622. Splatter Work

Splatter Work. There are times when it may be desirable to apply splashes of opaque to lighten portions on the negative or to represent stones, flowers, snow, etc. The best results are secured by taking a fine tooth-brush and, after dampening it, lightly charge with India ink or liquid opaque. The negative should be placed almost flat on the table, film side down, inclining slightly toward you. The portions that are not to be splattered should be covered with a piece of paper. Hold the charged brush over against the negative and bring the teeth of a fine-tooth comb quickly over its surface (drawing it toward you). This will result in a fine spray of splashes, which come from the brush to the negative.

623. After a little experience this will prove to be an excellent method to employ in giving appearance of flowers over grass. It may be necessary to do a little penciling afterward, however. If applied over water you will produce

the effect of water-weed and lilies. With a little practice you will be able to deposit small splashes over the parts of the landscape farther away from the camera and larger ones in the foreground.

624. Pin-Holes

Pin-Holes. To spot out pin-holes, which subject will be considered in the following chapter, you need considerable practice, experimenting with one of your negatives which is defective from pin-holes caused by dust, or one in which exists fine transparent spots, due to air-bells. Make a proof on glossy printing-out paper of this negative, so as to show the existing defects as strongly as possible. Then place the negative in your retouching desk and proceed to pencil or remove, or build up, the transparent spots.

625. Accentuating Details

Accentuating Details. The average landscape negative can be very much improved by some little retouching, or " dodging," as it is usually called. Glints of sunlight on the tree trunks can be brought out prominently, giving snap and sparkle to the scene; touches of high-light here and there on the leaves; or reflections on water intensified, all help to make a picture more lively.

626. Adding Sky To Landscape

Adding Sky To Landscape. But no landscape picture can be considered complete without it has some form of a sky, or at least a sky value. A method of introducing a sky into a picture which otherwise shows nothing but blank paper in that portion has already been described in Volume IV, but another method frequently used and capable of giving very fine results is the following: Make or select a sky negative which is in keeping with the character of the landscape negative with which it is to be fitted. Make a transparency of the landscape negative, keeping the sky portion very clear. (If necessary use a little Ferricyanide of Potassium Reducer, to reduce the sky.) Next make a transparency of the sky negative, laying the landscape transparency film to film with the plate on which the sky transparency is to be made. The image on the landscape transparency will prevent the sky negative from printing on the sky transparency, and you will have

a perfect match. When finished, bind the two transparencies film to film, and make a negative by contact or by-projection, which will then show the combined landscape and sky negatives with no objectionable joint lines showing. The slight diffusion caused by the thickness of the glass will be no detriment to the picture. On the contrary it will lend atmosphere and pictorial charm.