242 



RECREATIOX. 



you must choose simple subjects, and sub- 

 ordinate every other object to the central 

 idea of your picture, not even letting the 

 drapery of your model be so conspicuous 

 as to detract attention from the pose, face 

 and hands. You will never make a great 

 character study with an over dressed or un- 

 suitably dressed model, surrounded by pic- 

 tures, chairs and pillows. There are times 

 when a suggestion of surroundings tends 

 to intensify interest in a model. For in- 

 stance, say you are attempting a Dutch 

 interior. You carefully dress your model, 

 with ear loops, cap, bodice, white apron, 

 wooden shoes, set her to work on a 

 coarse, half knit sock, with wooden needles 

 and secure a natural pose. If you can not 

 place your figure so that the cracks of the 

 floor lead up to her, sand it. It will never 

 do to let them run crosswise. Use a plain, 

 old, wooden chair. When all this is done, 

 if you can introduce a deep seated window, 

 with small diamond shaped panes, the fa- 

 miliar jar of geranium or tulip in the win- 

 dow and a glimpse of a flax wheel in the 

 background, you will find these accessories 

 tend to help out your picture. But don't 

 overdo it. Far better too little than too 

 much when you are seeking artistic effect. 

 In the pictures that stand as master- 

 pieces of the art world and sell for fortunes 

 the comoosition is the soul of simplicity. 

 What of "The Sower" and "The Angelus?" 

 Think of Corot's landscapes and Angelo's 

 stern faced old prophets. Even great ani- 

 mal pictures are shorn of all detail except 

 strictly necessary surroundings. There is 

 Landseer's "Drinking Stag." The stag is 

 all of the picture. Of course there had to 

 be a bit of water for him to drink, an ef- 

 fect of cloud and mist for a background, 

 and a scrap of marsh for a footing ; but 

 the stag is the picture, and it is a master- 

 piece. 



Amateurs who are working to make 

 photography an art should study the laws 

 of composition. Visit galleries and study 

 the composition of the greatest paintings, 

 their lighting and atmospheric effect, and 

 apply it t?o your own work. With the 

 beautiful platinum papers, the bi-chromate 

 and other processes, and all the rich grad- 

 ations of tone now possible, there is no 

 reason why a photograph, if rightly com- 

 posed and finished, may not be a work of 

 art, worthy to be hung beside rare en- 

 gravings. 



If you have -ambitions, and have not ac- 

 cess to galleries and art displays, do not be 

 discouraged. Back of the work of the best 

 artists are the lessons Nature taught them. 

 Go learn of her at first hand yourself. 

 Study Nature. It always pays. For every 

 hour spent searching out the secrets of dear 

 old Mother Earth you draw compound in- 

 terest. You not only learn wonders, mys- 

 teries and beauties to uplift and refine your 



mind, but you take home a rested '>ody, a 

 clearer brain, a healthier physical condi- 

 tion. When you really get to the root of 

 the matter; when tke leaves rustle you a 

 welcome ; when the rippling water calls 

 you ; when the sob of the wind plays on 

 your heart chords and the voices of wild 

 things tell you their secrets; then it is 

 that the littleness of human nature slips 

 from you, the greatness of Dame Nature 

 enters your soul, and you learn how simple 

 she really is. You will not only see, but 

 feel, pictures, in places you never glanced 

 at before. You will learn that Nature is 

 often majestic, at times she is awful, but 

 she is never crowded. 



Do not try to put more into your land- 

 scapes than you find there. You will be 

 lucky if you secure half the, lights, shadows 

 and atmospheric effect of any landscape. 

 Once you form the habit of close observa- 

 tion, you will be surprised at the rare de- 

 lights to which it will soon lead you. For 

 the last 2 seasons I have made a specialty 

 of photographing rare birds and their nests, 

 with a purpose in view, and so fixed has 

 become the habit of looking for birds and 

 nests that I can see them on fences, in 

 bushes and thickly leaved trees, as I drive 

 along a country highway, and can find 

 dozens in the woods, where formerly I 

 saw none. I presume a botanist follow- 

 ing in my footsteps would find I had passed 

 rare plants and a mineralogist that I had 

 trodden on treasures. What one searches 

 this ,old world for with persistency, one 

 usually finds; and no quest could be more 

 delightful than to search for pictures. To 

 the earnest searcher there is a sure reward, 

 for the world is crowded with beautiful 

 pictures, ready made. 



A recent number of the Scientific Ameri- 

 can contains a complete and accurate de- 

 scription, accompanied by illustrations, of 

 the Al-Vista camera now being advertised 

 in Recreation. I have not tested this cam- 

 era, but from the cuts and descriptions I 

 should judge it would meet a great need 

 of travelers. Some member of every party 

 that goes abroad, or to the interesting and 

 beautiful places on our own continent, car- 

 ries a camera. All who have tried it know 

 justice can not be done a beautiful or his- 

 toric spot by chopping up into 4x5 or 5x7 

 sections. Here is a camera with a swing- 

 ing lens that will sweep half a circle, mak- 

 ing a picture 4 inches wide by 12 long; or 

 it can be stopped at any desired place short 

 of that. The fact that the Scientific Amer- 

 ican has tested and approved the Al-Vista 

 camera proves it is all right and all its 

 manufacturers claim it to be. Anyone may 

 feel perfectly safe to buy an Al-Vista. 



The management of the Paris Exposition 

 is going to be responsible for flooding the 

 country with a lot of atrocious photos. 



