Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1933)

August 9th, 1933 Thc AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER ^5 & CINEMATOGRAPHER a holographs for NEWSPAPER COMPETITIONS A GREAT number of news¬ papers are now running com¬ petitions for photographs taken by amateurs, so a few notes on the subject by one who has carried off a number of prizes may be of interest to those who will most surely compete. Original pictures are not easy to find, but those with imagination will pose, and contrive, the kind of thing beloved by editors. Lighting of the subject should be studied, for stunt pictures can often be obtained by this means. A subject which would be decidedly ordinary in the usual lighting, be¬ comes outstanding when photographed against the light. Such an example will be seen in my photograph of rain¬ drops on the leaves of a water-lily. I much scope for a stunt picture at first sight, but by climbing up one end and photographing one of the chains, a striking picture was ob¬ tained. Another, taken close to the water below the bridge, gave a rather novel effect of the wriggly reflections. Shadows cast on the road when the sun is low, also offer possibilities in this direction, in that they are out of the ordinary. Putting aside the stunt picture, the next most popular subject is one including children, high-speed photography, or a picture that tells a story. Where pictorial merit is likely to count, advantage should Raindrops on water-lily leaves — a stunt lighting effect. The subjects which will prove popular with the judges will vary considerably, and to some extent depend upon the judge. Some newspapers rather favour photo¬ graphs with a pictorial touch, and the same applies when a competent judge gives his decision Some journals state the type of picture required ; children, animals, new angle, etc., and only photographs of this type should then be submitted. If a subject is not stipulated, the photographs which show a new angle of view, ora “ stunt ” picture, will most likely catch the eye of the art editor, for he is a man who believes that the public likes to see something startling. Last year a most popular new-angle viewpoint which took the fancy of every art editor, was that of having the camera pointing directly down on the sub¬ ject, and this will certainly figure largely again this season among the prizewinners. The Sand Castle. Looking down on the subject is a popular editorial viewpoint. noticed this peculiar effect after a shower of rain, when the sun shone brilliantly a few minutes later. I was sure that a picture of a “close-up ” would catch the judge’s eye ; so much so that I made four exposures from slightly different angles, and sent one to each journal. Three won prizes, and got over the difficulty of not having been previously reproduced. A suspension bridge does not offer be taken of trees which frame the picture, or the span of a bridge which encloses and concentrates attention on the picture beyond. Even in such subjects, lighting will play a large part, and quite an ordinary view may be turned into a prize print if that' powerful spot¬ light, the sun, is properly employed. A list of Current Newspaper Photographic Com¬ petitions is given on page 141. 125 11