32 PICTURING MIRACLES 



may make an interesting picture, lasting thirty sec- 

 onds when projected. So first estimate the time the 

 action will take and then make uniform exposures 

 by hand, using a rigid tripod or support at the ex- 

 posure intervals to give the required footage with- 

 out any additional expense, only a little labor and 

 patience. But if growing plant life is to be pictured, 

 a mechanical device is necessary. It would hardly be 

 possible to make uniform exposures hour after hour 

 for even a week that most flowers would require. It 

 is, of course, necessary to have a camera capable of 

 making one picture at a time either by turning a 

 crank or otherwise, and in getting an outfit the most 

 important step is first to get a good one, equipped 

 with all the mechanical attachments necessary. 

 There is no economy in getting poor tools and ex- 

 pecting good results. It could not be done. So I 

 would advise, after deciding on the size of film you 

 wish to use, getting the best one obtainable. On the 

 market now are the Eastman Special, described in 

 chapter on Technicolor and Other Methods; the 

 Bell and Howell, and a few others not so well 

 known. Go to the dealers and have them demon- 

 strate these goods. You want a camera taking 16 mm. 

 film, making with motor spring drive exposures 

 from eight to sixty-four a second, and at one wind- 

 ing about forty feet of film. It should have, among 



