The international photographer (Jan-Dec 1941)

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l6lVIM. dEpARTMENT WHAT SHOULDN'T I DO? Many amateurs with whom we have spoken have put the question, "What am I doing now that I shouldn't be doing?" and point to a strip of film that is a failure. Others, when pointed out that a failure is due to a violation of a fundamental rule of photography, counter with, "But I've seen pictures made by people who claimed they broke every rule in photography making that scene." It may be true — in fact, it undoubtedly is true — that some very successful shots have been made by breaking some of the "rules" of photography. But "rules" must be broken by experts — professional or amateur — who know how to break them, why they are breaking them, and aren't breaking them just to be breaking a rule, but have some definite idea in mind that can be executed only by the breaking of a certain rule, or rules. It's like an ambulance racing down the street at a breakneck speed in an attempt to get an ailing patient to the hospital in time to help him. He is breaking the speed laws and many other driving laws for a definite reason, with an objective in mind. And yet, if we, as ordinary motorists, raced down the streets at that speed, we might find ourselves in the clutches of the law. One of the most common mistakes encountered (unless you have a "coated" lens ) is the one of shooting without a lens hood. This sounds trivial, and many people will point out that they've made some very good pictures without it. A lens hood is NOT trivial, as we will point out in a moment, and while some good pictures may have been made without it, tbese pictures could have had an improved clarity and definition had the hood been used. Even when there is no direct sunlight hitting the lens, the light hitting it from an open sky, or reflected from a glaring sidewalk or street will be accepted by the lens' outermost component and will be dispersed, reflected, and refracted within the components of the lens and will finally reach the film as an overall haze. The extent of the haze will depend on the strength of the light hitting the lens and the characteristics of that particular lens. Some lenses will offend more than others. If direct sunlight should hit the lens a "flare" will lie set up in addition to this haze. We are all familiar with the haze that appears on an object if we attempt to look at it when the sunlight is hitting our eyes, even when the sun is ;il quite an angle. It is the same in a lens. Except that there are more elements in a camera lens to aggravate the condition. This defect in lenses has been overcome by the coating recently developed foi that express purpose, but unless your lens is coated a lens hood is a MIST. And even with the coating, the lens hood is still desirable. Another common fault amateurs are guilty of so frequently is panning too fast. We probably should have even said just panning. To begin with, the less panning in a scene, the better. Panning should be used ONLY when absolutely necessary, such as when following action. A landscape should never be panned; it should be broken up into individual scenes. If, for any reason, it is panned, it should be done slowly. And smoothly In panning rapidly the individual frames are blurred, due to the movement of the camera not having been stopped by the shutter, and this blur will reproduce on the screen. When fast moving action is photographed, obviously the moving object followed will be sharp, and the fast moving background is blurred. But in this case the blur actually adds to the value of the scene because it gives the added feeling of speed. While on the subject of pans, a word about lenses. A lens having a comparatively short focal length should be used. Lenses of long focal lengths take in only a small part of the landscape, and while the speed of the pan may be slow enough it will photograph much faster. This phenomenon can best be illustrated by an example of an automobile traveling, let us say, 70 miles an hour. If we are close to a certain lamp post, and watch it as it passes this lamp post, it will appear to be fairly flying by. If, however, we are watching a whole scene, a little distance from the road, and watch this car driving down the street, it will seem to be going rather slowly. Now, if the scene we are photographing is being made with a short focal length lens, we will have a wide-angle of acceptance and include a large part of the landscape, a situation comparable to the one where we were watching the automobile driving down a long stretch of street. If, however, and by leaving the camera in its same position, we place a long focal length lens on the camera, this lens having the narrow angle of acceptance characteristic of them, will merely see the lamp post we mentioned. And when the car goes by it will appear to be whizzing by. ANY movement is exaggerated by a telephoto I long focal length) lens, and panning with a lens of this type will exaggerate any minute inequalities of the movement of the camera and make it appear jerky. This would pass unnoticed, and be indiscernible when the shorter focal length lens is used. True, there are times when a very fast pan across a certain scene, with the resultant blur that ensues, can be the height of a dramatic effect; or it can form an excellent means for a transitional effect, but this must be used knowingly, at the right time, and in the right place. Another difficulty we have seen with amateur films is the lack of proper length of scenes. While we expect to go into this very important subject at a later date and devote the entire article to it, a few words here are in order. Many enthusiasts will merely point a camera and shoot an undetermined amount of film, regardless of the subject. The result is that many scenes that should rate no more than five or six feet of 16 mm. footage are dragged out, and when they are viewed on the screen the interest will lag after this five or so feet has passed. When a succession of scenes of this nature are put into a picture, the result is a boring film. Yes, an editorial job can remedy the situation, but more frequently than not the entire footage is included in the finished picture. True, they might hold a certain fascination for us because they represent a record of something that might be of great personal interest. In which case the unnecessary footage is quite justified — provided we keep that film for our own personal purpose. But as a picture, something we can show to others and keep their interest, it will be a failure. On the other hand many an abortive shot is the result of just shooting a few feet, either to conserve film, or because the importance of the scene and the interest it could hold has not been given due consideration. When scenes of this nature are put together in a finished film the result is a meaningless hodge-podge that becomes so confusing that interest lags after the first few minutes of running. And, in closing, another important thing that shouldn't be done: Don't shoot with the camera in the hands, unless a tripod is entirely impractical. And when this is the case don't use a long focal length lens, for reasons already mentioned. The key-note of modern cinematography in all of its phases is smoothness. And shooting without a tripod is not conducive to the achievement of this goal. Light-Plane Engine Manufacturer Sponsors Aviation Photo Contest That the fast-growing aviation industry recognizes the wide-spread interest in amateur photography is indicated in a snapshot contest conducted each month by "The Lycoming Star," monthly publication of the Lycoming Division of Aviation Manufacturing Corporation, manufacturers of aircraft engines and propellers, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The contest is open to all readers of "The Lycoming Star," whether or not they are affiliated with aviation. Every entrant is presented with a gold-plated Lycoming wing lapel emblem and the winner of each month's competition receives a check for $5.00. At the end of the year the monthly prize-winning snapshots will be judged for a grand prize of $25.00 which is to be awarded the photograph voted the best of the year. A wide variety of aviation scenes are received each month, for the only stipulation 20