Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1933)

October 18th, 1933 on the mask it can be done with pen and ink on white or light-coloured paper. So long as the mask is opaque its colour is immaterial. Binding should be both neat and strong. Nothing can beat a thin, tough paper attached with a strong adhesive. A matter that puzzles a good many photographers is that a slide may fully meet all the requirements mentioned ; it may be a perfect piece of craftsmanship ; it may rouse their pride, and give them complete satisfaction ; yet in a competition it stands no chance. Why ? The reason is that the standard of competition slides is so high that perfect technique must be taken for granted. What, then, makes a slide a winner ? Why does one slide get ahead of another equally good as regards mere workmanship ? Here again the reason is clear. More than anything else, other things being equal, it is the subject that counts. It may be an old subject, treated in a fresh^way and with new vision ; it may be something altogether unusual, in material or treatment or both. But in any case, and every case, the subject as presented must have some strong appeal. It must not be commonplace or dull. Take the two subjects from which I have made the illustrations. The pleasure boat has a certain gaiety ; there is a feeling of sunshine ; the sky in the original is pleasing. But it is ordinary. There is nothing particular to arouse or hold the interest. It is just a photographic rendering of a sailing boat, as it has been presented times without number. The AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER to 6 CINEMATOGRAPHER a As it happens, there is some sort of story connected with the other subject, and told in a lantern lecture it would cause the slide to be regarded with new interest. But there is a difference between a lecture slide and a com¬ petition slide. The latter must tell its own story, and tell it well. There is no opportunity for a dissertation to point out its merits and interest. Neither of these subjects would stand the remotest chance in the form of a competi¬ tion slide, however perfect that slide might be. I know that large numbers of readers will enter slides in “ The A. P.” Annual Competition. They always do. What I wish is that every competitor, especially the unsuccessful ones, could see the set of selected and prize-winning slides. Believe me, they are well worth seeing. Anyone who belongs to a photographic society should get the secretary to arrange to show them, if he has not made arrangements already. Seeing these slides is a fine object-lesson. I do not say that every one is a masterpiece, but I do say that every one is worth looking at and studying. Some of them, at any rate, are as near perfection as anyone can get. Pos¬ sibly a few observers may be discouraged when they com¬ pare these slides with some of their own, with which they were previously quite satisfied. This is altogether wrong. The proper course is to realise how good slides can be, and then to determine to reach that standard. It is certain that the winners in the Champion Class did not turn out such work in the beginning. They had to learn what a fine slide was, and then they had to learn, not without trouble and failure, to produce it. W. L. F. W. The Week’s Meetings Societies will have their meetings announced here if the syllabus is sent to us at the beginning of the session or from time to time. Wednesday, October 18th. Accrington C.C. “ Objects and Places of Interest.” Mrs. Satterth waite. Birkenhead P.A. “ The Romance of the South Downs.” Col. C. Theodore Green. Bradford P.S. Cinematography Section Evening. Brighton and Hove C.C. “ Picture-Making by Photography.” S. Bridgen. Bristol P.S. “ The Doone Country.” R. H. Lawton. Borough Poly. P.S. “ Community Enlarging.” Directed by W. E. Goodchild. Camberwell C.C. Portraiture. Chorley P.S. “ Wayfarers in Austria.” , Miss Mercer. Croydon C.C. “ Experiences of a War Photographer.” H. Creighton Beckett. G.E. Mechanics Inst. P.S. “ Landscape Work.” H. W. Bennett. Ilford P.S. “ The Construction and Working of a Camera.” R. H. Bullen. Leicester and L.P.S. “ Compton Wynyates.” Smethwick and D.P.S. “ Colour in Lantern Slides.” J. W. Bloxham. South Suburban and C.P.S. ” Diffusion and Diffusers.” Rev. H. O. Fenton. Worcestershire C.C. Using the Enlarger. N. F. Pennington. Thursday, October 