Outdoor Sports and Games

by Claude Harris Miller

Real photography is quite different from snapshot work. It is a hobby so fascinating and with such great possibilities that there is scarcely anything that will give a boy or girl more real pleasure in life and a better opportunity to be outdoors than to become an expert outdoor photographer. Unfortunately it is a rather expensive pastime, but even with a moderate priced instrument we can obtain excellent results under the right conditions. I have seen a prize-winning picture in an exhibition that was made with a cigar box, with a pinhole in one end for a lens.

Even though one does not care to become an expert photographer, by all means get a camera and make snapshots. It is quite a common idea for an amateur to attribute his failures to defects in his material or outfit. You may be sure when you fail it is your own fault. Dealers in photographic supplies constantly have complaints from customers about defective materials, and certainly nine out of every ten of these cases are simply due to the carelessness of the operator with perfectly good material.

It is well for a beginner in photography to start with a simple snapshot camera. They can be bought for three or four dollars up to twenty-five. Such cameras are used with films, and simply require the operator to expose his film in plenty of light and with the proper attention to the distance that the object to be photographed may be from the camera. Until we can accurately estimate distances, such as 8, 15, 25 or more feet, it will be far safer to pace off the distance, remembering that a long step for a boy is about equivalent to three feet. Some cameras have a universal focus and require no adjusting, but an adjustable camera will usually give better results.

Some cameras are so constructed that they may be used either as a hand machine or on a tripod for view work. They can also be adapted either to films or plates and be operated with the ground glass for focussing, or if desired, the focussing scale and view finder may be used.

The size of our camera will depend largely upon our purse. The cost of the camera itself is not the only thing to consider. All the plates and supplies increase in proportion to the size of our instrument. A good all around size is 4x5, or if we really wish to become photographers the 5x7 is a standard. A number of new sizes have recently been introduced and have proven very satisfactory. Perhaps the best size for a snapshot camera is 3¼ x 5½.

There are a great many makes of cameras on the market, but even at the risk of advertising one firm more than another it is only fair to say that there is really nothing better in pocket snapshot machines than the kodaks. In view cameras it is different. There are instruments of a dozen makes any of which will produce excellent results. The tests to apply in selecting a view camera are its workmanship, compactness, and the various attachments and conveniences it has. The salesman from whom you purchase will explain fully just what its possibilities are, especially if you take some experienced person with you who can ask questions.

Suppose you begin photographing with a simple “snapshot” outfit. The first thing to remember is that there is absolutely no excuse for the large percentages of failures that beginners have in making pictures, and which are due solely to their own carelessness and inattention to simple details. First of all, immediately after making an exposure, be sure to form the habit of turning the key until a fresh film comes into place; then you will never be troubled with the question whether you have exposed the film or not. Every professional photographer who develops for amateurs handles many films in which some of the negatives are blank and some are double negatives with two pictures on one film. This is solely the fault of the photographer, who was never quite sure and would first make the mistake of exposing a film twice, then turning the roll without exposing it at all. If you are really in doubt, it is better to turn the roll to the next number, as you thus simply lose a film but preserve both negatives; if, on the other hand, you make a double exposure, you will lose both pictures.

The snapshot photographer should never take a picture unless he really wants it and unless he is pretty certain of making a picture. Snapping here and there without a proper condition of light, focus, or subject is a very bad habit to contract. Until you can make at least eight good pictures out of ten you are not a photographer. No average lower than this should satisfy you. Do not blame the lens for your failures. In recent years the art of making lenses has advanced wonderfully, and while the one in your camera may not be an expensive one or capable of a wide range of use, it is at least adapted to the purpose of your instrument or you may be sure that the manufacturers would never have used it.

We should not consider the snapshot expert who merely presses the button as a real photographer, even though he obtains fine pictures. No one deserves this name who does not understand the operations of the dark room. One who has experienced the wonderful sensation of working in a faint yellow-ruby light and by the application of certain mysterious chemicals of seeing a picture gradually come into view on the creamy surface of a dry plate will never again be satisfied to push the button and allow some one else “to do the rest.” However, if you do not wish to go into photography extensively you may at least learn just what limits your hand camera has, and at the end of the season in place of a lot of ill-timed pictures you can have an album full of creditable prints for which no apology will be necessary.

It is quite beyond the limits of this chapter to go into photography fully, but some of the simple principles may be of use to the boy or girl who has taken up the subject. The modern snapshot camera even of small size has great possibilities. With a clear negative we can have an enlargement made on bromide paper that will be a source of great satisfaction. The actual making of enlargements is usually beyond the limits of an amateur’s outfit. In this part of photographic work it will be better to patronize a professional.