(ICTORHI;, 1911. 



KNOWLEDGE. 



393 



one or two unfortunate experiences in this \va\- I 

 sliould not have beheved it possible. 



Back(;rounps. 



.\lthough I ha\"e repeatedly made the attempt. I 

 have never been able to produce a satisfactor\- result 

 by using an artihcial background. I have tried sheets 

 of paper of various tints, supported in various ways 

 or kept in movement by an assistant. Even where 

 the motion does not extend to the plant, as ver\' 

 easily happens, the result is, in mv experience, never 

 satisfactory. UnquestionabK- the best background 

 is the natural one, which, however, can be slighth- 

 modified where necessar\' bv the removal of anv- 

 tbing which will too prominenth' strike the eye, as 

 lor instance, a single large stone or a ver\- noticeable 

 plant of a different species. Plants of the same 

 species, perhaps a little out nf focus, seem to me 

 rather to improve the general effect. In colour work 

 special care must be taken of this point. A bright 

 \ellow buttercup. e\en if rather blurred in outline, 

 behind a group of blue forget-me-nots catches the 

 eye. and directs attention to itself more than to the 

 subject of the picture. To mv mind bv far the 

 best result, both pictorially and diagramaticalh', is 

 obtained b_\- the use of a natural background rather 

 out of focus. There are three points to be borne in 

 mind in obtaining this desired result. With the 

 camera looking down obliqueh' at the plant, and the 

 swing-back used as described in the earh" part of 

 this article, the background is almost certain to be 

 indistinct. Where the plants to be photographed 

 are growing amongst others, the immediateh' 

 surrounding \-egetation, and especiall}' that behind 

 them ma\' be pushed aside with the hand or even 

 pressed down with the foot. And lastly, b\- verv 

 careful focussing and the use of the largest possible 

 stop consistent with obtaining the required depth of 

 focus, an indistinct background is obtained. In 

 plant portraiture, no less than in human, the most 

 artistic results are obtained b\' a somew hat indefinite 

 background. 



Wind. 



In connection with field-work the greatest enem\" 

 of the plant photographer is wind. However calm 

 it may appear, there are \-ery few occasions, except 

 soon after dawn and just before sunset, when vegeta- 

 tion is absolutely at rest. Of course, tall flimsy 

 things like sedges and grasses are most affected, and 

 short solid things like toadstools feel it least or not 

 at all, but there are realh- \er\- few occasions in ordin- 

 ar\- field work when the wind has not to be considered. 

 This will be the more evident when it is remembered 

 that the exposures in plant photography are generally 

 long, as a small stop has to be used. Frequently, for 

 instance, I have had to give four to five minutes on 

 a dull da\' with the ordinary plates, and five to ten 

 minutes exposure is quite the rule, even at noon in 

 the middle of the summer, with autochromes. The 

 simplest method of obviating the effect of wind is to 

 make one's exposure a few seconds at a time while 



the plants are quiet, for where Nature has not been 

 assisted we can safely trust our sitters to return to 

 exactly the same positions between the gusts. One 

 must not necessarih' conclude that a photograph will 

 be entirely useless because there has been a certain 

 amount of movement during some part of an 

 exposure. Even where failure seems assured, it is 

 just as well to develop, and sometimes the result will 

 be an agreeable surprise. As a direct shield from 

 the wind an umbrella or sunshade, preferabK- of a 

 light colour, is exceedingly useful. .A very little 

 ingenuity in the placing of the camera and umbrella 

 is sufficient to ensure that the latter does not appear 

 in the photograph. One or more long-suffering 

 friends who are capable of remaining in one position 

 for several minutes, particularly if wearing overcoats 

 or full skirts at the time, are also much to be desired. 

 But as these aids, however desirable, are not always 

 to be had, the plant photographer is advised to pro- 

 vide himself with what may be termed a " wind 

 screen." .\ simple and useful form mav be made as 

 follows. Obtain a piece of stout white calico, six or 

 eight feet long by fourteen inches wide and half-a- 

 dozen fifteen-inch steel knitting needles. Roughen 

 each knitting needle near one end b\- twisting some 

 thin wire around it and soldering it to the knitting 

 needle. Get someone to stitch four pieces of tape 

 each fourteen inches long at equal distances along 

 the strip of calico and one at each end, slip in the 

 knitting needles and sew them firml}- in place near 

 one end so that the other end projects an inch. The 

 apparatus is now- complete. It is arranged on three 

 sides of the plant w ith the camera lens looking o\er 

 the middle of the enclosure and the whole thing 

 strongh- suggests a "coco-nut shy" on a small scale. 

 It is wise to put the camera into position and roughly 

 focus the plant before putting up the enclosure. 

 Where a taller screen is used, it is desirable to have a 

 slit cut in the calico near its middle, (with some 

 hooks and eyes to close it if vou like), through which 

 the camera lens can be made to project. The onh' 

 objection to such a screen that I know of is that it 

 cuts oft" a certain amount of side light, and can hardlv 

 be used to completely surround the object, unless the 

 camera is looking down on it more or less obliqueh'. 

 Less light is cut off than might be expected, for the 

 white calico reflects a good deal and is sometimes 

 useful for this reason alone when there are heavv 

 shadows. .\ more complete enclosure can be made 

 by using a transparent material. Sheets of trans- 

 parent celluloid about thirt\-six inches by twenty 

 can be obtained at any large photographic dealers 

 for eighteenpence or thereabouts. It is easv 

 to cement two or more of these together with 

 collodion, which can be bought at any chemist's, 

 allowing an overlap of half-an-inch. Strips of 

 broad tape to enclose the steel wire standards can 

 easily be cemented to the celluloid sheets with 

 the same material. As the collodion softens the 

 sheets it is best to let them dry between a couple of 

 boards. A group of plants can be entirely surrounded 

 by a screen of this sort, for a very pleasing eftect is 



