give repeated exposures of a few seconds at a time, being 

 careful in removing and replacing the cap not to shake the 

 camera, for the plant is sure to return to exactly the same posi- 

 tion after being blown to and fro by the wind. Where tall 

 plants are being taken it is wisest to select a time in the 

 early morning or near sunset, for though the intensity of 

 light is diminished at these times, there is usually but little 

 wind. The writer has found a strip of white calico, some 12 

 or 15 inches wide, with long knitting needles sewn on to 

 it at intervals, of great value as a wind screen in plant 

 photography. The knitting needles can be pushed into 

 the ground, and the plant surrounded on three sides or 

 completely by such a screen, and thus very largely shaded from 

 the wind. With a little care the screen does not appear in 

 the photograph, and it is easily rolled up and carried from 

 place to place. For near objects the intensity of light in 

 the Alps is only slightly greater than that in England at the 

 same time of day, but it is always wiser to make use of an 

 exposure meter if the best results are desired. By the use of 

 the swing back any plane surface, whatever be its inclination 

 to the vertical, can be easily focussed. This will be found 

 of especial value where a blurred background is desired, and 

 the slight distortion thus obtained, which is so noticeable in 

 architectural subjects, is quite negligible in the case of plant 

 portraits. The deep shadows that are produced when flowers 

 are photographed in bright sunlight are generally best 

 avoided. 



xxvi 



