392 



KNOWLEDGE. 



October. 1911. 



photographed in its natural colours. Those \\ho'^m(H)t point. .\ 

 have once started colour work will never 

 return to the old 



willingh" 



niediatch- 



monoch rome. 

 myself. I can 

 speak of the 



For 



oiih' 



autd- 



chroine jirocess. but 

 I have found this so 

 perfect that I want 

 nothing better. .\nd 

 it is realh" sunpler 

 than iirdinarv photo- 

 grajdix-. .\ single 

 exposure is alone re- 

 quired and the photo- 

 graph can be finished 

 in a cpuirter of an hour. 

 ^^■ith tile help of a 

 meter to calculate 

 the e.xact exposure I 

 find that I hardly 

 ever s[)oil an auto- 

 chronie plate except 

 as the result of some 

 technical error in the 

 arrangement of the 

 plants or on account 

 of wind. 



blil.KCTIO.X (IF 

 Sl'HJKCT. 



It is dit^cult 

 useful hiiUs as 

 tl 



Tlic Wood I'iii 

 >hc)\v the rflcct 



FiGURr; 5. 



. UJiciiitliiis ^ylvcstns). To 

 ut a luitiiral bLickgnniiul mil 

 of focus. 



to 

 to 



iw an\- 

 the selec- 

 tion of the subject to photo- 

 graph, for different people have 

 \ery different ideas as to tile effect 

 tliey desire to obtain. With some 

 a pleasing and natural ()ictur(.- i- 

 the chief aim, but others tr\- to 

 combine with this a l>otaiiicali\ 

 correct portrait of a pi uit or pail 

 of a plant, arranged to displax its 

 cliief characteristics, such as buds, 

 leaxcs. fruits, and so on. Generally 

 it iiia\ be said that the best results 

 will oiil\ be obtained by those who 

 know at least something of the 

 subject they are trying to photo- 

 graph. The individual, for instance, 

 howe\er i)rohcient he nia\ In- as 

 a photographer, who caii'fulK' 

 arranges buttercuj) leaves among a 

 grou(j of po[)pies. where the foha.i^e 

 appears a little deficient, will not 

 obtain a satisfactory picture. Not 

 infrequently a small group of 

 plants looks nicer than a siiigli' 

 specimen, and wherever possible, it 

 is wiser to select sometliing com- 

 pact and not very large, rather 

 than a straggling mass. How- 

 tar " faking " is permissible is a 



.\ rare l-^iiigus \llydniun i iiiidccii in). 



Photograplied in a hollow tree on a foggy 



November day. in pouring rain, and given 



15 minutes" exposure at 1'" 11. 



little judicious weeding im- 

 aroLind the jilant to be photo- 

 graphed often makes it stand out 

 much more clearly, ami the same 

 result is sometimes obtained by 

 piishing awav and [jressing down 

 the other plants which surround 

 it. It is generall)' desirable also 

 to remove anv foreign jdants that 

 are growing among the group 

 selected and sometimes the careful 

 removal of a few dead or faded 

 lea\es. or e\en flowers, seems to 

 do good. Where we find a rather 

 straggling group of flowers with 

 considerable de[ith of focus it is. 

 I think, sometimes permissible to 

 place a stone behind tlieiii in such 

 a position that it cannot lie seen 

 ti-om the front, so as to throw 

 forward the flowers at the liai k 

 and liring them more in line wUli 

 llie reniainder. 



Whether anxthing further is 

 i\er to lie thouglit of is very 

 uncertain. Whether, for instance, 

 one or two buds shoulil be added 

 to a plant which is well pro- 

 portioned and otherwise makes a 

 pleasing jjicture but is deficient in 

 tliis particular. Certainly, if Nature 

 IS to be assisted in an\- way, it 

 needs to be done most 

 carefulK-. Moreover, 

 if there is the slight- 

 est breeze it will 

 lie often found that 

 while the plant as 

 a whoK returns 

 to its former posi- 

 tion in the intervals, 

 the additions do 

 not, and a spoilt 

 plate results. l'"ur- 

 ther. where the 

 exposures are long, 

 as in colour work, 

 what nia\ be <le- 

 scrilied as " fading 

 to,L; " has to be reckon- 

 ed w ith. Where the 

 connection between 

 the brancli or flower 

 and its root is severed, 

 fading takes place 

 and in plants grow - 

 in;,; in moist places 

 this ina\- be so rapid 

 as to entireU' spoil 

 the picture after an 

 exposure of five min- 

 utes. 1 lad 1 not had 



