MOUNTAIN PHOTOGRAPHY
BY SYDNEY SPENCER
It is somewhat superfluous to draw attention to the immense popularity
attained by photography in the mountains. Among climbers very few are
content to supply their requirements from the work of others, and it
may safely be asserted that a camera is almost certain of its place in
the outfit of at least three-fourths of the climbing parties of the
present day. It is true that the majority of these confine themselves
to snapshot photography. This cannot be regarded as a serious form of
the art, seeing that it is practically impossible to compose a picture
on the diminutive scale of the usual view-finder, and that the films
generally used are too uncertain in results. Photographers, also, of
this class very rarely trouble to do their own developing.
Excellent work can, however, be done with a hand camera. It has one
drawback: the lens is usually a fixture, and provides only one fixed
focus, a very important consideration in serious photography. But if
the climber decides to use such a hand camera, the following remarks
may be of service.
[Sidenote: The Camera.]
The best form for mountain work is the folding variety. There are
innumerable good makes from which to choose. Reflex cameras are
too bulky for mountain work. The adjustments should be as simple
as possible; and for good work a focussing glass is essential. The
lens, by far the most important portion of the camera, should be the
very best obtainable. It should be fitted with automatic shutter for
instantaneous and time exposures, and also with a lens cap. This latter
I have always preferred to use for long exposures in preference to an
automatic shutter. It is much easier to avoid shaking the camera in
removing a lens cap than it is in pressing the lever of an automatic
shutter. The use of a wooden folding tripod with a triangle top I
strongly recommend in preference to the brass or aluminium tripod
with telescoping legs, since such legs are not sufficiently rigid. I
advocate the use of glass plates; and three dark slides, or better
still, a changing box to hold six plates or twelve cut films, complete
the apparatus. So far, the most satisfactory changing box I have come
across is one ‘made in Germany’; of which the description is given on
another page of this chapter. An adapter for a film-pack adds very
little to the weight, and is a useful addition to the outfit. A hand
camera such as I have described is of great service on rock climbs of
difficulty, where it is not expedient to embarrass the party by taking
the more complicated paraphernalia of a stand camera.
There is a type of climber to whom the merely gymnastic or, we will
say, athletic side of climbing is not the sole aim and object of the
sport. He is an enthusiastic lover of the marvellous beauties of the
mountain recesses, and wishes to take home impressions of the peaks
and glaciers as he himself has seen them; for climbers know well that
the mountains are ever changing in aspect from one year to another, or
even from season to season. He sees and desires to record atmospheric
effects which may never be repeated during his climbing experience. He
takes his photography seriously, and he is consequently prepared to put
himself to a considerable amount of trouble to obtain really artistic
records of the scenery amongst which he climbs.
For such a type of climber I decidedly recommend the stand camera in
preference to the hand camera. It entails rather more trouble, but this
is certain to be justified by the superior results.
The component parts of a stand camera outfit may be enumerated shortly
as follows:
1. _Body of the Camera._--This should be of the best possible make,
with metal-bound corners, and fitted with a metal turn-table. All the
metal parts should be of aluminium, for the sake of lightness. It
should have the usual rising front and swing-back, and an adjustable
focussing glass for horizontal or vertical pictures. The body must, of
course, fold up, and it is most important that all the adjustments
should be as simple as possible, so as not to waste valuable time in a
climbing day.
2. _The Lens._--This, as I have already remarked, is the most vital
feature of a camera. For stand camera work I would urge the adoption
of a set of three or four interchangeable lenses, as this gives
the photographer a wide range of focal angles to choose from, and
practically enables him to include in his pictures just as much as
he desires. For a half-plate camera, two 14-inch, one 11½-inch and
one 9-inch lens make a good set, giving a series of focal lengths
ranging from 5¾ inches to 14 inches. For a quarter-plate camera, two
11½-inch, one 9-inch and one 7¼-inch lens will give a range of focal
lengths from 4⅛ inches to 11½ inches. The lens mount is fitted with
an iris diaphragm and a detachable ring marked with the apertures
suitable for each lens combination. A yellow screen, of such a shade
as to increase the exposure by three times, is useful where there
are trees or grass in the foreground, and serves also to soften the
shadows. Its use ensures clouds not being lost in development through
over-exposure, although it cannot be claimed that successful results
may not be obtained without it. It is also of distinct advantage in a
hazy atmosphere. A Thornton Pickard shutter will be found useful, but
for time exposures the lens cap is really all that is necessary.
