26 PHOTOGRAPHING FLOWERS 



photographing of various objects of small size, copying 

 in any size, enlarging, lantern-slide and transparency 

 making, can well dispense with an equivalent apparatus. 

 Its perfect flexibility permits so ready a use of any light, 

 and such thorough control of the light, that I am sure any 

 worker who once sets up such a stand will always regret 

 to have ever to handle a tripod indoors again. 



Two views of the stand are shown. The first, a side 

 view, gives the appearance of the device with the track 

 for the camera stand in a horizontal position, as when 

 working on flowers which cannot be laid down, or on 

 compositions in reduced size. The frame carrying the 

 plate-glass then becomes a support for the background 

 selected, and the article to be photographed is placed 

 on a box in front of the background. The plate-glass 

 frame is movable along the track, and the sliding stand 

 for the camera, in the center of which is a slot through 

 which comes the tripod-screw to hold firm the camera, 

 is controlled partly by a strong brass window spring, 

 which tends always to pull it away from the plate-glass 

 end. This stand, or box, is fastened by a large thumb- 

 screw, easily accessible through the opening in the side 

 of the box. 



The method of control of the track, carrying both 

 camera and exposing platform, is easily seen. This track 

 is cramped between the two uprights, and the hand-lever 

 at the side, working a nut on a screw-thread, serves to 

 hold it firmly in any position. 



Fig. 2, more important for the present discussion, 

 shows the apparatus in position for flower photog- 

 raphy. The plate-glass is nearly vertical, as will be noted 

 — it can easily be made entirely so — and the relative 

 distances are well shown, as the drawing was made over 

 a photograph of the stand in a much-used studio. Note 

 that keeping the plate-glass exposing platform some six 

 inches away from the floor gives opportunity to slip in 

 any background, out of focus, and thus unobtrusive. 

 See, also, that while as here shown, the apparatus is 

 arranged for making natural-size work, there is plenty of 

 room for the camera box to be drawn back, so. that 

 objects on the glass can be photographed at a consider- 

 able reduction. Also, see that by bringing the camera 

 still closer to the object, enlargement may be accom- 

 plished up to the limit of the bellows capacity of the 

 camera. 



The whole apparatus, which stands on a crossed frame, 

 is mounted on smoothly-running casters, and it may thus 

 fae readily wheeled about without disturbing the camera 



