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.