focusing cloth

noun

1. an opaque cloth surrounding the ground glass of a camera so as to shield the eyes of the photographer from light that would otherwise prevent seeing the image in the ground glass.

Word History and Origins

Origin of focusing cloth¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

“She’d be barefoot, and with her husband, Allan, would duck under the focusing cloth of their heavy eight-by-ten view camera and start whispering conspiratorially before they photographed me.”

From Washington Post

Our party found temporary shelter in an abandoned hut in a quarry at the mountain top, but being miles from our stopping-place, and having failed to provide ourselves with even a single umbrella, one of the party, Mr. Ralph Austin, saw possibilities in the umbrella line when I folded up my rubber-coated focusing cloth.

From Project Gutenberg

Then the focusing cloth was stretched across the frame and tied down at the corners with more strips from the handkerchief.

From Project Gutenberg

There was a refreshing amount of wind; the tree tops beyond the bridge swayed a little against the sky; the focusing cloth flapped between the tripod legs, and for some minutes the girl stood absently imbibing all this, without a thought in her head.

From Project Gutenberg

The focusing cloth clung to her head like a cowl as she raised it and bowed.

From Project Gutenberg