IRISH GARDENING 



Notes on Indoor Flower Photography 



By E T. Ei-iis I IMl.S. 



So.MK months ago an artiiU' of mine appoaiod in 

 yonr journal on " Notes on Outdoor Klowor Photo- 

 L'rapliy, " and as tlio wintir is xqwu us with its 

 days of wot soil, when digging is impossible, it may 

 be of interest to say a few w.^rds about photograph- 

 ing flowers indoors, sinee this can be nuide into 

 both a i»leasurable ami a profital)U' iiobby. 

 Gardening journals are always pleased to consider 

 photos of groups of bidl>s for illustrating •■Jiull)s in 

 I'ots" articles, and of common or rare pot plants : 

 also of specimen or bmuhes of cut flowers for 

 illustrating their general articles on these phmts. 

 They pay for them well even in these days, and 

 anyone who gets a name for this class of work- 

 and a name is soon made — is sure to be asked very 

 quickly to prepare a wliole series of plant photo- 

 graphs to illustrate new books on hardy or half- 

 hardy flowers whii'h are constantly appearing. 



•Some Simple >7(((///i!/.— Flower photograplis in- 

 doors can be taken in all weathers by artificial or 

 natural light, and one iuimourist in telling un- 

 some of his experiences in this fascinating task 

 informed me that he took advantages of flashes of 

 lightning during thunderstorms when making ex- 

 posures in his studio instead of using magnesium 

 powder. 



The present Avriter, however, prefers not to rely 

 on anything so uncertain as thunderstorms, which 

 are, of coxirse, comparatively rare during the 

 winter months, but to stage up his plants of what- 

 ever kind they may be or his vase of cvi,t flowers so 

 that as much light as possil)le from a large window 

 shines upon them. Behind thel exhibit, which 

 must be stood on a rigid box or something of that 

 kind, a large screen of white or red cartridge 

 paper is put at least two feet larger each way than 

 the widest or highest part of the subject to l)e i)hoto- 

 graphed. (It will be remembered that a smaller 

 screen of similar material was advised for special 

 "subjects" out of doors). The subject must be 

 staged at least 10 feet away from the window, and 

 if the sun should come out when all is ready the 

 window must be opened wide to prevent the mark 

 of the sashes showing on the screen behind the 

 exhibit. Generally speaking, it is better to photo- 

 graph out of direct sunlight in the winter, as the 

 strong winds experienced niay, when the window 

 is opened, blow the exhibit about, injure it or give 

 a photo where the subject has "moved." 



The camera should next be got ready. A quarter 

 plate camera which takes plates, not films, is the 

 best, as this has a movaltje piece of glass at the 

 back on which the whole picture' can be seen just 

 as it will appear (only uncoloured, of course, when 

 finished) on the finished print. I do not find that 

 a film camera with an ordinary view finder is 

 satisfactory for this work, nor is anything but a 

 proper tripod stand for tli.' camera much use. a.s 

 It is essential that both the object and the camera 

 be perfectly still and rigid if sharp, clear, natural 

 pictures are to be obtained. The camera should 

 have a good lens— my own i.s an Aldis-Uno Anastig- 

 niat. and a " planiscope lens," easily obtainable 

 and quite inexpensive, should be put on in front of 

 the ordinary lens to enable a much nearer view of 

 the object to be taken. 



For indoor work very " fast " plates are ab- 

 solutely essential, and a speed number of at least 

 300 should be obtained. Thus the ordinary 



•• special rapid " plates sold in such large quan- 

 tities iiy photographical chemists will not serve. 

 Their s*peed number is only about 'JOd H. & U. 

 AlthoVigh some phoitographers recommend slow 

 plates with speeds ranging from about KKJ II. & D. 

 or even le.ss. and long exposure as the objects can 

 l)e kept perfectly still indoors, 1 do not find they 

 give satisfactory rrsults in the work. A slow plate 

 ami a long exposure somehow does not, in my 

 hands, give shari)ue8s of outline — an absolute 

 essential for reproiluction. 



The two plates 1 have found most useful so far 

 are Twentieth Century Fast (Speed 30U-4U0 H.& D.) 

 and Wellington Anti-Screen (Speed 300-350 H.&D.) 

 The last named plate is fine for yellow or very 

 brightly coloured flowers. 



Tlti' Tukiny of Time Ej-posuns. — Having got the 

 camera on to its stand particular care must be 

 taken to focus, so that every part of the flower or 

 plant is perfectly clear. In a group of flowers or 

 bulbs in pots this is not very easy, and some may 

 have to be moved a shade to fulfil this recpiirt'- 

 iiieiit. Any i)art of any picture not in focus ren- 

 ders its chances of reproduction remote, so the im- 

 portance of this cannot be too greatly emphasised. 



And now as to the actual taking of the picture, 

 the golden rule is neither to under expose nor to 

 over expose. On very dark days, if the lens is 

 stopped down to one half, the shutter may be 

 opened and a Hash holder of magnesium powder 

 let of^ at leisure, the shutter of course being closed 

 again before the plate is removed. Otherwise no 

 stopping down whatever is, in my opinion, 

 necessary or advisal)le, and the actual exposure 

 necessary can be found l)y the u.se of an "exposure 

 meter." easily obtainable anywhere. Where there 

 is any doubt a twentieth of the time should be 

 added to the estimated time. A watch with the 

 second hand is of course absolutely essential for the 

 work. 



As to the developing of the plates, I like to begin 

 in a rather strong developing solution, and the 

 moment the picture is visible transfer to a much 

 weaker solution, and finish off there. In a w-eak 

 solution about one half the strength named on 

 the packages, over developenient is almost 

 impossible, and very great detail can be obtained 

 by ovoiding " rusliing " the i)lates. " Rytol " 

 developer is magnificent for this sort of work. 1 

 have long ceased to use home-made developer of 

 pyrogallic acid on account of the foul stains it 

 often produces both on ones plates and ones 

 fingers. 



One word in conclusion about making prints of 

 these photos. Daylight made prints are but little 

 use for reproduction— a fact very few flow^er photo- 

 graphers are aware of. It is the black and white 

 gaslight prints which have to be devcloppd and 

 fixed in the same way as negatives or plates that 

 are wanted. Makers of gaslight printing papers 

 include an " indicator " in their packages, where- 

 by the exposure each plate needs can be easily 

 found oiit, and this should always be done. I find 

 Nf)ctoiia and 20th Century Gaslight very excellent 

 printing papers for the w^ork. 



As, however, it is possible that the prints may 

 have been " over printed " it is not advisable to 

 begin with a .'Strong develop.er, as advised for 

 plates. Begin with a weak one, and if no sign of 

 the picture appears after twO' minutes' immersion, 

 transfer to a stronger solution, finishing off, as 

 already advised, in a very weak solution to get full 

 detail. 



