Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1937)

Tm AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER p 6 CINEMATOGRAPHER a December 22nd, 1937 Readers9 Hints. Tips and Gadgets HEATING THE DARK-ROOM. O heat a dark-room without having too much “ unsafe ” light about has always been somewhat of a problem. Where electricity is available a good heating system can be obtained by using a bowl fire, the bowl facing upwards and being completely covered by a circular tin. A fairly deep toffee-tin is excellent for the purpose, but it must be scraped clean of all decoration or the paint will smell abominably when heated. It should be big enough to sit comfortably just inside the rim of the bowl. A row of holes at the top and bottom will provide enough ventilation, and the fitting of a handle of some material that can be touched when the tin is hot completes the job. Leslie Speller. A THREE-LAMP ANY amateurs must have noticed that the commercial lighting sets have collapsible stands which are not very different in con¬ struction from an ordinary music-stand as used by violinists. If a music-stand is available — and a second-hand one can often be picked up for a few shillings — it can quite readily be converted into a stand for three Photoflood lamps. The lower sketch shows the musicrest open ; as all the joints are made by rivets it will fold if the corners G and H are pushed upwards. The conversion is carried out by cutting through strips A C and B D at C and D respectively, as indicated by the dotted lines. For this an ordinary hacksaw is used. The heads of the rivets at A and B are filed away, and the rivets removed ; strips A C and B D are then discarded and strips A E and F B swung upwards as indicated by the arrows, bringing the ends A and B together. To these a batten lamp-holder is attached by 4 BA or Meccano bolts as indicated in the upper drawing, the holes from which the rivets have been withdrawn being used. For the two lower lamps, 4 BA clear¬ ance holes are drilled as shown at O, P, Q and R, the spacing of each pair of holes being that required for the lamp-holders, which are used as templates in marking out the positions of the holes. The three batten holders are then wired to a common plug for connection to the household supply, and three Kodaflectors are fitted, these being held in the usual manner by shade-rings. Even when fully extended the stand is rather lower than some of those sold for portraiture, but as the majority of indoor portraits and groups consist of sitting figures, this is not so important as it seems. With my own stand the highest bulb is 5 ft. 10 in. from the floor, which is high enough for most purposes, and, after all, the stand can be put on a stool, a chair, or a table if greater height is really essential. LIGHTING UNIT. The reflectors mentioned should not be replaced by any of much greater weight, or the stand will not be stable when the bank of lights is swung to point downwards a little ; but if made according to the description given it will be found perfectly steady. A useful point is that provided the reflectors are first removed the complete stand will still fold into a very small compass. Ivor Cotton. FRAMING “ A.P.” PICTURES. HERE must be many busy folk who, like myself, buy “ The A.P.” every week and much appreciate the art pages. I find these much more enjoyable mounted in a black frame in the follow¬ ing simple manner, the chief advantages of which are the ready interchangeability of pictures and its simple con¬ struction from cheap materials. The frame, size 10x13 in, approxi¬ mately, is constructed very effectively from old gilt lining £ x £ in., or £-in. rounded cross-section, blacked with quick-drying enamel. A sheet of Bristol board is cut to fit frame and an aperture size 6.9 X 9.2 in. cut with a sharp knife. (These dimen¬ sions allow the title to show). Two strips of paper, of lengths 1 1 in. and 8 in. and width ij in., are folded lengthwise and carefully gummed down to the one side and lower edge of the aperture, so that a corner socket is formed to hold the art page symmetrically. The back consists of a closely-fitting sheet of card, cut with overall dimen¬ sions i/ioth in. greater than the glass. Sheet glass, the correct size, if not already in the old frame, may be pur¬ chased to size for a few pence. Two eyehooks are required to be screwed into the back of the frame about 3J in. down, and to these a suitable length of thick white string is attached for suspension. H. A. Leyton, 1 4 695