642. Spotting With The Pencil

Spotting With The Pencil. Frequently there will be numerous very small spots. These may be much more effectively removed by touching them out with a finely pointed retouching pencil. A little retouching dope must be thinly applied to the film and when dry, a BB pencil, which has been properly sharpened (the same as for regular retouching), is held vertically to the negative and placed exactly on the pin-hole. Then rotate it between the finger

and thumb for perhaps a quarter turn. With a little practice you will soon be able to do the greater part of the spotting and filling in of pin-holes with the pencil. At first the point may break occasionally, or enough of the lead may not adhere to the film, but with a little patience and practice you will be able to apply the lead so it will blend nicely.

643. There are times when the sky portion of a negative shows an infinite number of pin-holes. There are probably just as many in other parts of the picture, but they only show prominently in the more opaque portions. The larger ones may be touched out by one of the methods just given, but it will be practically impossible to touch out all of them. If fairly rough printing paper is used the minute holes will not show, while if a smooth or glossy paper is to be employed a thin sheet of celluloid may be interposed between the negative and the paper, which will be sufficient to destroy the sharpness of the pin-hole, yet not enough to seriously impair the definition of the picture. If enlarging from such a negative the same thing may be effected by very, very slightly throwing the image out of focus.

644. Where air-bells and large transparent spots prevail the negative should be coated with retouching dope and the imperfections removed by using a very soft retouching pencil, such as a BB lead. A stroke similar to a comma is usually the best to employ, as it will fill up, and at the same time cause a looseness or texture to be formed. The amount of looseness which one should aim to produce will depend entirely upon the nature of the surrounding tint.

645. When Not To Spot

When Not To Spot. Unless your touch is delicate it may be advisable to refrain from any serious attempt at spotting minute dust specks, for they may be made far more conspicuous by overwork. Many times specks will show to a far greater extent on the negative than on the print. Especially is this the case with black backgrounds, and it is advisable to allow them to remain as they will not appear conspicuous on a black ground. Of course, where they appear on the high-lights on the face they

will need to be removed and usually this can be done with the retouching pencil.

646. A proof should be made to see the result of your work. If too much spotting ink is applied to the negative it may be removed by washing the surface gently with wet cotton, but this must be done all over the film surface, or streaks will be left. Pencil spots can be removed by wiping off the retouching medium with turpentine, gasoline, or alcohol, whichever one is the solvent of the medium employed.