4^8 



RECREATION. 



6 minutes for a 1/50 inch opening; there- 

 fore your correct exposure on that particu- 

 lar picture would be % of 6 minutes or 1^ 

 minutes. Pinhole pictures give good de- 

 tail in the foreground, the middle distance 

 is soft, and the extreme distances come out 

 with an atmospheric effect that is remark- 

 able, all lights and shades being blended 

 into a delicate gray. Try one on a quiet, 

 bright day and you will be surprised. 



The advantages of a hydrometer for 

 measuring chemicals in photography are 

 beyond dispute, and if once used you will 

 wonder why you ever bothered with scales 

 and weights. Here is a simple means of 

 making up baths by hydrometer for any 

 chemical. Suppose we take as an example 

 the following formula to be mixed by hy- 

 drometer : 



Sodium sulphite, 6 ounces ; sodium car- 

 bonate, 4 ounces ; water, 32 ounces. 



Find by experiment how many grains of 

 chemical correspond to one degree on the 

 hydrometer and make a note of the same. 

 Then make saturated solutions of each 

 chemical in stock. Ten grains of sulphite 

 and 5 grains of carbonate correspond to 

 one degree on the hydrometer. The satu- 

 rated solution of sulphite registers 36 de- 

 grees. 36 x 10 = 360 grains per ounce of 

 water. Carbonate solution registers 2A. 

 24x5 = 120 grains per ounce of water. 6 



00 1 2 88o 



ounces = 2880 grains and — -? — =8 ounces 



360 



the quantity required. Four ounces = 1920 



j I 9 20 ™ 



grains and = 16 ounces. Therefore we 



120 



take : 



Saturated solution sulphate 8 ounces 



Saturated solution carbonate. .. .16 ounces 



Water 8 ounces 



and get the formula exact. 



PHOTOGRAPHING FLOWERS. 

 E. W. JACKSON. 



Many amateurs give up photographing 

 flowers after a short space of time. How 

 does this come about? Principally because 

 photographers, as a rule, simply place their 

 subjects before a dark background, gen- 

 erally a piece of black velvet, and expect 

 to see a charming and lifelike representa- 

 tion. Nearly always, the result is a great 

 disappointment. If photographers only 

 knew it, no inconsiderable part of the 

 charm of the flower lies in their own inner 

 Consciousness. If the camera did what 

 we expect of it, all would be satisfactory, 

 but who ever saw a flower photograph that 

 reproduced one-tenth of the delicate fra- 

 gility and tender beauty of a rose, or, in- 

 deed, any flower? Do what we will we can 

 hardly prevent our subjects from having a 

 stiff, constrained look, very different from 

 what we hoped for. I suppose it is im- 

 possible to overcome this difficulty. 



While many condemn altogether the use 

 of accessories with flowers, it seems to me 

 that by using them we may to some extent 

 overcome this difficulty we are speaking of. 

 By contrasting the free and unconstrained 

 lines of nature with artificial and con- 

 ventional objects, such as vases or other 

 receptacles, may we not emphasize the 

 beauty and delicate grace of the flow- 

 er ? And may not the background have its 

 share in making a pleasing picture ? It is a 

 temptation, no doubt, to use a dark, plain 

 background. Theoretically, nothing shows 

 up a flower so well, but in viewing the fin- 

 ished print we can not help but note the 

 harsh contrast and want of delicacy, only 

 too unlike the flower itself. 



The numberless people who take an in- 

 terest in botany would find the camera use- 

 ful to record the specimens they gather. 

 In photographing flowers for botanical 

 reference we have to proceed on a rather 

 different plan than where our aim is merely 

 pictorial. We require for this, thoughtful 

 representations which show the manner of 

 growth of the plant; how the flowers are 

 borne on the stem ; the relative positions 

 ot the leaves ; if furnished with stipules or 

 other appendages. In some plants one side 

 of the leaf is different from the other. In 

 such cases both sides should be photo- 

 graphed. In short, as much as possible of 

 the structure of the plant, giving special 

 attention to its most typical features, 

 shold be clearly shown. 



To make floral photography a success, 

 we must have a real love for flowers and 

 plant forms. It has been well said by an 

 artist, referring to the art of drawing and 

 painting flowers, "We can not reproduce 

 a beauty we do not feel ;" and this state- 

 ment applies, I think, equally to photog- 

 raphy. Flowers are full of the most grace- 

 " ful and subtle curves, with beautiful grada- 

 tions of light and shade. When we realize 

 these, then only ao we succeed in inter- 

 preting them aright. 



Color must not attract us, as, of course 

 photography can not reproduce it ; and in 

 grouping our subjects we should avoid too 

 great contrasts as to light and dark flowers. 

 The required exposure for dark flowers and 

 perfectly white ones is so different it is 

 next to impossible to have both properly 

 exposed when placed in juxtaposition if 

 we are to retain the delicate half /tones in 

 light flowers. Obviously, one plan to 

 get over this difficulty is to place the dark- 

 est flowers nearest the window, or wher- 

 ever the light comes from, and vice versa. 

 Isochromatic plates are, of course, a 

 necessity for floral photography. If doubt 

 exists in any mind as to the merits 

 or demerits of these plates over ordi- 

 nary ones, a trial and comparison of 

 the 2 will at once remove it. In my own 

 practice I use also a medium colored yel- 



