4 The Camera and its Accessories 
With only a front focus, it very often means chang- 
ing the position of the tripod from one to three times, 
which is of course disastrous to quick and accurate 
manipulation. The swing-back should be used more 
than it is usually, especially for near-by pictures, as 
the objects themselves are often not “plumb” with 
the plate. This condition occurs very frequently in 
photographing birds’ nests or other objects on or 
near the ground. I recommend the swing-back to 
the beginner. Do not purchase a field camera with- 
out it, and, having it, consider it not as an ornament, 
but as a most useful accessory. In photographing 
a nest on the ground, one quarter or one half its 
natural size; the portion nearest the lens is so near, 
while the opposite side is so far away, that a small 
diaphragm must be used, and consequently a long 
exposure to obtain a sharp image. This is not de- 
sirable; for a harsh negative may be the result. 
Moreover, if the object has life it probably will not 
remain quiet for so long an exposure, and a worthless 
blurred negative is the result. By the use of the 
swing-back, the long exposure and the lack of detail 
on one side of the negative may be largely overcome 
with a medium stop; for it must be remembered 
that moving the swing-back out of the vertical in- 
creases the distance from the lens to one edge of 
