122 NATURE AND THE CAMERA 



If used too soon they will move all the time; this 

 movement is so slow as to be almost imperceptible to 

 the eye, but it will be revealed by even a fairly long 

 exposure. The best way to avoid this is to pick the 

 flowers in the afternoon, and put them in water or in 

 a damp box and leave them in a cellar or other such 

 cool and dimly lighted place overnight. In the 

 morning they will be found strong and in full bloom, 

 when they should be photographed without unne- 

 cessary delay in a cool place free from draughts. For 

 some flowers the damp box is much better than 

 water. Any ordinary wooden or tin box will an- 

 swer if it is lined with thoroughly damp material 

 such as paper, felt, or cloth, and covered over with a 

 wet towel. If a flower is very full blown this is the 

 best way to preserve it overnight. Flowers to be 

 photographed may either be cut or pulled up with 

 complete roots. For pictorial effect the former is 

 the better, but of course if the roots are shown the 

 portrait of the flower is more perfect and certainly 

 more interesting, but it is also more difficult to ar- 

 range. One way to overcome the difficulty is to lay 

 it on a piece of clean glass and photograph directly 

 down on it. The background is of course placed at 

 some distance from the glass ; care must be taken to 

 avoid the reflection on the glass. Another way is to 

 pin the plant to a vertical background with very 

 small pins, which must be arranged so that they will 



