6.1862
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1862
• Sprache: Englisch
• Signatur: F 135
• Vorlage: Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig
• Digitalisat: Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig
• Digitalisat: SLUB Dresden
• Rechtehinweis: Public Domain Mark 1.0
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-db-id1780948042-186200003
• PURL: http://digital.slub-dresden.de/id1780948042-18620000
• OAI: oai:de:slub-dresden:db:id-1780948042-18620000
• Sammlungen: LDP: Historische Bestände der Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig
• Sammlungen: Fotografie
• Bemerkung: Seite 1-72 fehlen in der Vorlage. Vorlagebedingter Textverlust.
• Strukturtyp: Band

• Digitalisat: SLUB Dresden
• Strukturtyp: Ausgabe

5, 1862. uch on b exposue’ inninplg iccess, Il ouraging cumstane t the ti 3 prepay .11 that! if theb ie. Her Is to los nthsIb elopbyl <1 the w er, and f . impor/ develop ce, becd? operate have, re could to obtal he dete process’ seems* either 11 lent, git’ ite is so*! lever-fas’ e devell to the el ght pu? 1 more i to thel ined w havins" rage apP ilmost" most" his Nu • "mad, e intro*; •ctly w to enlis er has 0 ion can! res. T fair t is opin' 1 * it phoW re verf, . The' et to b : wouldl llodion., tion m" axiom " o notb" lust be 1 ', . Twol a prize 1 Man* fill ne/ ts fro®' e men® rough U anspar gative/ madn<^ APRIL 25, 1862.] THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS. 201 a “ fashion, they are older than the wet, and used far more extensively for field work. Therefore, I would conclude by stating, what no one can deny, that the relative merits of negatives obtained, wet and dry, are at least an open question, and to bo decided by time and careful comparison, and not by mere assertions. WET AND DRY COLLODION. BY COLEMAN SELLERS. The readers of the various photographic journals must have noticed that there is being more and more written about various dry processes, and that some perfect process of that kind (equal or superior to the wet in skilful hands) is to be considered the goal towards which all enthusiastic amateurs are to hasten, and the attainment of which is to leave nothing to be desired. Thus, what a host of advocates for the dry are giving their testimony in its favour, while hardly one is the champion of the wet in the field. They all seem to agree that time is no object, that for views without ani mated objects it matters little whether the exposure required is five seconds or five minutes, so far as the result is con- cemed, and some even think the long exposure an advantage, making the result more controllable. Now, too, Mr. E. Borda is added to the list, and I tremble lest he should make me throw away all the various little conveniences I have arranged with care for the wet work in the field, and convince me that I must be a “ Siccus” against my will. As he says in a recent letter, “ What a triumph it will be to convert the would-be ‘Jamin and glycerine’ into a 'Dry Harrison.’ ” Almost daily too, do letters come with the oft-repeated question, “ Can you advise me what dry process to try ?” And only yesterday, a (for a long time) correspondent, who has had all kinds of trouble with the wet, writes me, in his joy, that his first tannin plate “ is developed, and is on the stove drying,” the best negative he had ever made. There must be some reason for all this. Some who have never been successful with the wet, are doing charming work with the dry; and even successful amateurs are throwing aside their dark tents, and working tannin. All admit that portraits and pictures of moving objects can only be taken with wet collodion, but many prefer to avoid such subjects and take pictures only of still life. It has occurred to me, since reading Mr. Borda’s article in the last number of this Journal, (and right glad I am to ace him in print,) to answer the general enquiry of “ What dry process shall I try?”—through the pages of the American Journal, and referring my correspondents to it, save much needless writing. Having tried most of the formulae pro- Posed, and been successful with many of them, I may be Considered as a disinterested party—and give my opinion in favour of Major Russell’s tannin process—more from observ- ing the general success of others who work it, than any fondness of my own for it; and let not friend Borda think that my conversion is complete, when I advise all who have had trouble with the wet to select some reliable dry process, and persevere with it until they are perfect; and of the processes now in vogue, Major Russell’s is the best. The reason I have come to this conclusion is from the fact that success in the wet is more dependent on the collodion than on