1314 



PHOTOGRAPHY 



PHOTOGRAPHY 



con is found to be of enormous advantage, and the teach- 

 ing or entertainment is made more efficient through this 

 means. Therefore, all branches of horticultural activity 

 are concerned with photography, and the progressive 

 instructor dealing with horticultural problems in an 

 educational institution, or handling the government's 

 money in the experiment station work, must be able 

 to practice photography with a fair degree of profi- 

 ciency, if he is to accomplish the best results. 



As Horticultural Photography differs essentially from 

 the line of work in which the ordinary portrait photog- 

 rapher is engaged, some special skill and certain items 

 of equipment are desirable for the tradesman, or experi- 

 menter, or teacher who wants to make his illustration 

 effective. Those who deal, as does the writer, with many 

 photographs from many "artists," come to know and 

 abhor the thoroughly inadequate work of the ordinary 

 professional, who is fitted both as to equipment and skill 

 only for the picturing of the human face and form. Not 

 once in twenty times does satisfactory and efficient horti- 

 cultural photographic work come from the professional ; 

 and, therefore, the horticultural instructor or tradesman 

 is best served by taking up photography in an indepen- 

 dent manner. 



Apparatus. For views outdoors of trees, plants, etc., 

 any view camera of the regulation or of the " folding " 

 type will' answer, though, as it is often desirable to 

 obtain relatively large details of fruits or flowers or 

 plants in situ, a bellows of more than the usual focal ca- 

 pacity or length is preferred. The modern "long-focus" 

 cameras are suitable, and the size most used by horti- 

 culturists is that taking a plate 5x7 inches in dimen- 

 sions. For such size a rectilinear lens with a focal length 

 of seven or eight inches is advisable ; and if one of the 

 two lenses forming the combination is available as an 

 objective of about double the focal length of the com- 

 bination, and the camera is provided with a bellows 

 which draws out several inches beyond the focal length 

 of this single lens, much facility in operation is provided. 

 Any of the modern high-class view lenses are suitable, 

 and those of the anastigmatic type, which are not only 

 rectilinear but also render views in a flat and correct 

 perspective, are preferable. It need not be assumed, 

 however, that the very highest grade lens is essential, 

 for in the hands of a thoughtful and reasonably skilful 

 operator, an ordinary rectilinear lens, costing, for the 

 size mentioned, but $15 or $20, will often do satisfactory 

 work. Whatever lens is used, it should be fitted into 

 a quick - working shutter, as outdoor exposures, with 

 modern rapid plates, must be made in small fractions 

 of a second. The shutter, it may be explained to the 

 unacquainted reader, is merely a convenient device for 

 opening and closing the lens to the light for the inter- 

 val of time desired by the photographer. 



As there is frequent misconception of the work done 

 by a lens, and as even lens-makers sometimes give 

 faulty advice as to the proper objectives for any specified 

 uses, it may not be amiss to suggest to the inquiring 

 horticultural photographer an investigation on his own 

 account. Photo -Miniature No. 1, "Modern Lenses," is 

 a brief, clear and concise statement of the principles, 

 properties and construction of lenses, which may be 

 consulted to advantage. The focal length of any lens, 

 in connection with the size of the plate upon which it is 

 to be used, determines the angle and amount of view in- 

 cluded. The human eye is a lens of about 16 inches 

 focal length, and to have a photograph render perspec- 

 tive as seen by the average eye, an objective of the 

 same focal length is required. Thus, on a 5x7 plate, a 

 lens of 8 inches focal length will include twice as much 

 in the view, and show it in half the size as seen by the 

 eye. This forced perspective is sometimes desirable 

 and sometimes unpleasant. If the 8-inch lens is com- 

 posed of two elements on what is known as the symmet- 

 rical plan, the rear element, may usually be used alone 

 (by screwing out the front lens), and it will have ap- 

 proximately double the focus of the combination. This 

 will give about the perspective seen by the human eye, 

 and will need to be used in connection with a bellows 

 of at least the same length or "draw " as the focal length 

 of the lens. Some of the high-grade lenses are now 

 made on what is termed the "convertible " plan, each of 

 the two elements being of a different focal length. Thus 



a certain lens which as a whole is of 7% inches focus, 

 includes one element of 12 inches focus and one element 

 of 18 inches focus. Either of these single lenses, or the 

 combination, may be used separately, so that from a 

 given position three views, including proportions dif- 

 fering as 5, 8, and 12, may be made. 



