Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1937)

January 13th, 1937 The AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER a 6 CINEMATOGRAPHER e A Winter Sunset. Ilford S.G. Pan., ij 50th sec., 7/4.5. WALKS with a Camera A slight Fall of Snow. S.G. Pan., ij2^th sec., //4-5, Alpha Filter. silhouette and muzzy-looking lights create many attractive compositions. Buildings, etc., which may be quite ugly by the ordinary light of day, frequently take on a distinct beauty of their own when seen looking through fog or dense mist. Twilight time is also attractive, when the first artificial lights appear and challenge the fading daylight. Colour filters are of no material use when taking this kind of photograph. This particularly applies to the photography of subjects in mist or fog if the characteristics of the mist are to be retained for pictorial purposes. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, winter’s charms are many and varied — they are also distinctive — and will add welcome variety to one's collection of photographs as a whole. values, but in many winter scenes colours are so subsidiary to tones that very often there is no appreciable loss attributable to exposing without a filter. Using a filter always means an increase in exposure, but it is better to give the correct exposure without a colour screen than to use one and so cause the expo¬ sure to be inadequate. When conditions allow one to incorporate a colour filter and still give the right exposure then it is usually best to do so, but beware of the deeper filters as they are likely to cut out more of the mist and atmosphere than is desirable. .Hoak-Fkost. iljord S.G. Pan., 1/10 th sec., f 18, Alpha Filter. Winter-time often produces skies of great beauty, usually indicative of some change in the weather. For this class of work a filter is needed for the best results, especially if the clouds are colourful. When snow falls there are countless opportunities for getting pictures. Coun¬ try dwellers certainly have an advan¬ tage over townsfolk inasmuch as they generally get heavier falls of snow and that it remains with them longer. However, so remarkable is the transfor¬ mation wrought on everyday scenes by only a slight fall that full advantage should be taken of the occasion, and quickly, too, for more often than not, particularly in towns, a rapid thaw sets in and the charm “ Lighting a little hour or two ” is gone. A blank white sky, photographically, will greatly detract from the most beautiful snowscape. Here, again, a filter is almost essential as it will help to give definite tone to the sky and thus emphasise the whiteness and brilliance of the snow. Even fog can be pictorial, semi 29 1 1