CAMP FIRE PHOTOGRAPHS AT NIGHT 



43 



Campfire Photographs at Night. 



One of ihe simplest yet most eftective 

 and striking flash-light photographs that 

 one can make is a camp fire flash-light. 

 All we need is a camera, a camp fire and 

 about three of the flash sheets that can 

 be had of any photograph dealer. First 

 pile on a lot of wood and let your camp 

 fire burn until vou have a big he:l of red 



between the camera and the fire we must 

 have three or four figures standing close 

 together. This is to shield the camera 

 from the glare of the flash which might 

 give up that fuzzy efifect called halation. 

 Xow we give our flash sheets or powder 

 to one of the boys sitting close to the 

 fire with instructions to toss it into the 

 hottest part of the bed of coals at our 



A CAMP FIRE PHOTOGRAPHED AT NIGHT. 



hot coals but no fire to speak of. Xow 

 then, place your camera at a convenient 

 distance from the fire so you can include 

 your group, say about twenty feet. The 

 camera must be on some firm support 

 for this will be a time exposure. If you 

 have no tripod set it on a log, tree stum]), 

 camp chair or anything that is handy. 

 Now then, set the shutter for a time ex- 

 posure. Xow our camera is ready and 

 it is time to arrange our group. Oh, 

 yes, I forgot to mention that you focus 

 on the fire if it is a focusing camera. oMy 

 reason for fixing the camera first is not 

 to have our subjects sitting close to the 

 hot fire any longer than is necessary. 

 Sometimes they get too hot while wait- 

 ing for the photograoher to get ready 

 and refuse to pose. Now we arrange our 

 Darty in a circle about the fire, sitting, 

 kneeling or in natural attitudes, but just 



word of command. Then just before 

 taking the picture we .gather up a bunch 

 of damp leaves or green grass and 

 throw it on the fire. Immediately there 

 rises up a cloud of dense white smoke 

 which is very essential to our picture. 

 Then we step back to our waiting cam- 

 era, open the shutter, give the word of 

 command to our assistant to throw the 

 flash into the hot part of the fire. "Bing!"' 

 ofl^ goes the flash ; we close our shutter 

 and the ])icture is made. It is well to 

 caution }our group to look at the fire 

 or each other and not at the camera for 

 this spoils the naturalness of the efifect. 

 [Photograph, with instructions, from Brown 

 and Dawson, Stamford, Conn., and copyright- 

 ed by them.] 



The Natioual Museums of Peru have 

 had to be closed as a result of the hard 

 times which have followed the war. 



