Chapter 9 ON THE TRAIL WITH YOUR CAMERA

What to Photograph and How

You cannot depend entirely upon your memory to recall the sights and adventures of the trail, and will be only half-equipped if you go without a camera and note-book. Several clicks of the camera will record the principal events, while your note-book will fill in the detail.

Selecting a Camera

In selecting a camera remember that every ounce in weight counts as two when on the long trail, and that to have to carry it in your hand is most troublesome and inconvenient. The folding camera, which can be hung over your shoulder with a strap, is therefore the best; and do not try to carry plates, they are too heavy. It is of little use to consult the clerk of a photographic supply shop about the style of camera you should buy. As a rule he is not chosen for his knowledge of the goods, and his advice may be worse than none. The better plan is to secure descriptive catalogues from dealer or manufacturer before investing, and study them well. The catalogues will tell you the price, the size, the weight, and what kind of work each variety of camera will do, and you will learn the advantages and limitations of many before deciding upon one.

How to Know Your Camera

The camera once bought and in your hands, the next thing to do is to become thoroughly acquainted with it. With your camera you are entitled to a little book of instructions. Take your camera and the book, sit down alone, and give them your entire attention. Read the book carefully and, at the same time, carry out the instructions while the camera is unloaded, that is, without the film. If the size of the diaphragm can be changed, change it and look into the lens to see the effect; also try adjusting the shutter and watch the lens for the effect of instantaneous and time exposures. Try the focussing scale, locate some image in the finder, and practise holding the camera pressed closely against your body, pointing neither up nor down, tipping neither to one side nor the other, but aimed directly at the object you are supposed to be photographing. Then try turning the key which brings the film exposures into position.

Loading the Camera

Learn how to load and to unload, first without unrolling your film. Afterward adjust the roll in the camera and see that it is properly placed and will turn easily, before you loosen the end of the film. If you detach the gummed paper which keeps the film tightly wrapped before placing the roll in the camera, the whole film will spring loose from its spool and become light-struck before you can adjust it.

Count the Turns of the Key

With your first roll of films it is well to learn and remember the number of turns you must give the key to bring a new exposure into place. With my camera which takes a four-by-five picture, five turns of the key are necessary between the exposures. Knowing this, I count, and when the fifth turn is reached I complete it slowly, watching carefully the while for the new number to appear in the little red celluloid window. In this way, even when hurried or excited, I do not lose an exposure by turning the key once too often. Always remember to place a new exposure directly after taking a picture, to make sure that you will not take two on one film. In making ready for a new subject count again, for there are four things one must be sure of with most cameras before taking a photograph, and by counting you will know if any have been omitted:

(1) See that a fresh exposure is in place.

(2) See that the shutter is properly adjusted for instantaneous (or time) exposure.

(3) See that diaphragm stop is set at the proper opening for the light you will have.

(4) See that the distance is correctly focussed.

There are cameras, however, that are of universal focus and do not need adjustment. These are convenient ones for the trail, as they are always ready and can be used quickly. Being small, they are also light to carry.

Be Economical with Your Films

A very important thing to learn when taking photographs is to be economical with your films, and especially is this so when on the trail, for your supply is then necessarily limited. Merely for the sake of using the new toy, many amateurs will photograph subjects that are not of the slightest interest to any one, and very often, when a scene or object does present itself that is well worth while, all the films will have been wasted and no picture can be taken.

Plan Your Pictures to Illustrate Your Trip

The white birch-tree makes a fine background for the beaver.

It is a good idea to plan your pictures so that they will illustrate your trip from beginning to end. A snap-shot of your party starting on the trail, another of the country through which you pass, with, perhaps, one or two figures in it, and the remainder of the films used on objects of interest found on the way. If you can secure pictures of any wild animals you may see, they will make the series doubly interesting and valuable. When you go into camp a view of the camp should be included. When the pictures are printed write on the back of each what it represents, where taken, and the date; they will then be valuable data as well as trustworthy reminders.

Backgrounds

Look for the best view of a subject before using your camera; there is always a choice. One side may be much more pleasing or more characteristic than the other, or may show interesting details more plainly. If you have studied drawing you will be able also to find the view which makes the best composition. The background, too, must be considered, and the position of the sun. The simpler the background the better. Near-by foliage is not good for figures; it is too confused and the figures will mingle with it. Sometimes the adjustable portrait-lens, which can be slipped over the other, will obviate that trouble by blurring everything not in exact focus, and this lens will allow you to stand nearer the object and so make it larger on the film. It is not intended for distant views and the camera should not be more than six feet from the subject when it is used.

