SOME PRACTICAL HINTS ON WINTER PHOTOGRAPHY.
Serving as judge at the various photographic exhibitions and competi tions—as it has quite often been my lot—it has always excited my wonder ; why the majority of amateurs so utterly fail to comprehend the beauties of a season which has always seemed the loveliest one to me.
No other season lends itself so well to pictorial interpretations as that of the " inverted year." In the months of spring the scenes of nature are so tender and fragile, that they nearly always elude the grasp of the camera. Who for in stance has ever suc ceeded in giving a true depiction of the burst of tree blossoms in early spring? Summer with its heavy foliage, its dense light and shadow has proven a despair to many a pictorialist. And autumn with its intense coloring cannot be re corded accurately as its charm depends too much on color values, which are exceedingly difficult to render in toned gradations.
Also the sterner aspects of nature, rain and storm in their mani fold phases and N,aria Lions can only under rare circumstances be successfully treated during these seasons.
But in winter every difficulty seems to fade away. From the time when the first snowflakes flutter noiselessly to the ground, to the last thaw, when the hepatica timidly blooms amidst patches of melting snow, every wood, every change of atmosphere, every vagary of form which the snow covered earth is subjeeted to, can be held by the camera. It is the season for realistic interpretations.
True realism always enhances the pictorial and aesthetic qualities as well, and by aesthetic interpretations I mean a combination of all those elements which change the ordinary photograph into a revelation of pictorial beauty.
In winter, nature appears to the experienced eye like a delightful composi tion in monochrome. The whole gamut of tones is there, from purest white to deepest black, imperceptibly blended into each other, even those where the contrasts are strongest. And it is fcr this reason that the rendering of winter scenes, in my opinion, can be handled with equal skill and success by the photographer as by the colorist, or the illustrator who uses black and white as a medium.
The fault of amateurs, on the whole, is that they strive too much for extraordinary effects, they insist on strange SlIONV formations and queerly shaped icicles, and depiel rather the idiosyncrasies than the poetical moods of winter.
And yet beauty is lurking everywhere in all of winter's multitudinous phases. Nearly all my pictures were taken in the vicinity of my own home.
The simplest scene, when the ground is only covered by a light snowfall, has its intrinsic pictorial value. The white snow cover blends everything into a perfect: harmony. Look for instance at the path through the sheep pasture after the first snowfall. You hardly recognize the old familiar scenes. And yet every detail has been preserved. The snow has fallen evenly all over the landscape and not obliterated a single feature. Every undulation can be traced, but everything is softened, as seen through a veil. The twigs and branches are still bare, but even while deprived of all their emerald glow, they are not lacking in beauty, and their structural forms are now seen to their best advantage and the long exaggerated sil houettes of their shad ows lend a peculiar weird and primitive character to the scene.
Those who are fond of broad effects, will find ample material after a heavy snowfall. As soon as the snow is deep, all details practic ally vanish and every thing is seen in masses, which enable the pictor ialist to suggest desola tion and immensity more easily than through any other medium.
Some of my most successful pictures have been taken in heavy snow storms, and under very trying circumstances. More than once I have been obliged to brush the snow flakes out of the lens before setting the shutter and drawing the slide. But all these little inconveniences turn into a delight if we consider how favorable the conditions really are for making a good negative. The luminosity of the atmosphere is remarkable. Even to one experienced in such matters I find it a new source of wonder each time obscured by snow flakes and the sun invisible and yet it is possible to take snapshots, even with a lens of moderate speed.