Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1933)

November 8th, 1933 Ihi AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER p 6 CINEMATOGRAPHER o P ictorial Analysis Every week one of the pictures reproduced on an art page will be analysed in detail for the benefit of readers of the paper who are seeking to improve their pictorial work. Cf WIND AND TIDE/’ by F. J. Mortimer. \S is more or less obviously natural when such a subject as this comes to be dealt with, the foreground has been chosen as that part of the picture in which the main attraction is to lie, and, consequently, it is displayed at greater than normal length. Such a disposition is appropriate for the character of the scene, which could scarcely be other¬ wise treated and retain the same value of effect, and it is noteworthy inasmuch as no extraordinary height of viewpoint was adopted, but it was taken from a nor¬ mal level. Length of Foreground. Seen from a height, a subject does present an excess of the nor¬ mal proportion of foreground, but it is accompanied, almost invariably, with a certain measure of distortion , and very seldom displays a real sense of proximity. Properly employed, such viewpoints may provide satisfactory pictures of a limited class, but, as in a case like this, a high standpoint cannot be used, for the trans¬ mission of the effect depends upon a feeling of closeness to the subject content. The whole effect — the swirl and rush of the waters, the impression of majesty and force, and latent power, the splash of uprising and windblown foam, and the light reflected from it — rests upon the fact that it is seen at the closest of quarters, and, seeing that all the interest lies at hand, it was inevitable both that the subject should be treated as a foreground subject, as well as taken from an ordinary level. There is the possibility that the line of sight was somewhat depressed, but there is nothing in the subject that would give rise to a suggestion of distortion on this account, and the exaggeration of perspective that would follow a higher viewpoint is carefully avoided. As a matter of fact, there is such a feeling of rightness in the whole thing^s could only come from knowing just what is wanted and the way to secure it. The Fruit of Experience. Knowledge such as this can only be obtained from a very considerable experience. Not only must the way the waves move be judged instinctively, but the precise moment when the rush of foam will occur must be fore¬ seen with accuracy, and the exposure made just at that moment. The ability to seize this moment in the infinitesimal fraction of time when it happens can only come from in¬ numerable previous attempts, some of which have been equally successful, but the majority, if not exactly failures, would scarcely come up to the standard that Mortimer has set for himself. Rendering of the sea is a subject to which he has devoted very con¬ siderable attention, and his success affords an instance of the value of specialisation. Otherwise, except by the perpe¬ tration of a tremendous fluke, it would be a sheer impossibility for a picture such as the example under discussion to be produced, for both in its effect and in its arrangement it is extra¬ ordinarily complete. In the latter respect, reference to the sketch will disclose a diagonal formation, some¬ what upon the lines of the composition employed, in the nude study reviewed last week, and, as in that case, this line is strengthened by the opposition of lines of contrary direction on each side. Here, the main line is made up of the line of foam running from near the bottom left-hand corner to the rock near the top right. It culminates in the splash of foam (1) in that vicinity, which also acquires signi¬ ficance from the con¬ trast of extremes of tone, so much so that there the centre of interest lies. Its posi¬ tion, too, is strong, and the lines of op¬ position, below, are visible in the minor lines of foam stretching from the right-hand side, while, above, they are afforded by the horizontal lines of the waves and distant headland. A Question of Balance. In the ordinary way, that mass of dark so near the edge on the right would tend to throw the attraction too near that margin, but the balancing note of the headland on the other side restores the pictorial equilibrium, aided, of course, by the occurrence of the main light of the great splash of foam. As a composition, it hangs together very well, and this, in conjunction with technique of a high quality, enables the aesthetic content to be thoroughly well expressed. The motive is self-evident, and, lest its simplicity should tend to invite the opinion that such work does not present any difficulty, just a trial or so at a similar sort of subject is recommended, when such an opinion will speedily be revised. “ Mentor.” 1 is 433