Quiet water makes an excellent background, also distant foliage and hills, flat fields and meadows. These may be obtained for figures, but often the very things you want to photograph most are in the woods with foliage close to and all around them; then you must simply do the best you can under the circumstances.

Color Values in Photographs

Blacktail deer snapped with a background of snow.

Another thing to remember is that, unless in broad sunlight, green will take dark and sometimes black; and brown or tan, being of the same color value in the photograph, will mingle with and often be lost in the background. If you are photographing a tawny animal, and most wild animals are tawny, try to get it when in the sunlight with a dark or flat background, or else against a background lighter in color than the animal. For instance, a red squirrel or chipmunk will be lost amid, or against, the foliage of a tree, but on a fence rail or fallen log it will stand out distinctly.

If you have a chance at a beaver it will be near the water, of course. Then the choice view will be where the water can form at least part of the background. If the shore is at the back it may be difficult when the print is made to find the beaver at all. In the interesting photograph shown here the beaver is against the light trunk of the tree which shows where he has gnawed it almost through. In all this the position of the sun must be taken into account, but the rule of always having the sun at your back, like most other rules, has its exceptions. I have found that so long as the sun lights up the object, even when from one side, I can secure a good picture; but I never allow it to strike the lens of the camera, and I make sure that the subject is not silhouetted against its background by having all the light at its back.

Photographing Wild Animals

It is not easy to photograph wild animals after you have found them, but you can do it if you are quick to see and to act and are also patient enough to wait for a good opportunity. You will often find deer feeding in sunlit places and can, if you stalk them carefully, approach near enough to get a good shot. If they happen to be in partial or light shadow, open the diaphragm of your camera at its widest stop and try for an instantaneous exposure. Very good photographs are sometimes taken by that method, and it is worth the experiment where time exposures are out of the question, as in taking moving animals. A snap-shot will be of no avail if the shadow is heavy, however, and a short time exposure may sometimes be used. Set your time lever at No. 1, which means one second, and the lever controlling the diaphragm at No. 16, and by pressing the bulb once you will have a time exposure of one second. An important thing for you to realize in taking animal photographs is the fact that though the creature may seem quite near as you see it with your natural eye, in the picture it will occupy only the relative space that it does on the finder. If it covers a quarter of the space on the finder it will cover a quarter, no more and no less, of the finished photograph.

The wonderful pictures we see of wild animals are usually the work of professionals who have especially adapted cameras; but to take the photograph oneself makes even a poor one of more value.

The skunk.

Don't get too near when you try to photograph him.

Shutter Speed

To photograph objects in rapid motion such as flying birds, the speed of your shutter must be at least one three-hundredths of a second and you must have a fast lens; but with a shutter speed of one one-hundredth I have taken very good pictures of things moving at a moderate rate. A walking or slowly running animal, for instance, can be taken with a shutter speed of one one-hundredth. You should find out the speed of the shutter when you buy your camera, then you will not throw away films on things beyond its possibilities. "You press the button and we'll do the rest" doesn't work where moving objects are concerned.

Those who go a-gunning with the camera, stalk their game as carefully as any hunter with a gun, and for really good results the following method is the safest to adopt. Time and patience are required, but one does not mind giving these, the interest is so absorbing and the successful picture so well worth while.

Set Your Camera Like a Trap

The porcupine stood in the shade but the background was light.

Find the spot frequented by the animal or bird you are after, wait for it to go away of its own accord while confident and unfrightened, then set up your camera like a trap where the lens will point to the place the bird or animal will probably occupy upon its return.

If it is a nest it will be easy, for you can be sure the bird will come back there and can adjust your camera to take in the entire nest. Where there is no nest, sight your camera upon some object between which and the lens the creature must come in order to be within focus, and trample down any undergrowth that may obstruct the view. Make sure that your focus is correct for the distance and that the film will take in the whole animal. You can provide for this by staking off the probable size of the animal at the place where you expect it to stand, and then looking in the finder to see if both stakes are in focus. You will probably have to raise the camera from the ground and perhaps tip it a little. For this a low tripod is best but if you haven't that, and very likely you will not, a convenient log, stump, or stone will answer the purpose. If even these are not handy you can build up a stand of stones or small logs, or pile earth into a mound. Whatever material you use, the stand must be made strong and firm. To have it slip or slide is to lose the picture. Make your camera perfectly secure and immovable on the stand, then tie a long cord to the release (the small lever which works the shutter). The cord must be amply long enough to reach to the ambush where you will hide while awaiting your game. The ambush may be a clump of bushes, a convenient rock, or a tree behind which you will be concealed. If there is no such cover near you can make one of brush and branches. When the cord is carried from the camera to the ambush hide the camera with leafy branches, leaving a good opening for the cord to pass through to prevent it from becoming entangled. Then hie to your cover and, with the slightly slack cord in your hand, await the coming of your game.

