In Wildest Africa ^ 



Japanese animal painters," he says, "show a more highly 

 developed power of observing nature than that of their 

 Western fellow-workers. They render the swift, sudden 

 motion of animals with astonishing dexterity. . . . They 

 had learned to see and reproduce them correctly before 

 the coming of instantaneous photography. . . . The 

 Japanese seem to have a very highly developed nervous 

 organism. Their art is evidence of this, no less than 

 their methods of warfare — their effective use of their 

 guns at sea, for instance." 



I would add to this my own opinion that an 

 inferior shot would have no success whatever with a tele- 

 photo lens. You must have learnt to stalk your quarry 

 warily — this is as important as a steady hand. A practised 

 shot who knows how to oret within rano-e of the animals 

 is peculiarly well fitted for the work. The least twitch 

 at the moment of taking the photograph ruins everything, 

 for even in the case of moving objects the exposure is 

 not what can be accurately called instantaneous, ov/ing 

 to the peculiarity of the lens. 



I have already expressed my view that this non- 

 instantaneous exposure (when not too prolonged) imparts 

 a certain softness and vagueness to the photograph which 

 give it an artistic effect. It gives scope also for the 

 personal taste and preferences of the operator. When 

 taken against the horizon photographs require less exposure 

 than with the velt for background. The dark green of the 

 trees and shrubs no less than the red laterite soil offerinor 

 unfavourable backgrounds for photographs of animals in 

 Africa, as elsewhere, one has to pay particular attention, 



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