The international photographer (Jan-Dec 1931)

Twelve The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER November, 1931 the "untouchables" were they in India. Sunday, Sept. 13. Maybe it's Saturday or Monday — I'll have to find out later. We are enroute to the opposite side of the Fiji Islands, to land at Latuna, and are traveling in a fairly calm sea. Gosh, but Al and I would like to stay here about two weeks on each of these Islands. Then we could get some wonderful pictures between rain storms as well as a better story to tell, but this is not OUR personal tour. We are both satisfied and happy, just the same. Talk about exchanges and shortchanges ! I went to a bank here to exchange some money and found the rate was $4.46 to the pound. In other words for $5 I got £1 2s. 3d., whereas the stores give us but £1 for $5 and no more; and 4s. for $1. They know the value of the American money. So you see we gain quite a bit by going to a bank. The prices here for wearing apparel are very reasonable compared to the States. Enroute to Lautaka Suva is on the Island of Viti Leru and is the capital of Fiji. It is a very clean town and the population as I already said is mostly Hindu. We are now on our way to the village of Lautaka, on the opposite side from Suva. I am sorry I can't send pictures of each place, but when in port I am kept pretty busy shooting pictures and can only develop them at sea, as we are too busy in each port. Then again it often happens the sea is too rough, and I can't fill the soup pot, for the rolling of the ship will splash it all over. In port we are always on the alert for good shots and don't want to miss any. They have kava ceremonies here and dances mostly of the war kind, in which only men participate. After we leave here I think we wiil go to the Islands of Bega — pronounced Benga — where the "firewalkers" are. I hope we get to see them and secure some good shots. Al and I made a trip into the interior of Suva and obtained some good pictures of the landscape as well as of twenty-five native women diving to the bottom of the river for clams. Some were up on the beach around a fire. Others were in the water with small baskets. They would dive to the bottom and fill their baskets with clams and come up to the top. They were swimming naked. The ones at the fire had on a thin skirt, which they put on after they came out of the water. From here we go to New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Brisbane, Sydney and Great Barrier Reef — a thousand miles along there. Here in the Fiji Islands I find the English people are very hospitable and it is easy to make their acquaintance. Al and I made the acquaintance of another Englishman connected with Morris Hedstrom. This company seems to run the islands, as it is agent for all shipping as well as native needs. It has stores and trading posts in all the small outlying islands of the South Seas. This Englishman put us in the way of some very interesting information and was of great service in helping us get good picture subjects, furnishing interpreters and native life ideas. We went to dinner with him several times. (Just had to stop and shoot some color pictures of the reef as we entered the harbor. Had to go up on the bridge and shoot 75 feet of color.) All the towns are inside on the island proper, but the entrance is between the reefs. In some places there is only 200 feet opening in the reefs for vessels to enter. We entered a few moments ago, while we wer-e grinding out that 75 feet of beautiful scenes. We are going up to Lautaka, about five miles up the coast, traveling between the mainland and the reefs outside. It is all very colorful; the reflection in the water also is beautiful and gives that also a colorful effect. All is calm, but we can see the waves pounding on the reefs outside about a quarter of a mile off the port side. The reefs are mostly coral and are of a very light green in comparison to the deep blue of the ocean. I just found out it's Sunday here and Saturday where you are. But I'll begin to think it's the first of April if they keep kidding about it much more, but when we get ashore I'll make it my business to find out what day it is. The customs inspector at Suva came aboard and politely lined us up on the after deck and had a doctor give us the onceover. We also had to give up all our souvenirs from Samoa, grass skirts and such to be taken ashore and fumigated, as they are taking extreme precautions to avoid the rhinocerous beetle from coming into the country, as this bug would cause devastation of the cocoanut crop of the whole island if allowed to become too numerous. I have been collecting a few more souvenirs for myself; some shell necklaces and war clubs and two small miniature canoes (outriggers). For most of these I gave an old shirt or an undershirt or a tie. "Changee for changee," they would shout at us from their canoes. The natives in the small villages have no need for money; in fact, they won't accept it. (Oh, if they would only do that in Hollywood what a grand and glorious feeling!) All they want is a few pieces ol wearing apparel which they wear until it falls off. Some wear coats that are in absolute rags, torn up the back, with the sleeves gone but for the lining. It was funny when I traded an old shirt for a grass skirt and a piece of tapa cloth to a big fat native. He was twice my size. He put the shirt on and it gave us a big laugh to see the shirt sleeves only coming to his elbows. He was so large across the chest he couldn't button it, but he was determined to get that shirt buttoned; he expanded his chest as though it would stretch the cloth. Bang! went a rip up the back. That seemed to satisfy him. He then buttoned up the shirt, grinned at us, and seemed greatly pleased with both the shirt and himself. He was so tall he couldn't tuck the shirttails inside the old torn rag pants he had on, but that made no difference to him; he simply left the tails outside. The English here are a very sociable group. One of them gave us letters of introduction and descriptive articles about the New Hebrides (that last word does get me!) and New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands, but we may be compelled to avoid those islands, as we have been informed they are at present full of malaria and are fever-ridden; but anyhow, if we can't go ashore, we can get an eyeful and perhaps some good subjects for the cameras and stills from the outside. In closing I will say I am gaining a knowledge of the world in general, an education in itself that no one can take away from me. And especially so. of photographic knowledge of the difficulties and experiences of photography in tropical countries by experimenting with various chemical mixtures along my own ideas, for the purpose of retaining on the negatives the subjects shot, due to the tropical conditions of the weather, heat, moisture and so on, and its detrimental effect on the negatives (stills and motion pictures). It all has been the best school of instruction possible to attain anywhere, "The school of (forced) experience"; forced to save and preserve that which already has been shot and cannot be taken over again, and thus far I have been blessed with success in my experiments along that line. Please give from Al and me to all the boys of Local 659 a big Hullo Fellows. British Electrical Company Enters 16MM. Talker Field THE British Thomson-Houston company will turn out a reproducing set for 16mm. film, which was demonstrated at the Radio Exhibition recently. "A machine has been designed and is in use for reducing full-sized film to 16 mm., also reducing the sound track in the process," stated an official of the company. "Printing is done from a 35mm. negative straight on to the miniature positives. We have designed the set for use in schools, by travelers and in the home. It weighs only 60 pounds, so that it is really portable. The dimensions are 8 by 18 by 24 inches. The price has not yet been fixed, but it will be well under £300." German Talkers Increasing A German talking picture company has been established under the name of "Deuton," Deutsche Tonfilm Production G.m.b.H. It is expected this company will produce three or four pictures for the next season. Some prominent director is sought to take charge of production.