Taking the Picture

As the animal approaches the camera grasp your cord firmly and steady your nerves to act quickly, and when it is in focus, not before, give a quick, firm pull to the cord, releasing it immediately, and the thing is done. Don't become excited at the critical moment and make your shot too soon or jerk the cord too hard. If a bird is to be taken upon the nest and the nest is in shadow a short time exposure can be given, or a bulb exposure. For bulb exposure set the lever that controls the shutter at B (meaning bulb), and the lever controlling the diaphragm at No. 16. When the bird has settled upon its nest pull the cord, count three slowly, and release it. The shutter will remain open as long as the cord is held taut and will close when released. This method cannot be used for long time exposures. When you become more practised in the art of wild-life photography you will know how much time to allow for the exposures. There will be some failures, of course, but one good photograph among several will repay you for all your trouble and will make you keen to try again.

Photographing a woodcock from ambush.

Photographing the Trail

The country through which you pass, with a trailer in the foreground.

You can get a good picture of the trail with a snap-shot when it is in the open, but a forest trail must have time exposure. When your eyes have become accustomed to the dim light of the woods it will not seem dark, and you will be tempted to try a snap-shot because it is easier, but if you do you may certainly count that a lost film. It is not possible to hold your camera in your hands and succeed with a time exposure of over one second. The beating of your heart will jar it, a breath will make it move, so some kind of a rest must be found as when taking the animals with bulb exposure. If the light is very dim first set the lever controlling the shutter at the point T (time), then set the lever for the diaphragm at No. 16, press the bulb, and allow from fifteen to twenty seconds', or even thirty seconds', exposure.

Timing Without a Watch

You can time it without a watch by counting in this way: one-and-two-and-three-and-up to the number of seconds required. One-and is one second.

When the seconds have been counted, press the bulb again and if the camera has not moved you should have a good negative. No hard-and-fast rules can be given for this work because conditions vary; you must rely some on your judgment and learn by experience. It is said that overexposure is better than underexposure and can be handled better in developing the films, so when in doubt it is well to allow a little more time than you think should be necessary. Curious results sometimes come from underexposed films. I once had a print in outline, like a drawing, from a negative made in the Rocky Mountains. It did not look in the least like a photograph, there were no shadows, but it was a good illustration of the scene.

Photographing Flowers and Ferns

If your camera will focus so that you can place it near enough to take small objects such as flowers and ferns, another field of interest is open to you and you can add a record of those found on the trail to complete your series. A camping trip will afford better and more unhurried opportunities for photographing flowers than a one day's trail, unless you carry a box or basket with you for securing specimens that you can take back and photograph at leisure. Do not break the stems of the flowers or plants, take them roots and all. Loosen the soil all around and under the roots so that which clings to the plant may be undisturbed and taken up with it. If the soil falls away, cover the root with damp loam or mud and tie it up in a large leaf as in illustration. This method not only keeps it from wilting but will enable you to take a picture of the growing plant with all its interesting characteristics. If you put your plant with its clod of earth in a shallow bowl, pour in as much water as the bowl will hold, and keep it always full, it will remain fresh and vigorous a long while and may be transplanted to continue its life and growth after you have finished with it.

Just here must come the caution not to tear up wild plants by their roots unless they are to serve a real purpose. Some of our most beautiful wild flowers and rarest ferns are now in danger of being exterminated because of thoughtless and careless people who, in gathering them, will not even take the trouble to break the stems. When the roots are gone there will be no more flowers and ferns.

Look at the Date on Your Film

Even the best photographer cannot take good photographs unless he has good films. On the box of every roll of films is stamped the latest date when it may be safely developed and it is foolish to try to have a film developed after that date has passed. When you buy your films be sure they are fresh ones and that the date insures you ample time; one year ahead is none too long.

Do not open the box or take the wrappings from a roll of films until you are ready to load your camera. Then save both box and wrappings, and when your films have been exposed, use them for covering the roll again. Keep the wrapped and boxed rolls in a dark place until they can be developed. Dampness will spoil both films and plates. If you are in a damp climate, or on shipboard, keep them in a tin box, tightly closed.

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