Then again, if the landscape is illuminated from the left, see that the clouds in the negative used are illuminated from the same point. Do not combine clouds taken on a sunless, lowry day with a landscape taken when illuminated by the dire& rays of the sun, or vice versa.
Cloud negatives that are to be used for printing-in should be thin. They should, however, have sufficient strength to give brilliancy to the print. There are several advantages in using a cloud negative which is more or less transparent, as you can see through it and better judge as to its adjustment over the print to which you propose to add the clouds.
When obtaining negatives for printing-in, it is necessary to make very short exposures because if we over-expose, even very slightly, we destroy the delicate contrasts that exist between the high-lights and shadows and thereby flatten the negative. For instance, if we make an exposure of of a second with stop U. S. S for an ordinary landscape fully illuminated by the dire& rays of the sun, we in most cases properly time the foreground but overtime the sky, destroying its beauty, and for that reason, when exposing for the sky alone, or even T o of a second with stop U. S. 32 will in most cases give perfect detail.
An exposure thus obtained should be carefully developed, too much contrast avoided and development stopped the moment that full detail appears. You will then have a negative that will print rapidly and give you all the gradations of light and shade that were impressed upon the eye at the time the exposure was made. It would be well to add that if a light color screen is used, it will improve your negative somewhat but will increase the length of the exposure required.
In the first place, it is necessary, when printing the foreground, to obtain a white sky. In order to do so you must mask that portion of the negative in order that the light may not penetrate the film and affe& that part of the print underneath it. First, take a sheet of thin strawboard and
roughly sketch across its surface (about midway between the top and bottom) a mark to correspond as nearly as possible with the sky line of your negative ; then cut your board along this line. Save both halves because you will need them later. Now procure a print frame (containing a sheet of glass) somewhat larger than the negative you are to print from and after locating said negative in the proper position, fasten it to the glass with small stickers, then tack the upper half of the cardboard to the face of the frame so that only that portion of the negative which you wish to print from will show. Now cover the entire face of the frame with tissue paper and you are ready to print. After removing the print from the frame, if you use printing-out paper, you will find a properly printed foreground with a pure, white sky.
Now place your cloud negative in the print-frame and properly locate the print over it, using the lower half of the cardboard to cover up the fore ground so that the light will reach the sky only. It should be borne in mind that the cardboard (which we will call a mask, or vignetter) when tacked on the frame should be raised up from the glass about one-quarter of an inch, so that, when printing, the light will diffuse and not produce a sharp line on your print. When using Velox, as the image does not show before development, it will be necessary to mark the paper at the edge in order to tell just where the sky line comes : otherwise you will be unable to properly locate your cloud negative. When using developing papers it would be well to paste two or three thicknesses of tissue paper over your frame.