“Mountain photography” (1)

Hints on the art and technique from a practitioner of the nineteen-forties.

Approach to the subject: First attempts in mountains are not likely to yield much more than a series of prints giving food for thought and consideration of what not to do next time. There is an absence of the clear-cut forms of the town, of strong light and shade, and a lack of familiar elements unless friends are taken in the foreground: when the mountain may immediately be compelled to adopt a very subsidiary role. "That's the summit of SNOWDON just under Mary's hat."

On the summit plateau, Mt Blanc (detail) - photo by F S Smythe.
Illustration from Mountain Photography by C Douglas Milner.

It is best to begin with subjects where the sun is shining from one side — then the shapes of the hills are revealed. To have the light coming directly from behind the camera will show a very featureless result, whilst to use contre jour with the sun more or less directly in front of the lens demands skilled attention. A pale yellow filter — quite pale — will help to keep the sky in its proper place, instead of glaring blankly along the top of the picture. Beyond this, other kinds of filter may only confuse the mind, until experience has been gained.

I do not think overmuch attention should be given to "correct" composition in the early stages. It is more important to find out what range of subjects can be well photographed so as to make prints of sufficient interest and contrast and to be able to secure a series of well-exposed, sharp negatives, which include what it was intended to include. When this is achieved it is time enough to think about the best arrangement, the special effects obtainable with filters, about striking schemes of lighting and about tackling subjects in conditions so adverse that in the early days no hope of success could have been entertained.

In all this, of course, there will be happy accidents. The camera will, in spite of the inexperienced hand guiding it, occasionally produce something which gives the photographer a thrill of achievement, and spurs him on to attain the degree of skill which makes such rewards more frequent and certain.

References

From C Douglas Milner, Mountain Photography: Its Art and Technique in Britain and Abroad, The Focal Press, First printed October 1945, reprinted June 1946.