Page 108 - The Wellington photographic handbook

PUTTING CLOUDS INTO ENLARGEMENTS.
It is a comparatively easy matter to print clouds into enlarge-
ments. The landscape is first sharply focussed on to a large piece
of paper on the easel. This must be larger than the bromide
paper, as it must project on either side of the bromide paper when
this is pinned on. On this is placed a piece of card, also a little
larger than the bromide paper, and on this the skyline of the land-
scape is carefully drawn with a sharp pencil. The card is then
cut into two pieces along this line with a sharp knife. This gives
two masks which may be used to shade the landscape while the
sky is being exposed, and the sky while the landscape exposure
is being given. As there is no visible image on the bromide paper,
it is not possible without some guide, to know where the skyline
of the landscape comes, so that one of the masks is put back on
the easel in its original position and its outline traced in pencil on
the white paper. That part of the outline which will be covered
up by the bromide paper need not be marked, but the two extremi-
ties which will be seen when the bromide paper is pinned up, should
be clearly shown. If the whole of the negative is to be got on the
bromide paper, there will, of course, be no skyline beyond its edges,
in which case the outline on the card may run off in a straight line
where it is marked on the paper on the easel. The idea is, of course,
to provide some guide, so that after the landscape negative has been
put in the enlarger and the exposure made, and the cloud negative
substituted, one may know where to hold the card mask so that it
protects the invisible landscape image on the paper, while the cloud
exposure is being given. The masks must be kept moving as
before, and it will be found advisable to use the sky mask when
exposing for the landscape, even if this has a fairly dense sky.
There is another method of putting in clouds with which some
workers are very successful. In this the landscape is first exposed,
shading the sky as much as possible, and is then developed. If
the exposure is correct, a little longer in the developer does no
harm, so that after the paper is developed, it can be washed for a
minute or two, drained, pinned up again on the easel while still wet,
and exposed for the clouds, shading the landscape with a card,
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