Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1934)

January 3rd, 1934 Thi amateur photographer p 6 CINEMATOGRAPHER a ROST SMALLWOOD. Flowers Last summer's Yellow Daisies. Frost flowers in bright sunlight. of leaves or branches in focus, and bulb or lime exposures will have to be given, as the light, although it may seem fairly bright, will be weak and yellow. If there is no sun, or if you have to go to business early, you can get to work in a very dim light ; stop down well (fine focussing is not too easy in such a light, and a lighted candle placed near your subject to focus on will entirely ruin it) and let off a small charge of flashpowder well to the side of the subject. About two-thirds or three-fourths of the amount of flashpowder recommended for the distance and stop you are using will be sufficient, but take care the flashpowder is not too near the subject, or the draught set up by its discharge may cause a slight movement in the flowers before you can close the lens. The exposure will prob¬ ably be about half a minute at f/1'6, plus the flashlight, on a plate or film of average speed, or much less if a fast panchromatic film is used. When the exposures have been made, beware of bringing the camera and slides immediately into a very warm room from the frosty outdoor air, or some¬ thing may crack ; possibly a plate in a slide, if it happens to be tightly fixed, or even the lens itself may be in danger. ADMIRING the fairy-like effect of hoar-frost transforming /A the faded flowers of last summer into things of beauty once more, and surrounding with dainty white borders the leaves still left in the garden, one often wishes these effects could be fixed and the frosty flowers brought indoors for table decorations. If this is impossible, however, they can be pre¬ served by photography, although some people would perhaps think that 8 o’clock or earlier on a winter morning would hardly be an opportune time to bring out a camera. Yet the ideal morning for the task is a rather foggy one, with the sun just struggling through to give good lights and shadows, because in the damp, foggy air there will be more hoar-frost, there will be no wind to prevent time exposures being given, and probably an undesirable background will be softened into insignificance. Of course, as the sun becomes more in evidence, both frost and fog will probably soon vanish, and there is little time for the work ; so it is well to have reconnoitred beforehand, fixed upon the likely subjects, and got the camera ready. The subjects should therefore be near home, in fact, one’s own garden, however small, is often the best hunting-ground. Occasionally a sudden burst of bright sunshine will give unexpected and wonderful effects. If the flowers have not a fairly dark natural, background, it may be advisable to hang up behind them, preferably a little distance away from them, a dark curtain of some kind, or perhaps a tablecloth may -do. As it is necessary to work at close quarters, the lens will have to be stopped down to f/n or f/16 to get a good number 1 1 5