3. Three ordinary double-back slides are usually taken; but they may
be replaced by a changing box--a more convenient and compact way of
carrying the plates. Most of the changing boxes on the market are made
with a folding leather bag at one end, and the changing of the plates
from front to back is effected by hand; but the writer has always used
a changing box in which an inner shell pulls out like a drawer, taking
with it, by means of a clip, the exposed plate in its sheath. As soon
as the inner shell is drawn out to its full length the sheath drops
to the bottom of the shell. This is then pushed back again, and the
used plate slides in at the back of the unexposed plates, which have
meanwhile been pushed up by a spring. The metal sheaths are numbered
on the back. The photographer can see which number has been taken by
turning over the box when he has partly pushed back the inner shell
after the exposed plate has dropped to the bottom. He will then see
the number through a red glass-covered opening. As this appears to be
the only box of the kind which is made, it may be advisable to state
that it is known as the ‘Grundmann’ changing box. Some enterprising
British firm should be induced to bring out something similar. The
movements are so simple that it can hardly fail to work properly.
Six plates are generally sufficient for one day’s work, and a changing
box made for that number will not weigh more than three dark slides
with the same number of plates. If desired, the six plates can be
replaced by twelve cut films in suitable thin sheaths.
4. _The Tripod._--The ordinary camera legs on the market are, even
when folded, inconveniently long for mountain work, and for rock
climbing may prove a real source of danger. For comfort, legs when
folded should not measure more than 12 inches at the utmost. It is
best to have a set specially made, and I know of nothing better than a
set made in the following manner. The bottom section of each leg is a
solid square-sided aluminium bar with a very sharp point. This slides
into a square wooden frame. Over the frame the two next sections are
folded; the top one folds inside the second, so as to unfold in the
same direction. Made in this way, the tops need only to be pressed
together in order to fit them, with a slight spring, on to the pegs of
the turn-table. A cross strut makes the fit tight and immovable. The
total length of the legs opened out is about 42 inches, which is quite
as long as is necessary for mountain work. A set of legs made in this
way stands perfectly rigid; it will also go easily into the side pocket
of the rucksack, or it can be carried on the top of the sack without
the slightest inconvenience to the climber.
5. The outfit is completed by a focussing cloth, with a running tape
along one side, which prevents the cloth from blowing about in the wind.
As regards the comparative merits of glass plates and films, the latter
have the one great advantage of lightness, but they are notoriously
uncertain and much more difficult to control in development. The most
satisfactory results are obtained with slow plates, of which six are
enough for any ordinary expedition.
It is not a bad plan to take in addition an adapter with a film-pack,
for snapshots of climbing incidents.
The best size of camera to take is a debatable point. Half plate is the
largest which can be carried with convenience; and for the best results
there is no question whatever that the larger size is the better to
work with. A half-plate camera, as described, can be carried on most
ascents of average difficulty; with the possible exception, perhaps, of
strenuous rock climbs, such as the Dru or the Grépon, where anything
but a hand camera is liable to be a distinct incumbrance.
But on the whole, for all-round utility I am inclined to recommend the
quarter-plate size. In addition to the economy in weight and bulk of
the whole apparatus, the quarter-plate negatives are a more convenient
size from which to make lantern slides, and excellent enlargements can
always be made from good negatives of this dimension.
[Sidenote: The Choice of Subject.]
We come now to the all-important question of choice of subject; one on
which it is most difficult to give definite advice, seeing that so much
depends on the artistic perceptions of the photographer. Photography
to a certain extent is a mechanical art, but good photographers invest
their work with a decided individuality; and it is this at which the
novice should aim.
The first thing to bear in mind is the proper balance of proportions.
To achieve this the set of interchangeable lenses already recommended
are indispensable. Without them a photographer must find considerable
difficulty in conveying the true impressions of the mountain landscape
as seen from the point at which the photograph is taken.
Panoramic views of distant ranges will of course always continue to be
taken; but as pictures they are of small value unless they are assisted
by atmospheric effects of cloud or mist.
In photographing peaks close at hand, it is usually best not to include
more than one summit in the picture, or at any rate to make one peak
the central point of interest. Others may only be included if they can
be made to enhance the value of the main feature in the composition.
The majority of views of this type look best if they are taken on
plates placed vertically; but this is by no means a rule to be rigidly
followed. Broad mountain masses, such as Mont Blanc and the Grandes
Jorasses, or composite peaks, of the type of Monte Rosa, should always
be taken horizontally.
The chief feature in the picture should never be placed in the centre,
but rather to one side of the view; and the lines of intervening ridges
and glaciers should be included, so as to lead the eye towards the
main object. This produces the necessary impression of distance and
depth; an easy effect generally, if the photo is taken from below,
but not always feasible if the view is from a summit. The effect of
distance and depth is always much helped by a good foreground, but the
foreground must not on any account draw the attention from the main
feature.
