The Barnet Book of Photography: A Collection of Practical Articles. Various
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but requires the addition of the next constituent before it can work.
2.—An alkali, which may be sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, caustic soda, caustic potash, or, if pyrogallic acid is used, ammonia. The alkali sets the reducer in action and is called the accelerator.
3.—A soluble bromide, which must be potassium bromide except when ammonia is used as the alkali, and then it may be ammonium bromide. The chief use of the bromide is to retard the action of the developer, and in particular to prevent its affecting those parts of the film that have not been acted on by light. For this reason the bromide is called the restrainer or, sometimes, the retarder.
4.—A sulphite, the function of which is to prevent the solution from becoming strongly discoloured and consequently staining the film. It also affects the colour of the reduced silver that forms the developed image, this colour being browner, and consequently of higher printing opacity, the lower the proportion of sulphite present. Sodium sulphite and potassium metabisulphite are the most commonly used.
The composition of a developer has to be so arranged that, whilst reasonably rapid in its action, it is not so rapid as to be beyond control, and does not produce "general fog" by acting on those parts of the film that have not been acted on by light.
AMONG THE ALPS.
CAPT. W. DE W. ABNEY, C.B., F.R.S. Etc.
DEVELOPMENT—GENERAL OPERATIONS AND PHENOMENA.
A developer is usually compounded immediately before use by mixing two or more solutions, and in order to ensure uniform action it is essential that the constituents should be thoroughly mixed before the liquid is applied to the plate. If the measuring or mixing vessel is large enough, this can be done by agitating the liquid; if not, the liquid may be poured once or twice from one vessel to another.
The quantity of developer necessary for a plate of a given size depends in some degree upon the size and character of the dish that is used, and is smallest when the bottom of the dish is quite flat and has no ridges or grooves. It is false economy to use too small a quantity, and it may be taken that for a quarter plate 1½ oz., for a half plate 2½ or 3 oz., and for a whole plate 4 oz. of developer should be used.
Ebonite, xylonite, or papier maché dishes are the best for all operations connected with negative making, since they are not so liable as porcelain or earthenware to break a plate if it is allowed to drop into them.
When applying the developer to the plate it is important to cover the whole surface of the plate rapidly and in such a manner as to avoid the formation of air bubbles, and the best way is to begin to pour on the developer at one corner of the developing dish and whilst pouring somewhat quickly move the vessel rapidly but steadily along the edge of the dish to the other corner. If there should be any froth or air bubbles on the surface of the developer, the last portions should not be poured out of the vessel into the dish, and then the risk of air bubbles forming on the surface of the plate will be lessened.
Sometimes after the developer has been poured on and the plate seems to be uniformly wetted, the liquid will recede from one corner or one edge of the plate and the part thus left uncovered will appear as a patch of lower opacity when the negative is finished. This happens either because the dish is not standing level on the table or because the bottom of the dish is not flat; sometimes it happens because too small a quantity of developer has been used.
After the plate has been covered by the developer the dish should be carefully rocked from time to time, and, for reasons that will be explained presently, the time required for the first appearance of the image and the manner in which the different parts of the image follow one another, should be carefully observed.
If the plate has been correctly exposed, the brightest parts of the image will appear (as black, of course,) in about a minute, more or less, according to the temperature, composition of the developer, and character of the plate, and the other parts will follow steadily in the order of their brightness, after which the image as a whole will continue to gain vigour or opacity up to a certain limit. The essential point is that the principal details in the deepest shadows of the subject shall appear and acquire a distinct printable opacity, before the highest lights become so opaque that the details in them are no longer distinguishable. Whether this condition is realisable or not depends very largely on the exposure that the plate has received.
If the image appears in considerably less than a minute and the different parts follow one another very quickly, the plate has been over-exposed, and the degree of over-exposure is indicated by the rapidity with which the image appears. In this connection it ought, however, to be stated that with metol and certain other developers, even when the plate has been correctly exposed, the different parts of the image appear almost simultaneously, though the first appearance may not begin until about a minute after the developer has been applied to the plate. It follows that with these developers it is difficult to recognise over-exposure, but it so happens that they are not suitable developers to use when there is any probability that the plates have been over-exposed. On the other hand, if the image is slow in appearing and the brightest parts of the subject are not followed in due course by the middle tones, the plate has been under-exposed, and there is considerable danger that the high-lights may become quite opaque before any details have appeared in the shadows, or even, in extreme cases, in the lower middle tones, that is to say, in those parts that are next in darkness to the shadows.
When it is desired, as it frequently is, to alter the composition of the developer during development, the substance or substances to be added should be put into the measuring or mixing glass, the developer poured out of the dish into the glass, and the well-mixed liquid poured over the plate as before. Any attempt to add substances to the developer whilst it is in contact with the plate will probably result in uneven action.
It should be borne in mind that temperature has an important influence on development, the time required for the first appearance of the image and for the completion of development being, as a rule, less the higher the temperature. Further, if the developing solutions are very cold, it is often almost impossible to obtain sufficient opacity.
Perhaps the most difficult thing in connection with development is to know when to stop the process, that is to say, when the image has acquired sufficient opacity, or "density," as it is often called. After all the required detail has become visible, the plate from time to time is lifted carefully out of the developer, allowed to drain for a moment or two, and then held between the developing lamp and the eye; the opacity of the image, especially in the highest lights and deepest shadows, being carefully scrutinised. The appearance of the image as seen when looking at the back of the plate, is also carefully observed.
For this purpose it is very much better that the light of the developing lamp should pass through transparent glass (ruby or deep orange) so that the flame itself is distinctly visible, instead of through ground glass or a coloured translucent fabric. Further, the flame of the lamp, whether gas or oil, should always be turned up to the same height, for it is clear that if the brightness of the flame used for making the examination is not fairly constant, all sorts of variable results will be obtained. For this reason it is much better to judge the opacity of negatives by artificial light than by daylight, the intensity of the latter being so variable. A paraffin lamp with a circular wick and a deep ruby chimney with a metal cap at the top, answers admirably.
No general rules can be laid down; the appearance of the properly developed image depends on the thickness of the film, the granularity of the silver salt, the presence or absence of silver iodide, and the composition of the emulsion used. Experience only is of value, and the best way to secure uniformly satisfactory results, is to keep as far as possible to one brand of plates. With some plates, for example, very little of the image should appear at the back of the plate, with others the greater part of the image must be distinctly visible there.
Sometimes, especially when using small sizes of plates, it is not easy to tell whether all the necessary detail in the