THE big 1941 POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY Picture Contest is judged, and wouldn’t you like to know who are the winners? Well, we cannot reveal their names yet. You'll just have to wait for the big December Salon Issue. But it surely will be worth waiting for.
Dear Sir: I want to congratulate you on the September cover of POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY. . . . If you prepare any reprints for framing (minus printing), please let me know. DR. F. W. D. TYDEMAN San Francisco, Calif. We appreciate the many expressions of satisfaction that the September kitten cover has brought forth.
S.T., Lawrence, Mass. I would like to adapt my 16 mm movie projector for showing 1600-ft. reels. Is this possible, and how should I go about it? ANSWER: Most projectors can be fitted with extension arms to accommodate the larger reels. Get in touch with the manufacturer of your machine regarding the feasibility and the cost of doing this.
There is no reason why all baby pictures need be smiling and pretty-pretty. Some of the best ones are caught when the young subject is ill at ease—and showing it plainly.
The Army is training many amateurs as cameramen and darkroom workers for its new photographic companies.
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Lieut. JACK DREW
THERE is a good chance for the advanced amateur photographer to make real use of his hobby and receive fine training in it in the Army. As more and more men are inducted into the service, the demand for photographers to serve their groups increases in proportion.
With a few good ideas and a friend or relative who will cooperate, you can turn out some really appealing pictures.
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J. GHISLAIN LOOTENS
ARE you disappointed in some of your pictures of people? Do these shots lack appeal? If so, the reason probably is simply the absence of dramatic quality. Almost without exception, the best pictures have an element of drama in them. They appeal to the imagination and hold it.
Hollywood Experiment: FIVE PHOTOGRAPHERS Portray ONE GIRL
Whose personality is reflected in a portrait? This test reveals that it usually is that of the photographer.
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Alex Evelove
THE question of how several different photographers would picture the same subject is a common topic of conversation among photofans, but seldom is anything done about it. The Samuel Goldwyn studio in Hollywood recently called in five top-notch photographers to try to find the answer.
Every cameraman wants to take outstanding pictures. This editor tells what makes the difference between a drab record shot and an unforgettable photograph.
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DAVENPORT STEWARD
TREASURED in the heart of every news photographer — and every other photographer, for that matter —is the wish to shoot something you’ll remember him by. It’s the dream that binds together the earnest photo department cub and the ace news cameraman, and guides the illustration photographer and the amateur who makes pictorial stuff as well.
YOU can take trick high-speed pictures like the ones on this page—without special flash equipment or even a fast shutter. The secret is to arrange your setup so the things you are shooting appear to be caught in mid-air. In reality, they are suspended from a sheet of glass or other invisible support, and don't move at all.
This famous artist is also an advanced amateur photographer. He has developed a novel way of using a camera to help him paint better pictures.
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THOMAS HART BENTON
VISITORS to my studio here in Kansas City often are surprised to learn that I use photography a great deal in making my paintings. If you should drop in some afternoon, you would find me working at my easel with a color transparency mounted in a viewing frame beside me.
Don't pose your subjects stiffly. Have them do something, then make the shot when they least expect it.
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RUS ARNOLD
"HOLD it, please!" Have you caught yourself saying that recently, when about to press the cable release? If so, you belong back in the days of wet plates, rapid rectilinear lenses, and skylight studios. If anything, the catchword of the successful modern photographer, instead of “Hold it, please!” is rapidly becoming “Action, please!”
By applying a technique - used in other fields, you can modernize your darkroom work easily with compressed air.
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STUART ALLAN
ONCE you’ve made use of compressed air in your photographic workroom, you’ll never be without it. It costs nothing, and you’ll find new ways of employing it continually. Among the more common uses a photographer can give this convenience are the following: Blowing dust and lint from negatives, camera and enlarger lenses and interiors, sheet-film holders, and filmpack adapters; drying surfaces which tend to retain surface moisture, such as glass plates in negative carriers, inaccessible parts of developing reels, etc.; spraying waxing solutions onto prints; and spraying moisture on the backs of prints in order to remove curl.
Prove your fish stories and hunting yarns with good pictures taken on the spot. Here are some worth-while hints.
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PAUL W. GARTNER
LONG after the venison is just a tasty memory, and the moths have all but carried away the mounted head, you can relive the exciting hunting adventure over and over again—in pictures. The more care you take with such photographs, the more you can regard them as miniature trophies of the hunt.