Such a foreground is of special value in the case of views of peaks
as seen from a summit, where it is not possible to include the base
of the peaks in the picture. A few rocks intruding in the immediate
foreground, or a ridge running so as to connect the distant view with
the standpoint of the photographer, removes the feeling of blankness
and of lack of distance which the absence of any foreground is apt to
produce.
The amount of sky which may be properly included should occupy from
about a quarter to a third of the plate. Too much sky produces a very
bad effect; whilst, on the other hand, many photographers make the
mistake of bringing the peaks too near the top of the picture, giving
them an unnaturally attenuated appearance.
Ice-falls and much-broken glaciers compose very easily. On the other
hand, broad expanses of snow-field are about the most difficult subject
the mountain photographer can tackle. The texture of the snow is
the one thing to aim at. If this is not brought out, the picture is
valueless. Slight under-exposure is the secret of success. For these
subjects it is better to have the sun well in front, as the light on
the snowy surface is then well broken by shadows.
For the other kinds of mountain subjects I should recommend the novice,
where slow plates are used, to err on the side of over-exposure, and
to develop slowly. By this method he will find it is easier to get
atmosphere into his pictures. A certain amount of detail may be lost in
the distant objects, but he will secure a much truer gradation between
his distances.
As regards the development of slow plates, it should be noted that
this can be carried out with comparative strong light, provided it
is suitably shaded. The developer should be gradually increased in
strength. The photographer can then see easily what he is doing, and,
by means of brushwork, can control the development of any portion of
the negative.
Broken light is essential to the success of most mountain photographs,
and for this reason the best time for taking them is usually early and
late in the day. This is of course not an invariable rule, and the
photographer must be guided by the subject he has in front of him.
Moreover, the climber is not always able to choose the time of day for
his work. If the midday light is very brilliant, the yellow screen
can be utilized. Personally, I have used it very seldom, but have
made a practice of using a very small stop, and have trusted to slow
development for the rest.
[Sidenote: Colour Photography.]
I should like also to draw attention to two other forms of photography
which have been introduced in recent years, and have proved very
attractive to climbers. Colour photography exercises an extraordinary
fascination, and it would doubtless become still more popular if
the plates were less costly. There are several forms of plates
and processes, and with all of them some remarkable results have
been obtained. The different processes vary somewhat in simplicity
of manipulation. One of the simplest is the Lumière Autochrome.
The photograph is taken in the ordinary way, but with the proper
light filter, as prescribed, fixed on the lens front. It is to be
remembered that the focussing glass must be reversed owing to the
fact that the plate is placed in the dark slide with the film turned
inside. The essential point is to learn to judge of the correct
exposure. Over-exposure can be corrected by intensification, but it
is a troublesome process. The development is perfectly simple if the
instructions given are carefully followed. It is very important to
see that the solutions used are cold enough, otherwise the unhappy
photographer runs the risk of watching a perfectly successful colour
picture melt away in front of his eyes.
[Sidenote: Stereoscopic Photography.]
The other form referred to is stereoscopic photography, which is more
particularly adapted to snapshots of climbing incidents and to studies
of rock and glacier scenery near at hand, since the pictures can be
taken with the camera held at any angle, even pointing directly above
the head or below the feet, and the scenes are afterwards reproduced
in marvellously lifelike manner in the stereoscope. To secure the
full stereoscopic effect the ‘lines’ of the picture should start from
the immediate foreground and carry the eye away to the main object,
i.e. the camera should be held close down to the surface of water or
glacier, or with one side close against a wall of rock as foreground. A
rock crest running immediately away from the camera, or two, containing
walls of ice or rock on either hand, give the best results, and provide
the framework of illusion for the more distant scene. The stereoscopic
effect is lost in distant views. The handiest size in this camera, the
‘Verascope,’ is 107 cm. by 45 cm. It is made of metal throughout. It
carries a detachable magazine of twelve plates, and weighs rather more
than a pair of field-glasses. Films can be substituted for plates for
lightness, but the results are on the whole inferior. If it is carried
in a strong leather case, the camera will stand an extraordinary amount
of rough treatment on rocks and immersion in rivers. It is especially
suited for difficult climbing and exploration, where it is desired to
record special passages and incidents, at angles, and in circumstances
and climates, in which the ordinary camera is useless.
* * * * *
My final piece of advice is, never leave the camera behind, and never
waste plates or time unless the result is likely to be successful.