PHOTOGRAPHIC PAGEANT

Evening Star, Issue 22990, 22 June 1938, Page 5

PHOTOGRAPHIC PAGEANT

CAMERA CRAFT AT ITS BEST SURVEYING THE LOAN COLLECTION I. Those who pay a visit to the Pioneer Hall to inspect the loan collection ot photographs which comprised the pictorial section of the Royal Photographic Society’s exhibition, hold in London last year, must unanimously concede that nothing so important or so impressive in the way of photography has ever been displayed in Dunedin. The collection includes 232 photographs, but there is no suggestion that the quantity in any way overshadows quality. Both in the range of the work and of the subjects there can only be found causes for sincere and unstinting admiration. There are portraits, studies in still life, scenes of mountains, fields, rivers, forests, towns, and streets, scenes of Nature in contrasting mood, and studies in architecture. Criticism of any one photograph must bo largely a matter for the individual, and must depend largely upon individual taste. The man who can go into raptures over a sea scene is less likely to be thrilled when confronted with a photograph of cut-glass, however magnificent, and it is in such differences of taste that criticism—if it could be so termed —may be said principally to lie. The most casual observer must be impressed by the v sense of discrimination which has been displayed in dealing with subjects. The considerations of lighting and of angles play such important parts in the building up of most of these photographs that one can only guess at the )>criod of time that must have been spent before the result was achieved to the satisfaction of the operator of the camera. While the majority of the pictures are romantic in content, there is a very bigh literary quality, in the descriptive sense, apparent in many of the others. Such photographs as ‘ Stallion ’ and ‘ Shaftesbury,’ widely contrasting, as their titles suggest, are splendid examples of this descriptive literary quality, and whether the picture be of horses or of a village there is a story vividly portrayed in the general construction. ‘ Sunlit Rain,’ on the other hand, is essentially romantic, and the effect of sunlight breaking through driving rain is tellingly achieved.

Some of the most successful photographs are those which depend for their effect on pronounced contrasts derived from the tise of very little light and a considerable amount of dark. Conversely, others are successful through the use of a good deal of light but very little dark, though the former are more prominent. The most outstanding example of this treatment is to be found in ‘ The Sentinels,’ which is definitely dramatic in its appeal. The only light in this picture is provided by the reflection on the wall of a house of the headlights of a car which is being driven between two huge poplars. A feeling of depth, but not of immensity, is well conveyed in ‘ Beachy Head.’ This picture contains two focal points, a lighthouse and a seagull, with the seagull tending to become obtrusive. This is probably a fine example of composite photography. There is real restfulness in ‘ Sparrow on Bamboo,’ which has been very nicely composed, the arranging of twigs, leaves, and stems being masterly. As an example of shadow photography, 1 Shadows ’ could hardly be bettered. There is remarkable contrast of light and shade'' yet none of the force gained in the lighter portion of the photograph is lost in the darker, and the roundness of the stacked sacks, which, together with the shadows thrown across them by a latticed gateway, form the real subject of the picture, is well brought out. ‘ Casa Blanca, Canyon de Chelly,’ is less impressive. It lacks depth, and the suggestion of immensity that should be attached to any photograph of a canyon is not portrayed. ‘Business Relatives,’ a photograph of a retort and a modern skyscraper, is a contrast between tho industrial and organised side of business. It is excellent in many ways, but it is questionable whether its pattern is strong enough for its decorative treatment, which is a little forced. ‘ Hollyhocks ’ must long remain in the memory of those who see it. It is a splendid example of virile photography, and in the scene of hollyhocks thrusting towards the sun there is conveyed to the observer a real sense of tho growth in Nature. The building up of the clouds suggests they have an affinity with the flowers, and fua-ther suggests that the whole is an integral part of the universe rather • than a corner of a garden. In ‘ August Sand ’ there is found a subject, ideally suited to tho camera, and neither title nor catalogue is necessary to tell what that subject is. A remarkable sense of recessiveness is conveyed to the observer. ‘ Silfidi ’ may best be described as an oddity. It is an example of the unusual in camera craft, but to most people the meaning of the photograph will be as vague as the title.

‘ Eiger Vista ’ is a magnificent mountain study, in which the story is very well told. The foreground is rather dark, and the whole would have been improved with slightly softer treatment. It is pictures of this type that would he at their best photographed in natural colours, and the inability of the camera to reproduce Nature in her exact colours is one of its very few drawbacks.

There is quaint humour, as well as static decorative charm, in ‘Mama Goes "When Papa Goes,’ which shows two ducks on a rock in the centre of a pool, each apparently waiting for the other to make the first plunge. Some idea of the pictorial literary value of the camera will be found in ‘ Civilised Man.’ While this actual photograph may not be a particularly good example of the camera’s influence upon cultured civilisation, the spectacle of men preparing for what might be by garbing themselves in gas masks provides much food for thought. ‘ Ski Champ ’ is a noteworthy instance of the camera’s ability to record split second action. The skier has been caught in the middle of a jump and while the flurry of snow left behind himin his take-off was still in the air. Speed is also suggested in ‘ Dancing On the Moonbeams,’ but one might reasonably question the advisability of photographing the skaters on an uphill angle. All the character of winter—the bleak barrenness, the icy cold, and the general cheerlessness, together with the odd little glimpses of beauty that may ho found in that season—is brilliantly captured in ‘Winter’s Trail,’ a truly outstanding specimen of winter photography. ‘ Won By One ’ rpvcals the spirit of horses to a marked degree, and the three magnificently photographed heads clearly represent very different equine

natures. ‘Damascus Gate’ is an excellent example of dramatic literary content, while ‘ Excursion ’ is a sentimental study of two lovers, realistically treated. ‘ Village Assembly ’ has all the tonal texture of an oil painting. The placing of lights has been skilfully arranged, and the general effect is one of restfnlness and peace. It is most interesting in representing another aspect of camera craft. Of the many interior studies * Sunny Corner ’ is quietly effective, but the same scene is less effective in ‘ Connoisseur,’ the placing of a woman in the foreground and the changing of the camera angle helping to detract from that effectiveness. There is a good feeling of light in ‘Crypt Chape!,’ and light has also been tellingly used in ‘ Interior Antique.’