Bisbee daily review., 1909-08-25
KERMIT IN TRA|A|NG
PRESIDENTS SON PREPARING FOR
 AFRICAN HUNTING TRIP.
Practicinp on Animals in Bronx Park, New York, to Qualify as Official Photographer of the Prospee-
 tive Expedition.

 New York's geological garden has
 become the training school for Kermit
 Roosevelt, who is trying his hand at
 snap-shooting all the big animals con
 fined there in preparation for becon,-
 ing the official photographer of the
 proposed South African hunting trip
 of his father. Frank M. Chapman. the
 world-famous ornithologist and most
 expert photographer of moving birds
 and animals in the United States, is
 acting as the young mans coach in teaching him the use of what is known as the hunting camera
 While a more thorough and detailed course of instruction is being given to
 young Kermit MT. Chapman also has been giving the president himself a very complete technical idea as to the probable requirements of picture talk ing in the big game storehouse of the world British East Africa, which is 10 be the scene of the Roosevelt expedition. Both the president and
 his son are proving very apt students under the experts guidance.e
 The presidents and young Kermit's studies in bird and big game photog- raphy have been kept a close secret. The New York geological garden was selected as the scene of the latter's tutoring extraordinary because of its large collections of birds and animals from every part of the world. its size and extent. and the opportunity it of- fers for privacy. While on Saturdays, Sundays and the other free days of
 the week the geological park is large ly patronized. on Mondays and Thurs days (the pay days) during the sum- mer months. comparatively few people visit the big institution. This geological park now is the finest in the world. surpassing those of the great capitals of Europe. which for years
 have been supreme. An additional reason for the selection of the New York geological garden for the photo graphic and scientific training of the presidents sen is that it's curators are all men of national. if not worldwide, reputation in their especial fields. The lad Roosevelt. under the tute- i iage of Mir Chapman. has been study ing and taking pictares of birds and
 animals under what approaches a con
 tlition of nature. His specific training
 photographically has been in the direc.
 ton of handling the long focus lens,
 by means of which 1t is possible to
 photograph an animal at a distance
 of 300 feet and get him in perfect de
 tail There is much greater amount
 of skill and experience required in the
 handling of this class of lens than in
 the ordinary photographic camera
 the shor; objective kind. However.
 almost any fairly intelligent man can
 learn to become an adequately good
 operator with the long focus objective
 in several weeks.
 The fact that when the photographs of the trip to and through Africa be gin to be taken the expedition will
 be many hundreds Of miles from civ ilization, makes 1t essential that the
 photographic outfit shall be complete to it's minutest detail and that it's opera
 ton shall be in the hands of an expert
 to secure the surest result. The presi- dents son will carry along a photo grapic kit whose value probably will approximate 5000, and the safe trans portation of the delicate cameras and the hundreds of easily broken plates will be one Of the most ticlzlish prob lens of the long journey. IL will not
 be practicable to carry films to any
 extent because of the climatic condi-
 tions. In the hot and humid regions
 whither the expedition is going films
 are likely to stick together like post l age stamps in fat mans pocket on a
 steaming day. and thus become use
 less, or else become so "mottled" by the moist air that they are worth less.
 Not the least interesting thing about this course of I',ntDsraph:c study in the field by KeTr~ foosevelt is that i 1t marks an altosc-ir.- new departure
 on the part of tsz president as 2 l huutsu2n