1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE; 



141 



PHOTOGRAPHIC HINTS FOR BEE- 

 KEEPERS. 



The Art of Disposing of the Lights and 

 Shadows. 



BY F. DUN DAS TODD. 



[Mr. Todd was formerly editor of the Photo Beacon, of Chicaeo, 

 and while the health of his family made it necessary for him to 

 sever his connections with that journal, and go west, he strll is 

 regarded as an authority on the art of picture-taking, even though 

 he is now engaged in other business. Inasmuch as many bee- 

 keepers are taking pictures to illustrate phases of apiculture in 

 this journal, his instructions on that fascinating art may be read 

 with interest and profit. — Eu.] 



Picture-writing preceded word-writing in point 

 of time. The former was in use many thousands 

 of years before the latter. As a matter of fact, 

 it has been conclusively proved that word-writ- 

 ing gradually evolved from picture-writing. The 

 crude drawings in course of time gradually be- 

 came abbreviated in form, lost their original sig- 

 nificance, became merely arbitrary signs for syl- 

 lables, and ultimately with still further curtail- 

 ment evolved into the letters of our present day. 

 Words undoubtedly convey abstract ideas just 

 as well as picture-writing would do, or perhaps 

 better; but when it comes to the elucidation of a 

 concrete fact a picture is far ahead of the printed 

 word. 



Bee-keepers as a class are very decidedly con- 

 cerned with things; and, what is greatly to their 

 credit in this individualistic age, they are anxious 

 to help their competitors by describing for their 

 benefit such new appliances as they have found 

 to be advantageous in the pursuit of their calling. 

 It is not business in the strict sense of the word; 

 it is the outcome of the ethical instinct which 

 seems to be more highly developed among bee- 

 keepers than the followers of any other calling 

 with which I am acquainted, with the possible ex- 

 ception of the medical profession. Possibly it is 

 the result of practical acquaintance with the in- 

 ner workings of a very advanced form of a com- 

 munistic form of society in which each provides 

 according to ability and receives according to 

 needs, where the life of the community is admit- 

 tedly of greater importance than that of the indi- 

 vidual. 



Following this instinct we find the bee-keeper 

 anxious to describe to his fellows some new ap- 

 pliance that he has developed and finds to work 

 well; further, he often accompanies the descrip- 

 tion with a photograph, realizing that the picture 

 will or should be more effective than the descrip- 

 tion. We all feel grateful for such kindly con- 

 sideration, but have often wished the accompany- 

 ing photograph was of better quality — that, in 

 the words of the average individual, it was a great 

 deal dearer, so that we could follow the details. 

 Let me illustrate this point. 



When Mr. Hands articles appeared in Glean- 

 ings I was decidely interested in them; and hav- 

 '"K) a year ago, considerable leisure I decided to 

 build a model just to see how it looked. Now, 

 thephotographsthat were reproduced were in many 

 ways above the average, but they failed to show 

 some of the finer points of construction. 



Again, there is that Nestor of bee-keeping, Dr. 

 Miller, whose " Forty Years Among the Bees" 

 is in my hands every day from March to Septem- 

 ber, for the very simple reason it comes nearer 



being specific in the details I want to know than 

 any other book on bee-keeping. I bear the rep- 

 utation of being able to get into a scrap (verbal) 

 easier than the next hundred men one can meet, 

 but " Forty Years " has been of such great help 

 to me that, if it would give Dr. Miller any pleas- 

 ure to pitch into me, I would take my medicine 

 like a man and try to smile as sweetly as the doc- 

 tor himself. To make his meaning clear, Dr. 

 Miller has made many photographs; but, unfor- 

 tunately, their quality lags far behind his good 

 intentions just because he did not know enough. 

 One purpose of thisarticle is to add a little to the 

 knowledge of Dr. Miller, and I sincerely hope I 

 shall be able to repay some of my indebtedness 

 to him before I close, and also prevent other con- 

 tributors to bee literature falling into the same 

 errors. 



As I write, there lie before me two books — 

 " Forty Years Among the Bees," and " A B C 

 and X Y Z;" and I would ask my readers to fol- 

 low my example so that they can refer to the il- 

 lustrations as I discuss them, and so understand 

 the principles I wish to inculcate. 



First, let me point out that nearly all the ap- 

 pliances we use in bee-keeping are solids with 

 three very definite dimensions — length, width, 

 and height; and in photographing them we ought 

 always to show these three dimensions. Look 

 under the caption of "Hives," in the ABC 

 book, and you will find that the artists who drew 

 the illustrations knew the importance of this 

 principle, for in practically every instance the 

 drawing shows two sides and the top of the hive. 

 The photographer who made the illustrations of 

 the Hand hives seemingly understood what he 

 was doing, as he has carefully followed the same 

 lines. Now compare the illustrations on pages 

 381, 382, and 407, where only two sides of the 

 hive are shown, and one can see at once how they 

 lack in effectiveness and pictorial quality. Those 

 who possess Dr. Miller's book can compare the 

 hive seat on page 63 with the section-case on page 

 285, or the hives on page 213 with those on page 

 43. The same principle holds good, of course, 

 when making a general view; for instance, the 

 Macklin apiary, No. 17 in the A B C, gains much 

 of its effectiveness from the fact that, with one 

 exception, every hive shows the three dimensions. 

 No 15, it will be noticed, is faulty in the center 

 of the field of view. There are other principles 

 concerned that will be dealt with later on. 



It is possible to show the three dimensions, and 

 yet be at fault pictorially. Here is where Dr. 

 Miller is an especial sinner. When he has a 

 small bit of apparatus to photograph he sets it up 

 and points the lens at the center of it. Typical 

 examples you will see on pages 17 and 19 of his 

 book, but you will find the right way on pages 

 129 and 183. 



Everybody knows that it is light that does the 

 drawing in photography; but very few realize 

 how important it is for the light to fall upon the 

 object in a particular way, no matter whether we 

 are trying to get pictorial results or merely show 

 details in a bit of apparatus. Once in a while 

 one meets with an example of the ordinary ama- 

 teur who thinks he knows it all and sums up the 

 whole matter by stating that the sun should al- 

 ways be behind one at the moment of exposure. 

 For an example of this kind of lighting look at 



