PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 21624, 20 January 1934, Page 19

PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES

! [By Pancheo.]

In this column will appear week by week news and notes of interest to amateur photographers. It is intended to be of use to both sections of that large fraternity, those who are on speaking terms with facts, formula, and darkroom lamps, and also to those who frankly confess themselves as mere “ button pushers.” PHOTOGRAPHY OF SPORTS. How often has the amateur gazed both with wonder and longing at the marvellous photographs of • sporting events that are reproduced in the newspapers and magazines of to-day, and wished that he could secure similar pictures. He has an ordinary camera, just such as most beginners have. It may have but one speed, or it may have three, the highest of which is marked at l-100th of a second, and is almost certainly considerably less. The largest stop may be f/8. And he thinks of the cameras that have advertised _ speeds of l-l,ooosec, and lenses working at f/35, and concludes (and probably concludes rightly) that the exciting finishes of the 100yds, or the motor car registering ninety miles an .hour, were made by such a Camera; and he perhaps imagines that sporting events are not for him.

It is quite true that swiftly-moving subjects do require both a fast exposure and also a lens with a large aperture, but there are hosts and hosts of sporting subjects that the amateur can successfully tackle, even though he may have to leave high-speed work to the owners of special cameras. For, consider the conditions of successful work. They are. mainly two. There must be a good light, and the subjects must not be moving too' fast. A third condition may be added—namely, that the objects must not be too close to the camera. Now, as regards the light; we know that as_ it gets later in the day we have to give longer and longer exposure in order to secure fully-exposed negatives. But, if we are taking sporting subjects, and this means generally moving figures, we cannot give longer exposures without danger.of getthfg blurred results. So we must realise that in a had light we had far better put the camera back,: in its case and not waste good material. Then, as we have to give short exposures, we should photograph from such an angle as will_ cause the subject to be in full sunshine at the moment of exposure. In landscape work we prefer to get a side or a‘ front lighting, because we can give as long an exposure as we like. Here we have no choice, and so we want to get on the subject all the light possible. Also, the bhject must not be in too rapid motion. Experience teaches that an object moving directly across the field of vision requires twice the exposure of one moving obliquely, and three times the exposure of an object moving towards or away from the photographer. Here, then, is a valuable hint. Do not try to photograph _ a race, or a man on a bicycle, or a train, or a procession, when these things are straight in front of you. Take them when they are approaching. Very often it is possible to take up one’s station near a curve, and this is generally an excellent and good snaps can be obtained even with a camera that has but one speed of shutter.

Then, again, certain subjects that may be classed as moving have moments when they are nearly at rest. For instance, the server at tennis can often be snapped at the moment he has thrown up the ball, or the striker when ready to receive the service. The rather over-done custom of shaking'hands at the end of a match provides a golden opportunity for the snapshotter to immortalise the players. In golf there is the moment at the top of the swing when there is just sufficient arrest of a movement to allow of a successful snap. It is quite unnecessary to go through all the sports. The photographer, working on these lines, will easily discover for himself the opportune moment. _ ... . Photographs of cricket incidents, such as the making of a good catch or the shattering of the stumps are obtained by telephoto lens. Without such a lens figures on the cricket pitch during the progress of the game will come out too small, but the photographer can get the team going out from, or returning to, the pailion, or the first two batsmen going out. Nearly every sport affords its own special opportunities for photography. Some have been done to death; others offer great chances. Fishing scenes, for example, are often appreciated by editors. Shooting does not. come at the best part of the year as regards brilliancy of light, but many chances of slower exposures can be obtained at the butts. Yachting, on the other hand, takes place in circumstances that put the cheapest camera on an equality with the most expensive. Swimming, is in the same category. Summing up, then, there are some things the snapshotter can not hope to get, but there are so many others that only require the exercise of common sense to cope with successfully, that he need not worry about the few unobtainable subjects. Two concluding hints may be given. If year camera is not provided with a wire frame holder,, learn to expose by _ merely aiming the camera at the object, holding the camera.at thp height of the eye. It will come quite easily by practice, and, while this high viewpoint gives a better picture than waist level, this method will be found invaluable when working in a crowd. And also remember to press the trigger a fraction of a second ahead of the exact moment of exposure, for the brain has to record its orders to the finger to transmit the intention to the shutter. The following calculations are useful to lanternists. It is assumed that the image on the slide is contained in a circle Sin-in diameter: — (a) Given length of throw (lens to screen), and diameter of picture required, to find focus of lens needed.— Multiply throw by three, and divide by diameter of picture (all in inches). (b) Given diameter of picture on screen and focal length of | eDS > , length of throw required.—Multiply diameter of picture by focus of lens and divide by three (all in inches). (c) Given focus of lens and length of throw, to find diameter of picture on screen.—Multiply throw by three and divide by focus of lens (all in inches).