28 Nature in Recreation 



subject; and having a ground glass as part of the equipment permit studying 

 the image before snapping it. 



Tripod 



Another important piece of equipment is a tripod or stand of some sort 

 upon which the camera is set when preparing and snapping the picture. A 

 cheap telescoping metal one may be purchased or a free one improvised 

 from three straight branches arranged in much the same way a. wigwam 

 or camp fire is set up. 



Film 



One of the most important factors for obtaining good pictures of flowers 

 is the proper registration of the colors in the flowers. You may have ex- 

 claimed more than once over photographs which seemed to make light colors 

 dark and dark colors light and had them in a wrong relationship. Where 

 color is as important as it is in flowers, steps must be taken to correct this. 



Film is sensitive to color in varying degrees. As a rule it is very sensitive 

 to blue, which will photograph white or almost white and is not very 

 sensitive to the other end of the spectrum which will photograph much 

 darker than it appears. Yellow, orange and red for instance will photograph 

 a very dark gray or almost black. Green also photographs a very dark 

 shade. This is particularly true in the older types of films and to a lesser 

 degree in the "chrome" types. The newer films, known as panchromatic, 

 correct these color differences to the highest degree. These are known on the 

 market as S. S. pan, panatomic, finopan and other names. They are always 

 wrapped in green paper. The S. S. pan is also a high speed film for bad light 

 conditions. As a further correction for color various "filters" are used. These 

 filters hold back sensitive colors and allow other colors, similar to that of 

 the filter itself, to pass through easily. The most useful color filter is a 

 medium shade of yellow. One may be improvised of cellophane or a pair 

 of yellow sun-glasses, although filters sell quite cheaply. Remember that 

 using a filter usually requires twice the exposure, an increase which may be 

 overcome by using it with the S. S. pan film. 



Background 



Finally a good piece of equipment to have is a neutral colored cloth to 

 serve as a background. An old window shade will do. This will eliminate 

 any complex and annoying background present in the picture and will help 

 the subject considerably. 



