38 PHOTOGRAPHING FLOWERS 



density. (Metol-hydrochinon is a favorite combination; 

 also, see formulas on p. 20.) 



J. to return to our poor carnation How- 



More gj.g^ ^jj jj^jg ^jj^g wilting before the lens 



iLxperience. ^[^jig ^g ^j.g experimenting and philoso- 

 phizing ! We may, if we find tlie first exposure too long 

 or too short, try another, and then pass to other flowers 

 and other compositions. The remarks previously made 

 about red and yellow flowers, and concerning ray filters, 

 apply here with double force. 



The most difficult flowers, often, are large white blos- 

 soms, with deep green foliage. A great white rose, as 

 The Bride, or Captain Christy, presents an extreme of 

 contrast which will tax all our skill, alike in composition, 

 lighting and development. The beautiful native "wake- 

 robin," more generally known as Trillium grandiflorum, 

 is another subject of much elegance and equivalent diffi- 

 culty, because of its contrasts of white, blush-pink and 

 deepest green. A gorgeous blue and white pansy, with a 

 yellow eye, or a cluster of the delicate wistaria, or the 

 lovely "bluet " [Mertensia Virginica), or the stately pur- 

 ple and gold iris, will test the control of contrast and the 

 resources of orthochromatisra. 



In general, it will be found that great contrast in the 

 subject must be met with soft and fully diffused light, 

 especially in dealing with white flowers and glossy leaves, 

 which latter are simply unmanageable in a brilliant light. 

 The beautiful kalniia, or mountain laurel, is a case in 

 point ; its deep, shiny leaves, together with its exquisite 

 cup-shaped white flowers (in which shadows refuse to 

 hide) and its delicate fluted pink buds, are my despair ! 

 I hope some one who reads may have the joy of a 

 full triumph over the photographic difficulty of this glory 

 of our Allegheny mountain-sides. 



Where red is to be photographed, a brilliant light 

 is essential. The bright Crimson Rambler rose, for 

 instance, must have the light, sharp light, poured into it ; 

 and still more will its greater sister, the queenly Jack, and 

 other crimson full-bosomed flowers, need brilliancy of 

 direct light. Give such flowers three or four times the 

 exposure deemed necessary for lighter subjects, shade the 

 foliage as much as possible, and develop with a strongly 

 restrained reducer. The " Bromo-hydrochinon " for- 

 mula, already given, is advised as peculiarly adapted 

 for this work ; it affords density without undue hardness. 

 Flowers Notwithstanding the great value of the 



Pendent apparatus for downward exposure, it 

 must not be used for all subjects,, Some 



