Pi)otograpf)ins 



What more interesting and fascinating branch of pho- 

 tography can we discuss than that which relates to the 

 preservation, in enduring forni, of a record of Nature's 

 jewels of bloom, bud and leaf ! The flowers of the field 

 attract us, in their native environments ; the gems of the 

 greenhouse and garden also afford most beautiful and 

 available material for photography. There is the advan- 

 tage of a great diversity of form, with every possible grace 

 in shape and habit ; there is the whole gamut of color to 

 be considered, from purest white to deepest reds, blues 

 and purples, from delicate creamy hues to flaunting 

 orange, with all the intermediates of azijre, pink and yel- 

 low. And the foliage also presents much of interest in the 

 almost infinite variety of its greens, bronzes and browns. 



Every resource of the advanced plate-maker in ortho- 

 chromatism is needed ; every trick of exposure and 

 development may be fully employed. While the subjects 

 are perhaps more facile than the human beings upon 

 which ninety per cent, of all plates are exposed, they are 

 by no means immobile or unchanging, and there is need 

 to bring to this work all one's knowledge of light-action, 

 all one's experience in handling shadows. 



Considered as a means of artistic expression, flowers 

 offer many advantages. The rarity of the specimens used 

 is of no special importance, and often the commonest 

 roadside bloom affords material for the best work. 



Let me emphasize one point at the outset, even though 

 it is a point that is of marked importance in any part.of 

 photography. It is that to succeed in depicting by the 

 lens and camera the forms and at least the "color 

 values" of flowers in a manner that shall be satisfactory 

 and expressive, the operator must love the flowers. Treat 

 them as material only, with no more tenderness than is 



