FOOTNOTES:
[18] I may perhaps refer the reader to my own book Cross Country Ski-ing (Methuen) or to V. Caulfeild’s book How to Ski for the technique of ski-ing.
[19] I am ignorant of physics and should be glad to have this guess corroborated by a physicist.
[20] Eastern slopes retain powder snow rather longer than western slopes, possibly because the morning sun is less powerful than the evening sun, as the atmosphere warms up as the day proceeds. Further, as the prevailing alpine winds blow from the west, slopes that face east are less often spoiled by wind than those which face west.
[21] Sometimes when the night is unusually mild the crust is not sufficiently firm, and at the first touch of sun, it does not merely melt superficially producing Telemark crust, but gives under the ski and yields very nasty running. This is usually the case at low altitudes in May.
[22] As the prevailing alpine winds blow from the west, western rock ridges and rock faces are usually more free from snow than eastern ridges. See footnote, p. [409].
[23] As the middle of the glacier moves faster than the sides, and as the line of cleavage is at right angles to the line of tension, lateral crevasses, contrary to what casual deduction might suppose, run backwards from the side of the glacier to the centre.
[24] Provided that the night has been cloudless. An overcast sky, or Föhn, will only produce a very weak crust which gives at once when the sun rises. See footnote on p. [415]. A couple of hours of a cloudless sky is, however, quite enough to produce a good firm crust at night.
CHAPTER X
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
CHAPTER XI
MOUNTAINEERING IN TROPICAL COUNTRIES
BY A. F. R. WOLLASTON
(The suggestions contained in this chapter are based on some experience of travel in the mountains of Africa and New Guinea, and it is assumed that the conditions are not materially different in the mountains of tropical South America. It is taken for granted that the transport animal is man, and that after entering the mountains the traveller must depend entirely on the provisions he carries with him. The medical suggestions are intended only for those who have no special knowledge of the subject, and for conditions in which only the simplest treatment is possible.)