DESTINATION: BACK COUNTRY

DESTINATION: BACK COUNTRY BY DARWIN VAN CAMPEN PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR

IN August 1969, we ran a story titled Destination: Back Country. It was the only story in the issue, and it was written and photographed by a single contributor: Darwin Van Campen. In addition to the front and back covers, two wildlife photographs, a macro shot of a wildflower and a self-portrait, there were 44 landscape images in that issue. And there were several thousand words. As Editor Raymond Carlson wrote in his column, “Our amiable guide, as you will see, is expert not only with a camera, but also with a typewriter.” In addition to supplying every photograph and almost every word that month, Mr. Van Campen also wrote a tutorial on how to make photographs in the backcountry. An edited version of that lesson is excerpted on pages 26 and 27. As I was reading it, I wondered about the status quo in the 1960s and how it might compare to the conventional wisdom of 2021. I’m not equipped to make the comparison, so I shared the text with someone who is. Someone who has spent more time in the backcountry than he has in the frozen foods aisleat Trader Joe's. Someone who works a camera the way Charlie Parker worked an alto sax.

"After reading the piece," Jack Dykinga told me, "the first thing that stood out was how attitudes have changed. He describes 'hooking' images as one who has entered a wild world of wonder for the first time. That world no longer exists. We now enter places recorded millions of times, to the point where an image that was 'unique' has become a visual cliché. That's sad, but true. However, that forces photographers to dig deeper, work harder and 'craft' images that aren't merely 'hooked' by a lucky passerby.

"Another huge difference," Jack says, "is a change in the emphasis on proper exposures. Today, any digital camera has the ability to provide correct matrix metering, and the results can be checked moments after the exposure is made."

There's more. In his lesson, Mr. Van Campen compares the intent of a landscape photographer to that of a portrait photographer. "One portrays the faces of people," he says, "the other, the face of the land." Jack liked the analogy but thinks that our midcentury professor used the word "should" too much. "I believe in rules," Jack says, "but I also think of rules as a starting point. Rules should be broken when the subject demands it!"

The use of people as subjects is another point of difference. "Photographers always placed people in scenes for scale," Jack says. "Today, however, there's a different wilderness ethic. We now think of wilderness for its own sake and not necessarily as a backdrop for people."

What hasn't changed, he says, "is the quest to express feelings through a visual medium. The goal, after all, is to offer praise for wild places."

NOTES FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

SCENIC PHOTOGRAPHY IS A LOT LIKE FISHING; it's more fun when the big ones are biting. The Arizona Back Country is heavily stocked with photographic "big ones" just waiting to be "hooked" by any photographer using that unfailing "picturegettin'" combination of the right kind of equipment and a little know-how.

The great variety of scenic opportunities in the Back Country makes it desirable to have at least the "basic three" of lenses - normal, wide-angle and medium telephoto which will cover most of the situations you are likely to encounter. The careful use of a light meter is a wise precaution in dealing with the greatly varying exposure conditions represented by the many types of Arizona Back Country subjects. The dark greens of a Northland forest, for example, may easily require a stop or more of exposure than the pastel tints of a Southern Arizona desert scene.

While following my camera through Arizona's great "Back Country Studio" I have often noted the similarity between the landscape worker and the portraitist. One portrays the faces of people, the other, the "face of the land."

Their goals are similar: to create a likeness of their subjects which, through the proper emphasis of features and mood, is the most effective possible rendition.

Many of the principles of good portraiture can be applied to Back Country photography. For example, the wrinkles, Dimples and various planes of the human face have their counterpart for the scenic pictorialist in the mountains, valleys and other irregularities of the natural scene. And he should give them as much care in the choice of lighting as the human subject receives.

To emphasize the natural features of the landscape through the contrast of light and shadow, side or back lighting should be used. By his selection of camera angle and time of day, the photographer can usually exercise sufficient control over the sun's angle to achieve the desired effect.

Many of Nature's most memorable scenic offerings are to be found in early morning and late afternoon when dramatic shadows set off scenes enriched by the golden light of the rising or setting sun. The photograph of the sand dune section of Canyon de Chelly National Monument [below] illustrates the use of strong side light - desirable here to emphasize the delicately textured sand ripples and graceful contours of the dunes.

Frontal (flat) light can be used successfully with scenes that depend upon color differences rather than lighting contrasts for visual separation of their components. The lightcolored Eagle Creek Canyon formations [left] were shot in relatively flat light, yet they stand out boldly against the blue of the sky. To help accentuate this effect the sky was dark-ened with a polarizing filter. This filter is one of the most important tools the color photographer can have in his kit. It provides the only practi-cal means of deepening the blue of the sky without altering the other colors in the scene. It is also extremely useful to reduce the bluish haze often encountered in distant views, as well as the glare of sunlight on water, leaves, etc. While good lighting is essential it must be coupled with good composition to produce worthwhile results. I believe that the composition of a scenic photograph should accomplish two basic things: 1) give pleasure to the viewer through a pleasing arrangement of the elements comprising the scene, and 2) strengthen or support the intended effect. A composition which is pleasing to the eye is usually based on a firm foundation of proven pictorial principles. I find when studying a scene in my groundglass that subconsciously I am asking myself such questions as: Is there a pleasing balance among the components of the scene? Have I avoided visual monotony by breaking up the picture area into varying sizes? Can I find a better way of leading the eye into the scene; perhaps a road or curving lake shore could be utilized? If there is any area lacking sufficient interest, can I change the camera angle to eliminate it? Or possibly increase its interest by adding a flower, rock or maybe a picturesque shadow from a strategically placed branch?

These are important considerations and should be diligently attended to in translating the raw grandeur of Nature into the finished photographic product.

Another consideration worthy of special attention is the foreground. It serves many important functions. A somewhat three-dimensional effect can often be created when dark foreground objects are shot against a light background. This was the reason for including the silhouetted spruce in the Lee Valley Lake photo [above]. With scenes suffering from color imbalance a green meadow with green trees, for example a touch of complementary color added to the foreground will usually improve the result. When placing foreground objects it is advisable to see that they point into the main picture area. A flower bending on its stem, a jagged rock, or a model's gaze are among the many "directional signals" that can be used to lead the viewer's eye toward the center of interest. Another reason for including a human figure (or object of generally known size) is to indicate the scale of a scene. The Navajo and his wagon are used in this manner in the illustration of Canyon de Chelly [see pages 24 and 25]. Their minuteness testifies unmistakably to the towering massiveness of the sheer-faced cliff along which they are traveling. It is said that the dog is man's best friend. But surely any photographer's best friend is the cloud. Its picturesque presence improves nearly any landscape and will often aid in balancing a composition. A