These tips will help you gel pictures of your service man that both you and he will be proud of in years to come.
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JOHN BLACK
SO he’s in the Army now—or maybe it’s the Navy, or the Marines. Everybody has someone in service these stirring days. Of course you will be taking pictures of him in uniform. There is no better way to record his part in the history-making events of today.
A wealth of picture material is at your disposal in the community school. Here's how to go after it for the best possible results.
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Godfrey Elliott
THE local school is an extremely fertile field for the amateur or free-lance photographer. In the average institution of learning you’ll find opportunities for sales of individual and group pictures, untold possibilities for the profitable exchange of services and favors, and a wide field for human interest shots of the kind which appeal to photo editors and salon judges alike.
Watch your step when you're out to buy photographic equipment. Ask questions, and take the advice of reputable dealers.
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Al Bernsohn
“LESS than 20 per cent of the amateur photographers buy equipment intelligently, in such a way as to get the most satisfaction out of each dollar,” a retailer said. “Well, why don’t you sell them what they do need?” I asked. “We try to, but they’re either dead sure they want something they don’t need or can’t use, or they think we’re trying to pull a fast one when we suggest different merchandise.
STORY-TELLING pictures like these are fun to take. If you can find subjects who are good actors, half the battle is won. All you have to do is pose them for good composition, and shoot when the expression is right.
Markets for 16 mm amateur color films are ready to open up. The technique of shooting to sell is described here in full.
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ROGER CAVANAUGH
SIXTEEN mm Kodachrome film has opened up exciting possibilities for the amateur movie shooter who wants to sell some of his work. Due to its grainless image, this film is well adapted to the making of 35 mm dupes in color and in black-and-white with little or no loss of definition.
Almost in sight of our shores, this colorful island offers you a grand time with your camera. But plan your shots before you start.
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WORRELL RUST
THE very name of Cuba brings to mind a host of mental images— bright, tropical color, the romance of the Spanish Main, and the island republic’s fight for freedom. But these picturesque thoughts are not too easy to get into your pictures.
Modern three-dimensional photography creates an illusion of depth without using the old-fashioned stereoscope.
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ROBERT B. KONIKOW
STEREOSCOPIC photography is not new. It was extremely popular along about the turn of the century, when an old-fashioned viewer and a box of cards was standard equipment in grandma’s parlor. But modern three-dimensional pictures are so much better than those early views that they will sweep you off your feet.
With this easy-to-make lighting unit, you're ready for either flash or flood in a jiffy. You can build it in an hour for a few cents.
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ROBERT SCOTT
WHETHER you’re a beginner in flash photography or an old-timer, you certainly can make use of a simple reflector unit which affords flexibility as well as independence of battery cases or other usual sources of current. If you own one ordinary floodlight reflector—and you probably do—it can be adapted for use with flashbulbs quickly and easily.
monthly list of valuable kinks and hints for the amateur POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY will pay $3.00 for each one accepted.
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THERE are certain times when you must keep track of the seconds or minutes in the darkroom, but cannot use any light whatsoever. For instance, in some emergency you might have to develop panchromatic film in open tanks or trays. Unless you happen to have an audible timer, a real problem presents itself.
The service rendered on this page is free to our readers. Send your prints with technical data to POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY, 608 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, III. We regret that we cannot criticize prints by mail. Send self-addressed and stamped envelope for return.
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R D., Chula Vista, Calif.—Exposure and development seem to have been just right for this seashore picture. There is good detail in the breaking waves and the back-lighted rocks.Your subject, the surf-caster, appears sharply black in silhouette.
DESIGNED FOR USE both by day and by night, the new Brownie Reflex, Synchro Model, has just been announced by the Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y. Similar to the previous model, which it supersedes, the new camera has a removable Brownie Flasholder unit which accommodates Speed Midget Photoflash lamps and which has a bulb ejector on its bayonet socket.
THE first splitup in the working relationships of the fellows who have worked on the New York staff of Wide World Photos occurred when the syndicate was sold by the New York Times to the Associated Press. Five of them, Sam Falk, George Alexanderson, Ernie Sisto, Benny Greenhouse, and Arthur Brower, stayed with the Times; the others, Carl Nesensohn, Bob Wands, Bob Kradin, Matty Zimmerman, and Kenneth Lucas, found new quarters in the Associated Press building.
