fi8 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



for copying, and frequently for landscape 

 views, such as apiaries, etc. For general 

 quick work about the ajoiary showing- oper- 

 ations, etc., the Seed 27 is better, which has 

 the same speed as the film ordinarily used 

 in kodaks. For photographing live bees on 

 flowers, or on combs, a faster plate is nec- 

 essary. The Seed 30 may be used, which is 

 about twice as fast, but we prefer the Seed 

 Grafiex, which has a speed about four times 

 as fast as the No. 27. In other words, if a 

 picture could be taken in 1/25 of a second 

 with the No. 27 plate, or with kodak film, 

 1/100 of a second would be ample exposure 

 if the Grafiex plate were used. Taking life- 

 size pictures of live bees requires an expos- 

 ure as short as 1/100 of a second, or even 

 1/300 of a second. Therefore, extremely 

 rapid plates are required. Such fast plates 

 as the Seed Grafiex require a little more 

 careful handling in the daik-room in order 

 to prevent fogging, but are otherwise devel- 

 oped the same as any negative. 



For photographing honey, or for obtain- 

 ing the correct tone values that show the 

 right amount of contrast between certain 

 colors, Panchromatic plates must be used. 

 We use either the Wratten or the Standard 

 Panchromatic plates for such work. Fre- 

 quently a " filter " must also be used over 

 the lens during the exposure. In a later 

 article, illustrations will be used showing 

 the correct and incoiTeet tone values of 

 honey in glass. 



The "worker " bee, 



A bee with a load, too busy to dodge a loiterer, un- 

 concernedly climbs over. 



In making prints we use Azo paper. 

 Grade F, which is a white glossy paper. 

 We use three different contrasts — the Soft, 

 the Hard, and the Hard X; the Soft for 

 harsh eontrasty negatives; the Hard for 

 medium negatives, and the Hard X for thin 

 negatives lacking in contrast. Many prints 

 submitted to us by beekeepers are unsuit- 

 able for half-tone reproduction. In such 

 cases, if the picture seems to warrant we 

 send for the negative, and in almost every 

 instance we find that, by using the proper 

 paper, a much better result can be secured. 

 If the negative is all that it should be, the 

 Soft paper will produce the best results; 

 but many negatives are so lacking in con- 

 trast that a harder paper is necessary in 

 ]irinting. 



Even when the photograph is clear and 

 distinct, the half-tone reproduction may not 

 be all that is desired. The illusiration of 

 the drones on the preceding page is from 

 the same photograph as the illustration ac- 

 companying Mrs. Allen's poem in the No- 

 vember 1st issue, " The Lament of the 

 Drones." The first engraving was too small, 

 and was not a very good engraving at that. 



PHOTOGRAPHING LIVE BEES AT CLOSE RANGE. 



Last summer I had photographed bees 

 working on different kinds of blossoms, and 

 had been liaving, therefore, an excellent 

 opportunity to notice the feverish yet joy- 

 ful motion of the bees collecting pollen, like 

 the nervous yet enthusiastic yvajs of a man 

 possessed with the get-rich-quick idea. I 

 had also secured pictures of bees with loads 

 of pollen on their legs, and I wanted to get 

 one showing the business-like rush of a 

 pollen-laden bee into the hive. But, to my 

 surprise, I found the rush so truly business- 

 like that catching it with even a fast plate 

 and a quick-working shutter was not easy. 

 I finally did secure an exposure that show- 



