JANUARY 1, 1913 



15 



fall. There before 3'ou 

 is a side hill down which 

 the road winds into the 

 valley and across a 

 bridge over a creek in 

 the valley. From among 

 the trees is disclosed the 

 outline of a house, 

 smoke rising from the 

 chimney. 



To the ear comes the 

 dog's bark, and the fa- 

 miliar farmyard sounds 

 of cattle and chickens. 

 There is a picture with 

 road and hillside for a 

 foreground, and the 

 road leading the inter- 

 est riglit up to the farm- 

 stead; and as the feel- 

 ing of content wells up 

 within, you will almost 

 instinctively find the 

 spot where j'ou can ex- 

 press the spirit of the 

 scene by eliminating 

 most of the irrelevant 

 things in the landscape. 

 But few things need to 

 be shown — • the farm- 

 stead and the naked 

 trees with the road and 

 bridge leading up to the house. What is 

 desired is balance in the picture — not all 

 the light or shade on one side or the center 

 of interest placed right in the middle. Have 

 it a little above or below and to one side of 

 the center. What is essential is that you 

 feel the meaning, and the results are sure 

 to be better than if pictures are made hur- 

 riedly. The scene is a beautiful one, and 

 3"ou should absorb the impressions along 

 with the film. 



The technique of making correctly timed 

 exposures is nearly equal to mathematics 

 for mental drill. The animation of the cam- 

 erist dispels the thought of drudgery. With 

 a R. R. lens the bulk of my exposures are 

 made in 1-10 second stopped down to 32. 

 I vary this according to the light, and have 

 fair success in getting landscapes. I do 

 not like to take many pictures in the 

 brightest sunlight, preferring some clouds, 

 for softer tones seem to be the result. 



An expensive outfit is not necessarj'. A 

 six-dollar camera taking some of my best 

 pictures was the one that got me interested 

 in taking pictures. A medium-priced cam- 

 era is the best to start with, and a better 

 outfit may be bought later on. 



At first it may pay to take the films or 

 plates to a photographer for developing 



'■ Fools not all dead yet." The section shown in tliis illustration was 

 folded inside out ; and although the corners broke it held together long 

 enough to be put into the super, and then the comb held it together. 



and printing. If he is talkative you will 

 soon learn points that will help in doing 

 this work yourself. The cau.'.^L-s and book- 

 lets sent out by the photo-supply dealers 

 will soon give one a good working know- 

 ledge if they are studied. 



Composition is the whole thing in pic- 

 ture-taking. Some say it is all in the lens; 

 but the best lens will not make a picture 

 out of a piece of landscape if the elements 

 that make up a picture are not brought to- 

 gether in right relations on the film. The 

 cheapest of lenses will make a picture if the 

 limits of the lens are taken into account. 



Camera catalogs warn against taking pic- 

 tures with the lens pointed toward the sun ; 

 but by shading the lens from the rays of 

 the sun, atmospheric effects can be obtained 

 that are hard to secure any other way. 



" By Boulder Creek " was taken with the 

 camera facing the sun, shading the lens 

 ■with my hat. The feeling of spring is there ; 

 the buds are just opening, and the bees are 

 getting their first pollen. Boulder Creek has 

 not yet begun to rise from the melting snow 

 in the mountains. There is not the detail 

 in the shadows that I should like; but be- 

 ing only an amateur I have not learned how 

 to make a picture more attractive after it 

 has he*m taken. " Majesty of the Hills " 



