PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 21636, 3 February 1934, Page 4

PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES

[By Panchro.] 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.” LINES OF FOAM. Certainly it is a good plan, when making preparations for the annual holiday, to decide to specialise in some particular type of subject, as well as to deal fith more of the general run. Last year 1 set myself the task of attempting to show the beautiful effects of the foam as the waves broke on the shore. It is a subject within the scope of any camera, however simple, and the owner o fthe expensive outfit will have little advantage over theose who possess only a camera with a single lens and onespeed shutter. The question o fcolour also plays on”’ a small part in the transcript, and, consequently, the marvellous ability of the lens to draw is well shown, without the usual accompanying disadvantages. If I were to choose the ideal camera for this work 1 should select one with a frame finder, as it is then so easy to see the right moment for exposure. in some cases a slightly elevated standpoint, such as a sand castle, is an advantage, and in many of the exposures made from a good height is even better. The waves .should be watched for a little time carefully, so as to select one in which the pattern given is what is wanted. It is well to remember, on a rising tide, which is the most suitable, that a wave which comes farther than the rest is often immediately followed by another, and that then there will be a short period with waves of lesser size. Rocussing will depend very much on what it wanted. The nearest portion should not be too near, or if it is in focus the diffusion will be too great for the rest, as usually the subject will be one of considerable depth. Foam on the sand often looks whiteron a dull day, but, as in the case of snow scenes, to get real sparkle, sunlight is essential. On rocky shores it is possible to get well above the sand, and to take the view without any sky; but if the sky is iculuded the effect is much, better if clouds can also be shown, which argues the use of a' light filter where possible. Occasionally, if there is a rock projecting into the sea, an effective and unusual view can be obtained by getting on it and pointing the camera inshore. For these subjects it is essential that the foam should print reasonably light, and I am not an advocate of an amende negative; it is, 1 think, preferable to have one on the strong side, and to use a paper of softer contrast, if the details of the whites are not well rendered on normal paper. This is arguable, as a thin negative can be printed on a contrasty paper. But there is the ultimate possibility that a print is required on a particular paper, and I always regard the reduction of a negative which is ■dightly too strong as a safer operation than adjusting the amount of intensi"'cation correctly. The normal snapshot speed of the 'amplest film camera is about right—that is eto say, about l-25sec will prevent any movement which would spoil the effect/ A few pleasant hours spend in special'sing on some such subject as this will leach the learner more about the effect of lines and curves in his composition than reading pages of theory on the point.—A. H. Hall, in the ‘ Amateur Photographer.’ A SEASONABLE NOTE. We are often told that open-air pictorial work should be undertaken when the sun is low and the shadows long; that is, either in the early morning or in the evening. I have my doubts about the popularity of the early morning work, and there appears to be a change during the past few years on the evening aspect. If any of the big exhibitions are visited there will be a small sprinkling of the romantic type of landscape with a sunset sky, but most of the sunshine pictures nowadays can fall into about three classes; scenes in which sunshine is portrayed, either in streets or alleys, or in the country, in which all evidence of sky is carefully excluded; scenes in wheih the sky is the main motif and the landscape is subservient; and those in which a sunshine, pattern predominates. , ~ There is little evidence, when these are examined, that the precepts of the past have been followd, and it would appar that the general tendency for labour to shorten working hours is being followed by photographers. Work in the evening is not easy; the light is yellow, and often a day graced by beautiful cloud forms which illuminate the shadows ends with a cloudless sky, and the shadows become very much harsher. This is easily noticeable to the eye, and often accentuated in the photograph. This may seem incorrect exposure, and perhaps an unsuitable plate. Though exposure tables are very useful in normal light, they are apt to break down in the evening, and the most experienced photographers are apt to underestimate the value of the light when the sun is low. This suggests that an exposure meter should always be used in the evening, and a colour-sensitive plate with a screen. There are some subjects that can be taken by morning lighting which should be examined when the sun has gone to the west, as it will sometimes happen tliat the scene will take on quite unexpected features. I have done this occasionally on a river which I have fished for many years and photographed hundreds of times; and last year I visited two spots quite close together which do not usually fish well in the evening. Both of these bad been taken in the morning about 10.30 several times, but bad never been attempted otherwise. The late evneing light was a great (improvement. THE WILY JAP. A little while ago a photographic firm in England sent a batch of plates to Japan. When the consignment reached Japan it was found to contain

not plates, but stones and mud. Stones and mud are quite admirable things in their way, but somewhat insensitive and unsuitable for photographic work. The question was as to where this metamorphosis had been made. The supposed 1 ' plates ” were sent back to the exporting firm, who sent them on to the imperial Institute in South Kensington. with a request for an opinion as to whether the mud was put in the boxes in Great Britain or in Japan. Oriental and occidental mud might be supposed to be much the same, but they are not so. The detectives got to work and one circumstance of suspicion’■’on which they gimmdeiatcly alighted was the presence of some bulks of rice. That pointed rather to Japan, but still rice is a commodity used in England also. On going further, however, they found _ a piece of rock which does not occur in England, and in it the fossil of an organism only found m. the Pacific. Result ; Exoneration of the English exporters, and implication of some subtle and devious spirit of the Far East.