13 TREES IN WINTER 



the sleepy child the moonlight casts weird fairy shadows of the 

 limbs upon the bedroom floor and the soft rustle of its leaves lulls 

 him to sleep. Is there great wonder then that in after years 

 this same child holds the old family tree dear — an inseparable part 

 of his youth. The tree has helped to make the house a home. 

 We have been viewing a tree in its human relations. Such a view 

 may not be botany, but whoever has had a home with a tree, knows 

 that it is life. 



Tree Photo grapliy — It is fortunate for us who are not painters 

 that the photographic camera offers a means of recording the 

 pictures as we find them. The ground glass or the "finder" on the 

 camera or even an empty frame held at varying distances from the 

 eye will separate for us the view from its surroundings. Only 

 experience however, will show what results to expect in the de- 

 veloped picture. In general better effects will be obtained from 

 near views or from distant views with prominent features in the 

 foreground. 



The condition and position of the sunlight are matters of prime 

 importance in the photographing of trees. Full light is desir- 

 able and the sun should be somewhat behind and considerably to 

 one side of the camera. If light comes from behind the tree a 

 mere silhouette of the branching is obtained, while if the light 

 is directly back of the camera the trunk and crowTi appear flat from 

 lack of contrast. When one side of the trunk, as viewed from 

 the camera, appears dark and the other side in direct sunlight, all 

 the branches of the tree in the finished picture, as well as the trunk, 

 will appear solid. The position of the light is of even more im- 

 portance in photographing the bark. Depressions and ridges 

 seem to disappear when the light shines directly against them 

 and a somewhat lateral illumination is therefore necessary to bring 

 out the details of the bark sculpturing. 



The position of the camera must also be considered. A tree 

 viewed from below appears different from what it would if viewed 

 on the level and from a distance. Habit views are often taken 

 too near the trees. Moreover, the camera is generally placed be- 

 low the usual eye level and this position tends to give the tree 

 an unnatural appearance. It is generally useless to attempt to 

 show much detail in the method of branching of an individual 

 tree if the crown cannot be seen clear above the sky line. A cover- 



