Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-04-18
0 R CRUISING WITH
CAMERAS DESCRIBED
Daily Letter by Frederic J.. Hask,n

WASHINGTON, April ls.--A
number of intrepid picture hunters,
armed with high powered cameras,
have Just been sent out on foreign
expeditions by the National Geo.
graphic Society. They are going to
romantic corners of the earth, to
places as yet not thoroughly explor-
ed by wandering camera men. But
what is particularly interesting,
these hunters are going out with
definite instructions as to the sort of
pictorial big game they are to bring
back.
These instructions, mapped out by
Or. Gilbert Grosvenor, president of
the society, show that there Is con-
siderably more to a successful pic
ture than skillful photography.
Every one knows that out of a col
lection of photographs in a maya
zine or newspaper, one arrests the
eye and stirs the Imagination, while
another scarcely attracts a seconds
notice. One scenic picture may be
so inspiring that we want to look
at 1t again and again. Another has
no fqscination whatever.
Most of us rarely analyse this ele-
mcut OF attraction in pictures, but
the picture specialist does. DIR.
Grosvenor is regarded as one of the
pioneers in the study and selection
of pictures for their publication val
ne. The idea of using the camera
for recording the multitudinous
phases of human life and physical
environment was first engaged in by
the National Geographic Society. DR..
Grosvenor has devoted twenty-three
years to answering the questions OF
what kind of pictures people like
most. He has given his life to
making a z by 10 page the 'eye
piece by which even those who can
not read may see the infinite variety
of places and peoples all the way
round the world.
Geographic pictures represent only
one phase of photography. it is true
but the standards suggested in the
instructions can with a little alter
alton be applied to almost any type
Of picture.
The National Geographic Society
considers that when you say geo
graphic pictures you rule out thu
ephemeral, the freakish, the trivial
but you include all the strange sights
OF curious peoples at work or play
or worship, all the fascinating
pranks of jungle animals and back
| yard insects, and the refreshing
beauty of mountain streams, CLAN
glacier, dim lit forest, or mysteriou.
desert - in short, human interes
pictures.
The Things That Count
The things that count in a geogra'
| phic picture are beauty through sub
ject, composition and arrangement
! geographic interest, illustrating tn
typical dress, customs, Industries ant
amusements of the people in a far
off land, together with the physica
or topographic Characteristic of tn
country: the pictorial or decorative
| effects of a picture, and the educa
tional value obtained through tn
successful combination of the othe
points.
In photographs which show tn
residents OF strange lands the peopl
pictured should be shown actual
doing thlngs-going about thei
daily life, preparing food. plantin
crops, weaving cloth, attending re
ligious ceremonies, playing gamei
and. so on.
This is a plea for that elusive ele
ment, atmosphere. Fortunately, al
mosphere is now almost as populs
a term with the photographer as
is with the artist. AS a result Loo
pleasant. please" is now restricte
almost entirely TO the portrait stt
dio where the chief aim is frank
to achieve a pleasing likeness of I'll
sitter. Fiji Islanders and other pie
turesque folk r no longer lure
away from their fascinating puI
suits to smile listlessly into a can
era tense. The camera man realize
that the public prefers to e poop
and scenes as they are. Thus a
mosphere not only stirs the imagii
alton but it serves accuracy.
Pictures should be a valuable a
to the accuracy of impression. Z;
plorers sometimes visit places tn
can scarcely be described so tn
others. will have any idea whateV'
of the reality. DIR. II. f. GrigG
who exploder the Valley of II
Thousand Smoked in Alaska. sa
that he feared the fate OF Jim Bril-
ger, herald OF Yellowstone's phen
mena, who was characterized as
Murchausen by his own generate
but Is now having monuments cree
ed to him.
In an account of his ~experienc
IN the Valley. Dr. Griggs write