Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1933)

the amateur PHOTOGRAPHER m CINEMATOGRAPHER F J MORTIMER INCORPORATING THE NEW PHOTOGRAPHER’ 'FOCUS* CONSULT.NG edVtor THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS" &l "PHOTOGRAPHY" R. CHILD BAYLEY Subscript"* Heirs: United Kmgdcm !7ft CencuJa/^i. Mer&un/nesty/iSperafin.posl/ntfnmtjKpuMsitrslbmt/tovsr WEDNESDAY, August 2nd, 1933* Stamford Street £ondon 5 £ / Copyright — Registered as a Newspaper for transmission in the U.K. NO W that the season for photographic outings is with us camera userswould do well to go fully into matters appertaining to them before starting on a trip or going to any extra expense. To have visited a place some time ago, and to have earmarked it for a photographic trip is not enough. Most of the picturesque old-world villages, which in normal times are full of interest¬ ing subjects, will now be having flower shows, fetes, harvest thanks¬ givings, etc., events which are not favourable for the photographer of landscapes and architecture, as it is customary on such occasions to decorate the streets with flags, or the church with fruits of harvest. In the case of club outings it is advisable for the leader to find out if anything special will be happening on the date of the proposed visit, and so prevent grumbling and dis¬ appointment. This note of caution • is suggested by a correspondent who took a party of record workers to a country churchyard to photo¬ graph some unique gravestones, only to find on arrival that the grass in the churchyard was being grown for hay, and was of a height that made the required exposures impossible. A letter of enquiry to the vicar would have saved trouble, expense and disappointment. Coupon Cameras. The Board of Trade Committee appointed to examine the question of Gift Coupons for cameras and numerous other articles issued its report on July 21st. The Com¬ mittee came to the conclusion that the gift coupon system is not de¬ trimental to the public interest, that such coupons definitely added interest, amusement and colour to The Finish. An article on “ Photographing Athletic Sports ” appears on another page in this issue. 99 Vol. LXXVI. No. 2334. lives which often have little of these elements, and that in many cases gifts promoted sales, as for example, films for cameras and records for gramophones. Gift coupons were also praised as a method of saving, and as having a distinct advantage over the hirepurchase system in that saving precedes instead of follows the acquisition of the article desired. A Film Epic. Over twenty years ago a remark¬ able film of a great adventure was made. It depicted Capt. Scott’s Antarctic Expedition to the South Pole. The story will live for ever, but apart from the subject matter of the film itself, the conditions under which it was produced will always render it a wonderful achievement in photography. Herbert G. Ponting was the photographer, and it is doubtful whether any other man could have succeeded as he did. Thousands of feet of film were exposed recording the incidents of the expedition lasting over a period of two years to its tragic ending, and the whole of the film was de¬ veloped on the spot, in most cases under difficulties that would appal the worker at home. Snow had to be melted for the developing and washing of the film ; the work being undertaken in a makeshift dark¬ room in a temperature far below zero. The film has been stored away for many years, and has now been taken in hand again by Mr. Ponting, who has devoted the past two years to reprinting, cutting and editing it to make a connected story that can be shown with a running com¬ mentary by its author in the form of a talkie. Under the title of “ go° South,” it is now to be seen at the Polytechnic Cinema Theatre in /