any of the other chemicals used; an amateur buys his stock of chemicals, and among them a bottle of collo dion from some reliable maker; his picture will be very good for a beginner, and all seems clear before him; soon, however, comes the cry, “I can get no intensity;" the same chemicals will not give the same result. The bath is doc tored, and all sorts of expedients are resorted to, to produce intensity, while the fault in reality may be the deterioration ol his collodion from age. Taking for example my own experience when I had a great many 14X18 plates of ma chinery to take, I used pound after pound of collodion, it novel go o i on my hands, and a uniform degree of inten- si y was 0 ained. But when I had taught another to do my work, and had thus limited my experience to the semi- occasional work of an amateur with no time to operate, then these troubles came to me ; but knowing the cause, I could throw aside my old collodion, make fresh in small quanti ties, and thus avoid all trouble. All, however, cannot do thus, few are willing to do the dirty work of making gun cotton, and prefer to purchase collodion ready made. Having tried all the various sensitising salts, my own choice has been the iodide and bromide of ammonium. Collodion prepared with these is quick when new, but no matter how well the cotton has been washed, it will redden work slower as it gets old. Now with the tannin process, all kinds of collodion seem to do well, some better than others it is true; but samples good for nothing wet, have been first-rate dry. This I know from having given many kinds of collodion to those who work the tannin, and have seen the result. See, too, Borda’s account of his wet picture with new collodion, how very quick it was. That collodion was from cotton I have been working for some times past, but it will not always be so quick; as it gets older it gets slower, and must be thrown aside, or used for dry plates. In the case of an amateur who can only find time to work, say once a week, every pound of collodion bought, if it is new and quick when purchased, will yield only a few days’ good work before it gets old. There is a way, however, of managing collodion, recom mended by Hardwich and others, which I am now trying, and time will show if it will get over all the trouble or not; it is as follows:—Take of cotton (such as will dissolve ten grains to the ounce in equal quantities of ether and alcohol) eighty grains, wet it with four ounces of absolute alcohol, shake it well, then pour off two ounces, leaving two ounces in the cotton. Throw away the portion poured oft’; add then 4 ounces of ether, which will dissolve the cotton and make a plain collodion with only half the quantity of alcohol necessary to make up bulk. Mark this plain collodion with the date of its mixture. Next, in two ounces of alcohol dis solve sixteen grains bromide of ammonium, and forty grains of iodide of ammonium; this, filter with care, and mark sensitizer, with its date of mixture. When about to use any collodion, take, say one ounce of the plain collodion, and add to it one third of an ounce of the sensitiser, shake up and use immediately.—American Journal of Photo graphy. • DIFFICULTIES IN PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY. BY S. R. DIVINE. The difficulties and discouragements that beset the pro fessionalphotographer in his daily work, do not require to be told to those who have had much experience; but there are those who think that other practitioners in the sun-paint ing art are not troubled with the obstacles that spring up in their own path, and that if they could only get this man’s or that man’s process, they would be able to produce fine works uniformly, and escape all their own peculiar cares and difficulties. If you, my aspiring photographic friend, have any such idea, banish it at once. Take our word for it, that every artist has his heart-rending discouragements, and the beautiful works that your neighbour produces are the results of his constant care and never-failing patience. His knowledge of photographic mysteries is perhaps not greater than yours, but he may exercise more care in the details of manipulation. Every photographer has his chemicals out of order occa sionally, and must go to work to rectify them. The bath may work splendidly in the morning, but exhibit obstinate freaks in the afternoon. The collodion which gave so fine intensity yesterday is worthless to-day, and so it goes. When everything is in perfect order for making pictures we must not expect such a state of things to last, but must be always on the alert to discover the least symptoms of derange ment, and apply the remedies. A journeyman photographer once made application to us