Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1933)

August 2nd, 1933 The AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER f. CINEMATOGRAPHER a The single illustration is the outcome of a discussion with a friend, who was doubtful as to whether I could get a good rendering of a small carved stone panel close by with the tiny camera I was using. It was a rather close-up shot, and even then the panel does not fill anything like the whole of the negative ; but from that tiny patch of film I could get a fine print up to the actual size of the carving. Rather strange, but quite true. I would warn the beginner with a miniature camera to watch his step. There is precious little margin for errors. It is not always easy to include the whole of the subject wanted, and it is uncommonly easy to get it out of the square. With a larger negative it is often a simple matter to trim or mask so as to get verticals and horizontals true ; with a tiny negative there may be in¬ sufficient room to do this without losing essential parts of the subject. Great care must also be taken with the technical quality of miniature negatives. A blemish that would be insignificant on a whole-plate negative is the death of a half-V.P. The grada¬ tions of tone must be practically perfect, too. There is no chance of tinkering with them afterwards, as can be done when the image is on a big scale. Miniature camera work must be meticulous, or it is worthless. We have to learn to be fastidious in our doings all the way through ; and, after all, this is not a bad thing. There certainly should be some notice¬ able difference between miniature photography and coal-heaving. It is not surprising that portfolio clubs are springing up for the circu¬ lation and criticism of miniature prints, and I foresee a moderate boom in the trade in magnifying glasses. A tiny print may well be a dainty thing, just as a well-executed portrait miniature may be. In some cases enlargement would be a disadvantage. At the same time this miniature size is quite unsuitable for many subjects, the effect of which miscarries altogether. Instead of being imposing the subject is insignificant. I have known photographers who have en¬ tered for competition a print made from a very small area of negative, and accompanied it with a long explanation, and a eulogy of the apparatus. They do not realise that the print stands or falls on its merits, and that a poor picture does not become a masterpiece because the degree of enlargement was on the heroic scale. Nor is it wise to enter tiny prints for competition with high-class work on a large scale. It is all very well to say that mere size does not and should not count ; but as a rule judges have no time for putting prints under a microscope. And even if by this means they found a good picture they might well wonder why the competitor had not found it himself, and shown that he was aware of its existence by making the most of it. W. L. F. W, Current Newspaper Photographic Competitions THE Evening Despatch, Newspaper House, Bir¬ mingham, announces a competition which is to run from now until the end of the summer. The prizes are £20, £10, £5, and 10s. (half these rates if readers are not registered). Snapshots may be of any subject. A coupon must accompany each entry. A special prize of one guinea will be awarded each week until end of month, for the best garden photo¬ graph submitted by an amateur who is a reader of Home Gardening, Henrietta Street, W.C.2. All other photographs will be paid for at usual rates. Western Mail and South Wales News, St. Mary Street, Cardiff, offers a prize of 10s. 6d. for each published photograph submitted by amateur photographers. The Editor of Cycling, 5/15, Rosebery Avenue, E.C.i, offers prizes of £1 is., 15s. and 10s. 6d. for the best photographs received on set subjects. The competition is open to amateurs only. A first prize of £10 and a number of consolation prizes are offered by Thomas Black & Sons, Ltd., Greenock, Scotland, for pictures which illustrate the “ unusual, the jolly and the attractive aspects of the life out-of-doors, and the beautiful spots chosen by campers and hikers.” Size of picture should not exceed 8§x6V in. Closing date, September 30th. The Bulletin, 65, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, C.i, offers weekly prizes of £2, £1 10s., £1 and 15s. for the best photographs of holiday scenes or incidents. A coupon must accompany each entry. Prizes of £2 2s., £1 is., 10s. 6d., 7s. 6d. and 5s. are offered weekly by the Yorkshire Evening News for photographs submitted by residents, or visitors who reside in the county for not less than a week. Address : Art Editor, Y.E.N., Trinity Street, Leeds. Popular Gardening, 5, Carmelite Street, E.C.4, is offering cash prizes to the value of £100 for interesting gardening snapshots submitted during the summer months. There is no limit to the number of entries, but each photograph must be accompanied by a coupon. A prize of £3 3s. is offered by the Exchange and M art for the best holiday snapshot received before September 1 6th. 1 os. 6d. will be paid for every other print published. Address : “ Snapshots,” Exchange and Mart, 4/8., Greville Street, London, E.C.i. Shields Gazette, South Shields, wants snapshots of happy incidents associated with this season of outdoor life. Prizes of 10s. 6d. and 5s. are to be awarded weekly for the best received. A coupon must accom¬ pany each entry. Lady's Companion offer £100 in cash prizes for photographs of “ Beautiful Babies.” Full particulars from Lady's Companion, 39, King Street, Covent Garden, W.C.2. The Hiker and Camper welcomes photographs of Britain suitable for use as covers. 10s. 6d. is paid for pictures used ; 5s. for other acceptable prints. Address : 2, Carmelite Street, London, E.C.4. The Manchester City News, 3, Cross Street, Man¬ chester, offers cash prizes in a weekly photographic competition. Each entry must be accompanied by an announcement of the competition cut from the current issue. Birmingham Evening Dispatch offers cash prizes of £20, £10 and £5 for pictorial snapshots, and 10s. 6d. for all other photographs published. Particulars in every issue. The Sheffield Weekly Telegraph offers one guinea for photographs used for front cover illustrations. Address : 1 7, High Street, Sheffield. The Kent Messenger, Week Street, Maidstone, wants photographs of new Kentish beauty-spots, and offers £1, 10s. and 5s. for the best received. Accompanying each picture should be a description of the spot, with clear details of its location. Mark the envelope “ Quest ” in the right-hand comer. Health and Strength announces a Physical Excellence Competition in which cash prizes to the value of £100 will be awarded for the best photographs submitted. Coupons are necessary. The Sunday Dispatch is out to find the “bonniest baby,” and invites readers to send snapshots of children under the age of five. Five photographs will be published each week and the sender of each published photograph will receive a prize — £5 for the “ bonniest ” picture, £3 for the next best, and £1 each for the other three. The contest is to run for ten weeks, and at the end of that period the three best photographs will be selected by popular vote. Further prizes of £250, £35 and £15 will then be awarded. The News of the W orld invites readers to send photo¬ graphs of beauty-spots. A guinea will be paid for each one published. Address photographs (with name and address of sender on the back) to “ Pathfinder,” c/o News of the W orld, 30, Bouverie Street, London, E.C.4. The Daily Herald has announced a “ Summer Snaps ” competition in connection with which cash prizes to the value of £500 are offered. There will be prizes of £250, £100, £50 and £1 each for 100 prints selected for publication; Entries must not have already been published. Closing date is September 1 6th and a coupon must accompany each entry. The proprietors of “ Cow & Gate ” are offering 365 cash prizes for the “ Happiest Snapshot of Happy Babies.” Full details may be obtained from any chemist. The Listener. — A weekly prize of five guineas is offered for the best pictorial photograph and one guinea for any other retained for reproduction. The com¬ petition continues until September 2nd. Address : Listener Photographic Competition, Broadcasting House, London, W.i. The Sunday Graphic announces a “ Snappy Snaps ” competition, limited to amateurs, and offers weekly prizes of £10, £5, £1 and cases of teaspoons for the best received. Snapshots cannot be returned. There is no limit to the number of entries, but each must be accompanied by a coupon. The Sunday Pictorial is offering weekly prizes of five guineas, three guineas and one guinea for holiday snapshots. No photographs will be returned and none will be accepted which has won a prize in any com¬ petition. A coupon must accompany each entry. 107 19