Early Work In Photography
A Text-book For Beginners

88 Early Work in Photography carbonate or hydrate) without bromide. Remedies: Obvious Weak clear negatives.—If placed in contact with white paper, such negatives are perfectly clear in the shadows; general thinness of deposit. Cause: Not sufficiently deve- loped. Remedy: They may be slightly improved by in- tensification: see chap. xi. Too dense, with clear shadows.—Cause: Under exposure and development with an unsuitable developer. Should be developed with less hydroquinone (or pyro), no bromide, and add water. Remedy: Re-development (see chap. xi.). Flat negatives, full of detail.—They look “all over alike” without contrast between high light and shadow; much de- tail in the shadows, but no printing strength. Cause: Over- exposure, or correct exposure and too weak developer. Remedy: Intensification. Too much density.—Cause: Developer too strong or too warm. Remedy: Reduction (see chap. xi). Round transparent spots.—Cause : Air bubbles settling on the plate at the moment of flowing the developer. By careful flowing they may be avoided, or they may be removed by passing a piece of clean cotton wool over the surface of the plate during development. Remedy: Spotting (see chap xi). Transparent specks, not circular.—Cause: Dust on the plate during exposure and development. Always keep the plate holder free from dust, and always dust the plate lightly before putting it in the holder, and before develop- ment. Remedy: Spotting. Yellow negatives.—Cause: These do not occur in hydro- quinone development; they are due to discolored pyro developer, or to insufficient (or decomposed) sodium sul- phite in pyro developer. Remedy: Immersion in a clearing bath. Iridescent stains. - Cause : Developer too strong in alkali; dirty fixing bath. Remedy: Slight immersion in reducing bath (see chap xi) and swabbing with pad of cotton wool. Mottled appearance.—Sulphur deposited from fixing bath. This sometimes happens with an old fixing bath containing alum, or through immersing plate in alum bath, and in- sufficiently washing it before fixation. Brown patches.—These are visible in a few days after fixing, and are quite brown when viewed by transmitted light; if looked at on the glass side by reflected light the places look opalescent. Cause: Insufficient fixation; plates