1 2 Photography for the Sportsman Naturalist 



what pitfalls are awaiting him, and as a warning 

 not to fall into them. 



This is but one step, and a very poor one, in 

 advance of the old-time methods of illustrating 

 works on nature. Indeed, I am not certain that 

 it is not a retrograde movement. There is much 

 to be said in favor of the old style over this, for, 

 surely, the artists never claimed more for their 

 drawings than appeared on the face of them, while 

 the authors of these photographs do all they can 

 to mislead people into the belief that they are the 

 truthful representation of living things, while they 

 are almost always entirely false in drawing, pose, 

 and surroundings. 



I can readily understand why it is that some 

 who call themselves photographer naturalists can 

 allow themselves to be led into these falsehoods, 

 especially if their consciences are not in active 

 operation. The photographing of any of our wild 

 cousins is, at the best, difficult, and, to one who is 

 not working conscientiously for the best possible 

 results, anything, no matter what, that tends to 

 lessen the obstacles, is welcome. To take ad- 

 vantage of any means that will make the diffi- 

 culties fewer is perfectly legitimate so long as the 

 means employed does not tend to detract from the 

 realism of the finished picture, but photographs 

 of stuffed animals never were known to make 

 realistic pictures. 