To photograph an object in natural size, the double lens 

 is preferable. If the lens be of 8 inches focus, it will give 

 natural size when placed equidistant between the object 

 and the ground-glass focusing-screen of the camera, at 

 double its focal length. Thus the bellows would need 

 to be drawn out so as to have 16 inches between the 

 ground glass and the lens, while the object to be photo- 

 graphed should be maintained in position 16 inches 

 from the lens. 



A tripod, capable of adjustment as to height, and of 

 sufficient rigidity to sustain the camera in a moderately 

 high wind, is easily obtained. The cheaper forms are 

 fairly efficient, but the photographer who has much 

 traveling to do finds it preferable to obtain one of the 

 more expensive and carefully fitted types, which fold 

 into a smaller compass. 



For indoor work, including the making of photographs 

 of fruits, flowers or plants in large detail, a special 

 form of camera-stand is very desirable. One arranged 

 so that the camera may be maintained in an inclined or 

 nearly vertical plane, while the object to be photographed 

 rests on a plate-glass exposing stand in front of the lens, 

 gives great facility and ease of operation, and does away 

 with many difficulties of illumination. A few experiment 

 stations possess devices of this kind. A form which has 

 been found exceedingly satisfactory in practice is de- 

 scribed in No. 13 of the Photo-Miniature, "Photographing 

 Flowers and Trees, "and is here reprinted by permission 

 in Figs. 1768 and 1769, showing the camera-stand both 

 as arranged for horizontal and for vertical work. In 

 operation with this device, the flower, fruit or plant to be 

 photographed is laid upon the plate-glass stand, and the 

 camera, fastened by its tripod screw upon a movable 

 bed, is moved backward or forward as a whole, or 

 through its bellows, until the desired size and focus 

 are obtained. The background may be varied to any 

 extent desired by cardboards or cloths placed below 

 or back of the plate-glass stand, out of focus. The 

 camera-stand is mounted on casters, so that it may 

 be readily moved about to secure the most favorable 

 lighting. Objects which can best be handled on a hori- 

 zontal plane may be disposed somewhat as shown in 

 Fig. 1768. For work of this sort a north side-light is 

 found vastly preferable to the conventional sky-light. A 

 greater mistake in the equipment of a studio for hor- 

 ticultural work could not be made than to provide the 

 sky-light deemed essential by old-fashioned professional 

 photographers, although now happily abandoned by the 

 more progressive workers for a "single-slant" light, 

 which gives far better results. There should be pro- 

 vided in the work-room of the horticultural photog- 

 rapher several good reflecting surfaces, so that the side 

 of the object opposite the main source of light may be 

 properly illuminated. 



Plates and color-values. As practically all Horticul- 

 tural Photography has to do with the tints of growing 

 things, the well-known color inaccuracy of the ordinary 

 dry-plate is a serious disadvantage. The ordinary plate 

 responds most actively to the rays at the blue end of 

 the spectrum, and is very sluggish in taking an im- 

 pression from green, yellow and red, the latter color, 

 indeed, being rendered practically the same as black. 

 Yellow, which in actual color value is on a par with 

 light bhie, and only a few shades less intense than 

 white, is rendered by the ordinary plate as a dark color, 

 as all operators who have photographed yellow roses, 

 yellow apples, yellow plums, and the like, will have ob- 

 served. Fortunately, there are available photographic 

 plates, known as isochromatic or orthochromatic plates, 

 which, to a certain extent, correct these difficulties, and 

 the skilful operator may, by the use of the proper plate 

 and in some cases a suitable ray-filter, give approxi- 

 mately correct values to all the colors of the spectrum. 

 For all ordinary horticultural uses, where blue and yel- 

 low are not found in the same subject, the isochromatic 

 plate of the most rapid speed is satisfactory. It gives 

 yellow its proper value, at the same time improving the 





