Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1934)

the amateur PHOTOGRAPHER <®5) CINEMATOGRAPHER EDITOR F.J. MORTIMER CONSULTING EDITOR R.CH1LD BAYLEY WEDNESDAY, May 2nd, 1934. INCORPORATING "THE NEW PHOTOGRAPHER* "FOCUS" THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS" &. "PHOTOGRAPHY" Subscription Raffs: United Kingdom 1/A Csnuda/fti. Other Ouinlriesl9/Spertuw.post/ne fmmthepuhi'shers honetrtmse Stamford Street /'nndnn A F l THE annual exhibition of pic¬ torial photography by Colonial and Overseas readers of The Amateur Photo¬ grapher opens to-morrow at the house of the Royal Photographic Society, 35, Russell Square, London, W.C. The pictures on view include the prize-winners in “ The A.P.” Over¬ seas Competition, and a selection of others by readers of this paper. Again this year the prints exhibit in a very definite manner character¬ istics peculiar to their places of origin, due possibly in some cases to local scenery and costumes, but there is no doubt that the results on view — which are only a propor¬ tion of the number submitted — indicate a very healthy interest in pictorial photography in all parts of the Empire. The prints in many cases reach a very high standard of merit. The exhibition remains open until the end of the month. Admission is free. Polite Competition. We seem to remember nervous secretaries of societies in the old days who, if a trade demonstration were projected, took excessive care to ensure that only one firm was represented on the one evening. But the Royal Photographic Society took under its wing the other evening no fewer than ten rival firms, and asked them one after another to demonstrate their equip¬ ment, yet no murder was done. Each managed, in a spirit of graceful compliment to the others, to suggest that his own wares were the best in the world, and no bones were broken, and no eyes incapacitated for future focussing. One demon¬ strator of a new camera casually snapped the chairman in his chair, just to show how easily it was done. Copyright — Registered as a Newspaper for transmission in the U.K. London Landscapes (No. 23). A Springtime snapshot on the Thames. Vol. LXXVII. No. 2373. and he was immediately followed by another who snapped the entire audience. One demonstrator of a lighting unit even went farther. He wanted to show how kind his lamps were to bald heads. “ With the ordinary type of lighting the light is about 4 ft. from the sitter’s head, and 9 ft. from his boots, which, if you square it, illuminates his head five times more than his footwear. Now, will any bald-headed member of the audience come forward, just to show how soft this lighting is?” And, sure enough, such is the spirit of self-immolation in photographic assemblies, there was quite a com¬ petition for the place of victim. Diminutives. Talking of demonstrations, a gen¬ tleman connected with a camera manufacturing house managed to introduce some very effective play. He was showing his firm's miniature camera, and he appeared before the audience without any instrument, or any apparent protuberances about his person. Then, from first one pocket and then another, from one recess of his clothing and then another, he produced miniature cameras until one lost count of them. They mounted up in a little heap on the table in front of him, like the properties of a conjuror, coming from nowhere. And when they had all been divulged, he looked, not deflated at all, but the same smart, tailor-cut person as before. Back to Nature. ft is refreshing to see nowadays a brilliantly successful film that does not rely on complicated scen¬ ario, sex appeal or lavish production. Such a film has just been released and is now being shown in London at the New Cjaflery. It is called 393 5