25 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



"undesirable stuff" that would detract 

 from the picture. Don't hurry, but 

 study your subject and examine the 



groundglass to see that the flowers as- 

 sume the right location upon the plate. 

 It is a comfort to know thai the sub- 

 ject will not will while timing the 

 plate. Then too, in photographing 

 flowers in the natural state, if one is 

 dissatisfied with his firsl effort he can 

 return and make further efforts. Suc- 

 cess is within your grasp. 



If the hoy contents himself with pho- 

 tographing flowers from his own or his 

 neighbor's garden, he would better cut 

 the flowers late in the afternoon, place 

 the stems in plenty of cold water and 

 set the vase in the coolest possible 

 place in the cellar. In twelve hours 

 or say by nine next morning the 

 flowers will have recovered from the 

 shock. They will also have absorbed 

 sufficient water to stand up pluckily to 

 the task of arranging them. Take all 

 the time you need, your flowers are 

 now patient. Indeed, flowers thus 

 treated will stand photographing- far 



better than will flowers newly cut — 

 especially is this true of flowers with a 

 u ly stem. 



Bu1 the real secret of beautiful 

 flower pictures lies in the excellent ar- 

 rangement and natural posing of them. 

 It is best to observe the same laws of 

 massing of flowers on one side of the 

 picture and the same balancing on the 

 opposite side of the picture as one finds 

 in the well-balanced landscape of the 

 artist. 



Indeed, to properly pose flowers 

 calls for real taste. When once posed 

 the other fundamental principles of 

 the process are largely mechanical. 

 The boy who wants to do the best work 

 in photographing, both landscapes and 

 flowers, should study such pictures of 

 such noted artists as Corot, Moran 

 Inness, Millet, etc. Indeed, one can't 

 study such' artists' compositions too 

 carefully. 



The study of fundamental principles 

 in landscape composition is essential 

 to doing good flower composition. 



BY THE QUIET BROOK WINDING THROUGH THE WOODS. 



A Woodland scene at Verona, New Jersey. 



Photographed by Frank P. Jewett, Orange, New Jersey. 



