In the photograph one can see the rather crude attempt at a moon at the top left, and cheesecloth used for water. The girl in the centre is wearing a small coronet. The story is told that this was to be a five minute exposure because the light being used was rather dim. The sitters were in anything but a comfortable pose, and the girl with the coronet felt it begin to slip over her forehead. A second minute went by, by which time she was drenched in perspiration and could feel the coronet sliping further. A third minute went by and the girl was now becoming desperate. When the fourth minute was clocked up Mrs. Cameron's husband, who usually kept out of the studio, appeared and seeing this poor girl, burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter. She in turn collapsed immediately, and Julia Margaret Cameron had to put the lens cap back on, so the picture had only four minutes instead of five!
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© Robert Leggat, 1999.