But for the amateur inlquest of piaorial beauties it is not absolutely necessary to brave the inclemency of the winter's storms. The play of sun light, of the winter landscape, and these efforts can be studied on a quiet day when it is only moderately cold.
How clear every stem and stalk is outlined against the snow. Never was there a greater opportunity to study the structural forms of trees and shrubbery. Everything seems to be crowded with detail, even the simplest weeds gain a significance, and the golden rod, mere fragments of their former b eau t y , charm every student of nature by their white, flowery appearance.
What is most neces sary to make a success ful piaure is to seleel a view which does not embrace too wide a field, and so run the chance of being over-crowded with detail.
" The Shadows of the Trees " depi&s a favorite spot near my home. It is beautiful at all times of the year, but never more so than in winter. And it is during the late after noon hours when it is seen to the best advan tage. The picturesque formations of snow at the edge of the brook, the slanting shadows, and the cluster of the trees in the distance, with the refleaion in the water, would appeal to every nature lover.
I show this piCture to impress the reader with the fad that in winter, as in the other seasons, there is a time of day when a landscape appears at its best, and to successfully interpret it one should be there at that time.
Beautiful things can be found even at one's very door. I only need to step into my garden. Even there the activity of winter has been in full play, and changed it into a fairy land. Each branch is encased in a sheet of pure crystal, which glows and glistens in the early morning sun.
Skies are usually one of the greatest difficulties the beginner has to encounter and are usually lost in developing, in the effort to bring out the rest of the landscape. In his winter negatives, however, he will be generally agreeably surprised at the truthful rendering of his skies. This is easy enough to explain. In summer, on account of increased actinic aelivity, the sky requires only a frajtion of the exposure which the foreground and objets demand. But in winter, 'sky and snow are for all praCtical purposes of the same a&inic quality, and their relative values are therefore compara tively easy to express.
As to the technical methods to be pursued in snow photography, a few words will be gladly accepted by all beginners. The first qualification is to be
comfortably clothed. My attire is such that I can, if necessary, go into the wet places and come home dry shod. My camera is S x ro in size, which I have used with admirable success, always with a tripod. The camera, plate holder and tripod are of leather, to proteCt them from moisture. As an additional safeguard, the plate holders are encased in felt covers. Occasion ally I have made use of a No. 3 Kodak, and found it a very handy instru ment, especially in stormy weather ; the results were all that could be desired, and were it not that my photographs are largely for exhibition and book and magazine illustrations, I should not burden myself with any other apparatus. It answers all praCtical purposes, and is capable of producing any effeCt possible with a larger camera.
I have found the films backed with paper a decided advantage, espe cially when photographing toward the sun.
I am frequently asked what developer I use to produce my effects. My developer is a simple Pyro-Soda solution. In nine out of ten cases when a negative is faulty, it is not the fault of the developer. It is gener ally a case of under-exposure or the fact that the plate has been over exposed and not carried far enough in development. I have also used one solution developers, and after becoming acquainted with their peculiarities, have found them praCtically as good as the one I am in the habit of using. School yourself to time your exposures properly, then your normal devel oper will give you good results.
But I cannot repeat often enough. Don't imagine that everything depends on the lens or developer. Remember what Emerson, the Father of PiCtorial Photography, has so pertinently said, " that we were born blind and we must educate ourselves to see." I am prone to believe that he has uttered a great truth in these simple words. Among the thousands of photographs that have passed through my hands, I have seen many that failed in becoming good compositions, merely because the photographer had just missed the proper point of view, which would have eliminated some objeelionable objeel. Therefore educate yourselves to see, and you will suddenly discover the beauties inherent in the amplest winter scene. And no matter what weather you experience, nor how small the patch of ground may be to which you are confined, you will always find more than ample material to make a good pie-lure.