4 The Camera and its Accessories 



With only a front focus, it very often means chang- 

 ing the position of the tripod from one to three times, 

 which is of course disastrous to quick and accurate 

 manipulation. The swing-back should be used more 

 than it is usually, especially for near-by pictures, as 

 the objects themselves are often not "plumb" with 

 the plate. This condition occurs very frequently in 

 photographing birds' nests or other objects on or 

 near the ground. I recommend the swing-back to 

 the beginner. Do not purchase a field camera with- 

 out it, and, having it, consider it not as an ornament, 

 but as a most useful accessory. In photographing 

 a nest on the ground, one quarter or one half its 

 natural size,- the portion nearest the lens is so near, 

 while the opposite side is so far away, that a small 

 diaphragm must be used, and consequently a long 

 exposure to obtain a sharp image. This is not de- 

 sirable; for a harsh negative may be the result. 

 Moreover, if the object has life it probably will not 

 remain quiet for so long an exposure, and a worthless 

 blurred negative is the result. By the use of the 

 swing-back, the long exposure and the lack of detail 

 on one side of the negative may be largely overcome 

 with a medium stop; for it must be remembered 

 that moving the swing-back out of the vertical in- 

 creases the distance from the lens to one edge of 



