New-York tribune., 1909-05-30

y,
Putnam's Sons
The fruit of many years Of travel and obser-
yation in the Canadian Rockies is dfspiaved in
AIr- Wicox's work This volume is made nota-
ble by its Illustrations. OF which there are some
tWoscOre fun page delneations of natural scenes
IN so worbmanlike fashion have the improve
monts in photography and the processes of re-
production been avaiIed OF that it is impossible
10 imagine how natural scenery could be more
adequately OF attractivey portrayed in a book
Whatever The author may have accomplished in
camping out either by way Of surveys or the
pursuit Of sport search for the heaIthfuI. the
novel and remote. he has brought back a rare
and significant harvest in the products of his
camera The shadows his mountain lakes
nesting at the base Of towering peaks the con-
trast Of light and shade in the snow caps peer
Ing above masses Of conifers. the perspective of
his distant ranges. the restraint of his fore
grounds, and especially the mastery OF effects
Of light demonstrate that trained and skilled
hand controlled the shutter. These results are
not matter of accident, and it is worth fol-
lowing the artist at some length TO see how he
does it
He first learned that the brilliant day and
cloudless sky were least to be desired, weIconi-
ing rather the thunder clouds, the purple haze
before storm and the smoke of distant forest
fires Days he would spend composing his pict-
IRE, arranging it SO that every line, every
mass harmonized with the whole, and when he
saw il he would have it marking the spot
with stakes and stones to await the day when
conditions of light and atmosphere should be
perfect He says:
work thus means enthusiasm for the art Of
landscape photography, aid tireiess patience How
intensely eager you may be TO secure covet-
DAYS slip by without result you must hold yourself
Itient to wait for days and weeks even TO return
Il is wonderful how a lake or any placid body of
water coInPlcates the problem. While you may
take ten excellent pictures without water, you viii
not get one showing lake or river Yet their
artistic qualities are such that you will want ten
pictures Of water TO OF any other kind Tho
real says: lake Is the landscapes most beautiful
and expressive II is eartf's eye, looking
own nature" AND they are eyes and mirrors in
deed amid these grand mountains, rejecting and
which. in way, lends itself remarkably wen 10
Photography il is easy to prove that in entire
year there are only few minutes OF, at most
few hours in which the conditions are perfect for
ng Plste Lei S us say say IL that o only ~ dTF1ns 45n9s
stormy or overcast, very windy. and OF the re
a T,6ssitI ten Tzrfact davs In each of these there
viii be only one two hours in which the direc-
sunlight is favorable for any given picture
the ever drifting clouds are properly grouped the
surface unruffied and the sunlight falling on
u be Ruskn says: Though Nature is constantly /
BEAUTIFUL Sle does NitlbIt LleI lLi-i4eSt
OF beauty constantly Her finest touches are things
that must be watched fer
The author IS right IN asserting that such a .
study Of landscapes, holding the attention ever /
alert for certain conditions is capital training .
for the enjoyment Of nature No one could pur- /
sge such a study without the enthusiasm aris-
ing from a deep love Of natural beauty, and at
least a superficial knowledge Of the outdoor /
sciences: enough, at least Of botany to enjoy /
the varied forms and coIors OF vegetation, OF +
geology to read the meaning of the mountains, /
of rneteorology 10 interpret the wonders Of the /
sky and atmosphere MI Wilcox continues:
Tsrf this waiting the crucial moment is pleas
am work II would be easy to describe the eX
gfre-7enr and expectancy when after weeks OF
delay the several elements OF llSht ana ar, OF
g-v and sparkling water, are as favorable as they
ever viii De and you wait for the culInlnatIIE mo
r1eut Of time when nature mas concentrated ne!
r,ayy1rs NOW must you skill and be favored
by fortune besides toT 4 SlIisLe elS.t -
q rriz 70 grasp which + not seized MIN poidileS
nav le Withdrawn forever II Is nara 10 so
which Is The more bitter disappointment, TO expose
yq.r last available plate moment too soon ana
see shortly afterwards IN your heIllieS7ii' 4et
more beautiful combinations, or ia eHptctdl.o oI
greater things TO Oyerstay your opportunity
and have the curtain fall as IL were perhaps IoI
another year natures drama
The mountainous region described was, twenty |
Years ago an unexplored wilderness, and even
today one has not TO 80 far from the line OF
the Canadian Pacific to penetrate solitudes vast |
unknown and almost unapproachable- There /
are no single peaks OF groups equalling those
# Sutherland h,t on the other hand, sue /