Again let the student avoid imitation. If he knows that an artist has been successful in one place, do not let him, like a feeble imitator, be led thither also, for the chances are, if his predecessor were a strong man, that he will produce commonplaces where the other produced masterpieces, and thereby confess his inferiority. It is far better to be original in a smaller way than another, than to be even a first-rate imitator of another, however great.

For this reason the present method adopted by inartistic writers of publishing "Photographic Haunts" is strongly to be deprecated, such guides can but lead to conventional and imitative, therefore contemptible work. The fact of the matter is nature is full of pictures, and they are to be found in what appears to the uninitiated the most unlikely places. Let the honest student then choose some district with which he is in sympathy, and let him go there quietly and spend a few months, or even weeks if he cannot spare months, and let him day and night study the effects of nature, and try at any rate to produce one picture of his own, one picture which shall show an honest attempt to probe the mysteries of nature and art, one picture which shall show the author has something to say, and knows how to say it, as perhaps no other living person could say it; that is something to have accomplished. Remember that your photograph is as true an index of your mind, as if you had written out a confession of faith on paper.

We will now offer a few remarks on the component parts of a picture.

The "Lines"

As we have said there can be no rules for the arrangement of lines, yet they are all-important and essential to the expression of harmony and directness. The student must cultivate the habit of quickly analyzing the lines of a picture, and coming to a decision whether they are harmonious and pictorially suitable. For example, he must not have the lines of different objects cutting each other and forming unpleasant angles, for if he does this the eye of the observer will never get away from the geometrical figure, however good the other part of the picture may be. He should look for repeated line, and his lines should run into the picture, thus all uncomfort-ableness is avoided. There is no necessity for balance or the equal arrangement of masses on either side of the picture, for this, though it may produce pretty pictures, will never produce strong ones. Every line must help to tell the story and strengthen the picture, otherwise it weakens it.

Aerial Perspective

It is of vital importance that this be well rendered, the method for obtaining it having already been shown.

The student must remember that he must give the true value to the separate planes of the picture, or it is worthless for reasons already stated. The state of the weather, has, as we have indicated, a wonderful modifying effect on this perspective, and must be carefully studied.

Tone In Outdoor Photography

Of vital importance is the relatively true rendering of tone as already indicated. This is such a subtle subject that no directions can be given for it, and the student can only master the subject by a long and ardent study of nature. He can test his knowledge by his power of criticizing pictures away from nature, for their truth or falsity of tone. The key in which the picture is.pitched should always be in keeping with the subject rendered.