19th. Ashton-under-Lyne P.S. “ Lowestoft, Norwich, and the Broads.” T. Burton. Bury P.S. “ The Wild Life of the Isle of Man.” John Armitage. Coatbridge P.A. S.P.F. Slides. Greenock C.C. “ A Talk on Cameras.” Wm. Baxter. Hull P.S. “ The Bavarian Highlands.” S. Greenwood. Keighley and D.P.A. Discussion on Prints. Liverpool A. P.A. “ The Production of a Modern Newspaper.” J. Hawthorne. Newcastle and District A.C.A. Projection of Four Films. N. Middlesex P.S. “ The Sins of a Bromoilist.” Murry Barford. Oldham P.S. Friendly Talk on Negatives. C. Gartside. Richmond C.C. “ The Kingdom of the Ant.” F. Martin Duncan. Singer C.C. “ Paris and Normandy.” J. McFarlane. Sunderland P.A. “ Infred-red Photography.” Herbert Flower. Wimbledon C.C. “ Negative Making.” R. S. Beck. Woolwich P.S. Ch loro -bromide Papers. S. Bridgen. ■Friday, October 20th. Harrogate P.S. “ Good Negatives from Dud Negatives.” F. Millard. Hinckley and D.P.S. Members’ Prints and Slides. Leigh Lit. Society P.S. “ After-Treatment of Negatives.” W. Whitworth. Leigh-on-Sea C.C. Developing a Film. Loughborough P.S. “ The Church of St. Peter at Westminster.” W. A. Clark. Photomicrographic Society. “ Sedimentary Rocks.” C. H. Caffyn. Southend-on-Sea and D.P.S. “ Portraiture and Figure Work.” S. Bridgen. Saturday, October 21st. Forest Hill and D.P.S. Night Photography. Meet at Big Ben, 8 p.m. Hackney P.S. Outing : Redhill. N. Middlesex P.S. Night Outing. Monday, October 23rd. Ashington and Hirst P.C. Printing for Beginners. J. Taylor. Ashton-under-Lyne P.S. “ Methods of Ascertaining Correct Exposure.” Bexley Heath P.S. “ Staithes.” Miss M. Oliver. Monday, October 23rd ( contd .)• Bradford P.S. “ Prints, Slides, and Negatives.” E. Rawnsley. City of London and C.P.S. “ Negative Development.” J. E. Phillips. Derby P.S. M.C.P.F. Slides and Prints. Dewsbury P.S. Y.P.U. Plaque Prints. Erdington and D.P.S. Portraiture. Gravesend and D.P.S. Slide Making. W. F. O. Pollett. Leeds C.C. “ Pictorial Photography in the Field with a Camera.” H. Bairstow. Leeds University P.S. “ The Balearic Isles and Barcelona.” J. E. A. Titley. Luton and D.C.C. Cinematograph Films. H. Wormleighton. Newcastle (Staffs) and D.C.C. “ Exhibition Prints.” W. A. Watson. Oxford P.S. “ Record Photography in Parish Churches.” F. E. Howard. South London P.S. “ Three-colour Carbro.” F. W. Sharpe. Southport P.S. “ Birds.” G. B. Kearey. Wallasey A. P.S. Intensification and Reduction. F. H. Lancaster. Walsall P.S. “ With Rucksack and Camera in the Alps.” A. Hackett. Walthamstow and D.P.S. “ Various Types of Developers.” S. Goddard. Tuesday, October 24th. Bath and County C.C. “ The Channel Islands.” Beckenham P.S. Slide leaking. J. Dudley Johnston. Birmingham P.S. “ The Church of St. Peter at Westminster.” W. A. Clark. Cambridge P.C. “ Open your Eyes.” G. H. Dannatt. Hackney P.S. Chloro-Bromide Papers. S. I. Elfick. Leeds P.S. Bromoil. H. H. Featherstone. Liverpool A. P.A. Exposure and Development. T. P. Threlkeld. Monklands P.S. “ Optics for Camera Workers.” T. J. H. Young. Nelson C.C. “ By Motor Cycle to Land’s End.” F. Sellars.' Newcastle and Tyneside P.S. “ Crime Photography.” Peterborough P.S. “ The Breck District and Birds to be Seen There.” W. Farren. Portsmouth C.C. “ The Compleat Lantern-Slide Maker.” Rev. H. O. Fenton. Royal P.S. “ Sunny Majorca.” W. E. Hughes. St. Bride P.S. “ Unorthodox Methods.” T. D. Nunn. South Shields P.S. “ Composition.” Henry Stephenson. Stafford P.S. “ Picturesque Landscapes in Many Lands.” J. Dudley Johnston. Swindon and N. Wilts C.C. Developing Roll Films. Mr. Sparkes. Whitehall Cine Society. Members’ Evening — Holiday Films. Wednesday, October 25th. Birkenhead P.A. Carbro. E. A. Whitehead. Brighton and Hove C.C. “ A Little Holiday in France.” G. E. W. Herbert. Borough Poly. P.S. “ Glass Making : a Handicraft.” A. M. Powell. Camberwell C.C. Practical Studio Work. Chorley P.S. “ Portraiture by Artificial Light.” Croydon C.C. Demonstration of the Kodascope “ Eight.” Kodak, Ltd. G.E. Mechanics Inst. P.S. Practical Portraiture. Ilford P.S. Contact Printing : Gaslight and Bromide Paper. Miss E. F. Gadd. Kodak Works P.S. Studio Portraiture. R. Caton. Leicester and L.P.S. “ Work on the Negative.” T. H. Woodward. Smethwick and D.P.S. “ Scot and his Lowlands.” F. W. Pilditch. South Suburban and C.P.S. “ Camera in the Norwegian Fjords.” H. E. Isard. Worcestershire C.C. Members’ Evening. 1 5 354