Volltext Seite (XML)
May 22, 1863.] THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS. as * According to the age of the nit. silver bath. 15 grains. 15 „ 1 ounce. a few drops of Nitrate of silver Citric acid Distilled water.. 8 to 10 grains .. 30 minims .. quant, suff.* .. 1 ounce. is tilted off, and without Salomon, whose productions are incomparable for vigour, brilliancy, and life. It is truly wonderful, and altogether inexplicable, how a photographer can so create his subjects, if I may so express it : how, if his art be so mechanical, as some maintain it is—how can this remarkable difference, in portraits especially, be attained. For, if the art were so very mechanical, all could and would attain to the marvellous results which M. Salomon wholly reserves to himself. There are some, however, who maintain that the portraits by this The desired intensity being obtained, if water be plentiful the negative is fixed with hypo and washed ; but if that friend to the photographer, of every creed, be scarce, the plate is rinsed with one or two drachms of the precious liquid, flooded with glycerine, and carried home in one of Murray and Heath’s “draining plate boxes,” to be fixed at leisure. This formula, founded on Major Russell’s very excellent one for tannin plates, has, I think, great advantages, such as the use of the same solution as developer and intensifier, and having the same proportion of acetic acid and alcohol in each case the plate does not require any washing between the two operations; then the intensifying is slow and under control, and the deposit of silver very fine, giving beautiful delicacy in the negative. graphers would call long, 1 use this Developer. Protosulphate of iron Glacial acetic acid Alcohol ... Distilled water ... When the details are well out this would appear to warrant that assertion ; it would modify our admiration, but not detract from certain peculiar excellencies. There are, however, many portraits by other artists which cannot lie open to this suspicion, and which serve by their intrinsic excellence to maintain the supremacy of this branch of the art. Angerer, of Vienna, exhibits a magnificent collection, and the works of M. Carjal are scarcely a whit less excellent, his portrait of Count Nieuerkerke is a triumph of photographic portraiture. The portraits contributed by M. Claudet have excellences peculiarly their own. M. Alophe and M. Thouvert also contribute some remarkably fine heads. Among English exhibitors, the most prominent are Colonel Stuart Wortley and Mr. Robinson ; the former, by his magnificent marine views, in which Vesuvius in a state of eruption is most conspicuous ; and the latter, by his large picture of “Bringing Home the May. ’ This is regarded as washing the plate, a second quantity of the same solution is applied as an intensifier, with the previous addition to it of artist are elaborately re-touched, and their peculiar aspect ; if such be the fact, the gem of the Exhibition. The Exhibition is particularly rich in landscapesand fine architectural subjects. M. Gama’s views in Egypt, from waxed-paper negative, which occupy a space of nearly seven square yards at the bottom of the room, have a most imposing effect. The pictures are remarkable both for their vigorous chiaroscuro and their delicate gradation of tone. The views in Spain, from negatives taken by the late Mr. Clifford, present us with many of the finest specimens of Arabic architecture extant. MM. Bisson Freres’ Alpine views are, doubtless, familiar to you ; they form a very prominent feature in this Exhibition. M. Nadar, who is equally at . forms a most unique kind of advertising medium, and ■ this may be regarded as one of the most ingenious and useful applications of photography to the ordinary busi ness of life. INSTANTANEOUS AND LANDSCAPE PHOTO GRAPHY. Dear Sir,—I omitted to state in my article on “ Landscape and Instantaneous Photography,” in the News last week, that the effects of atmosphere are more forcibly given with my formula than with any other I have tried; I have always a decided objection to taking pictures when the wind is in the east, the fact of its being so, being plainly depicted in the resulting positives. I also omitted to state that for interiors and very long exposures, I use Sutton’s rapid dry collodion 20 ounces, Ponting’s ordinary 10 ounces. I find the plate will keep after sensitizing full 15 to 20 minutes without deterioration. Trusting that these remarks may prove of assistance to amateurs and others, I remain, dear sir, yours truly, W. H. Warner. IRON INTENSIFIERS. Sir,—I was very pleased to see Mr. Blanchard’s sugges tion of an iron intensifier in No. 243 of the Photographic News, and also your commendation of the same to your readers in your leader of the same number ; for pyrogallic acid, although it is a very good intensifier, it is difficult to get pure ; it is expensive, and its solution will not keepmany days in warm weather. The fact too, of negatives intensified with iodine followed by pyro and silver (a very favourite method), being liable to darken gradually from exposure to sunlight, as proved by such good authorities, makes the introduction of a new intensifier the more important. Without wishing to claim priority of invention in this, the credit or profit from which 1 do not care for, being only an amateur, 1 will lay before you a process very similar, but, I consider, superior, to Mr. Blanchard’s, which I tried with success last season at Ventnor. If you approve of it you may give the photographic world through your columns the benefit of it; if not, consign this to your waste-paper basket. With this long preamble here is my modus operandi. Collodion highly bromized ; bath—neutral, or faintly acidi fied with nitric acid. After an exposure that most photo- home in the clouds as under ground, exhibits some very interesting views taken in the Catacombs by the aid of the electric light. The Viscount Aguado exhibits some interesting specimens of enlarged pictures, landscapes, and marine views. Of stereoscopic pictures there are but few, and those are for the most part the productions of AIM. Ferrier and Soulier, who also exhibit some remarkable positives on glass. ngravng by photography has arrived at a remarkable degree ot perfection, especially in the hands of M. de la Blanc ii ic am audvan. A series of seven portraits exhi bited by them, whole-plate size, arc truly surprising from their excellence in al artistic qualities, and they are, more over, printed in carbon ink upon copper or steel plates. The enamel positives of M Lafon de Carmassac have also acquired an extraordinary degree of delicacy during recent improvements. Most of the pictures are superior to those taken on paper, and are, moreover, of an imperishable nature. Among the curiosities of this capital none is more in- foresting to the photographer than the establishment of MM. Delton and Co., styled the Pholographie hippique, situated in the Avenue de l’Imperatrice, Champs Elyses. It is a charming spot, where a beautiful garden surrounds a spacious courtyard containing the accessories necessary to this kind of photography—stables, carriages, &c., a vast glass operating room, a charming greenhouse, splendid saloons furnished with magnificent albums containing specimens of portraits on horseback, &c., including most of the aristocracy of Europe. The ever active proprietor of this establishment fully aware of the necessity for novelty in sustaining in vogue, has recently patented a new kind of publicity by giving photographic representations of works of art, as well as of all kinds of mechanical and commercial productions, specimen cards, views of interiors of warehouses, mansions, houses, carriages for sale or to let, &c. This album thus