WHEREVER you go on your winter vacation, don’t limit your photography to taking daytime pictures. There are many fine opportunities for night shots that are easy to get with little extra equipment. A solid tripod is one of the handiest accessories for taking pictures after dark, and you can buy compact, folding ones that are light and take up next to no room at all in your luggage.
TO make our home movies more interesting, especially to guests who are not members of the family, most of us try to add a comic scene or two. Even if the picture is nothing more elaborate than a record of Jimmy’s birthday party or an afternoon on the beach, we realize that it will make better fare if a laugh is injected here and there.
THE first scene of every movie sequence should create interest and focus the audience’s attention upon what is to come. Here are a half dozen clever tricks that you can use to get this effect. 1. Make a closeup of an envelope addressed to you, bearing the postmark of the place where the movies were made.
HERE is a titling outfit that is as near foolproof as possible, easy and rapid to use, and built so it can be stored away and still will be in perfect alignment when it is set up again.It makes preparing titles much simpler than when using small titlers, for the originals can be made as big as the projected image.
HAVE you ever invited guests in for an evening of home movies and then wondered whether they had already seen the reels that you planned on showing? I solved this problem by making up a movie guest book, which serves as an itemized index of my film file and a list of the guests who have seen each reel.
Since the last issue of POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY went to press, the following clubs have written in to request an exchange of ideas and correspondence with other organizations: Riis Park Camera Club, Mons Monson, Sec., 2205 N. Nagle Ave., Chicago, 111.
A GENERAL call for photographers, especially those skilled in wet-plate, process, and general commercial work, and photographic mapping, is being issued by the United States Civil Service Commission, Washington, D. C. A general register of experienced photographers for both permanent and temporary employment in various defense and regular government agencies is being set up by the Commission.
WAXED cardboard milk containers can be used for storing developer stock solutions. If you do not do a great deal of work, you will find this method especially economical. Select only those containers which are well waxed and have not been dented.
Kenneth F. Marsh, Detroit, Mich., ran into trouble taking a baby picture. His subject cried, but he went ahead and got this fine shot. He used a 2¼x2¼ Korelle Reflex II with 3" f 2.9 Schneider Radionar lens, with the aid of an Ideal No. 1 portrait attachment.
THE projection of color slides is one of the most entertaining phases of photography, but it’s more enjoyable both for you and for other members of the audience when the shots follow one another in some sort of orderly sequence. In getting them into the right sequence, it’s a lot easier when you can view a great many at one time.
MOST amateur photographers are familiar to some extent with the idea of shooting a group of pictures on a given subject and binding them into a book. This idea has great possibilities in the fields of child photography and commercial sales promotion, and either application is wide open to the amateur.
HAVING made a number of Kodachromes of the 2¼x3¼" size, the problem arose of displaying them in an interesting manner other than projecting them on a screen, making them into a lampshade, or fitting them with light-boxes for display. The occasion of my mother’s birthday gave me an idea which has proven very novel and appealing.
THE general utility of a footswitch in photographic work already has been proven beyond question. Here’s an improved model, which costs only a few cents to make. One of its outstanding features is a two-way action designed to turn off the safelight at the same time the enlarger or printer is turned on.
High-Speed Photography Aids in Metal-Cutting Tests
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THANKS to the use of fast film and a camera having a high-speed shutter, engineers now are able to see just what takes place when metal gives way at the cutting face of a machine tool. In recent tests to determine the proper cutting angles for various metals, General Electric engineers made use of a special camera which caught every detail of the cutting action, magnified it, and slowed the motion down to 1/60 of normal speed.
USERS of cameras having bellows which can be extended beyond the limits required for normal work are always troubled with calculating the proper exposue when an extended bellows draw is used. Many kinds of charts, tables, and slide-rule devices have been offered for this purpose, but for several years I have employed a method which involves only the simplest kind of arithmetic.
GUESS again if you think that the accompanying picture was taken by moonlight. Actually, the photographer made his exposure in late afternoon on a brilliant April day. A red filter over the lens caused the moonlight effect. For photo fans who don’t mind forsaking a warm bed at midnight, real moonlight pictures are no big problem.
IT is a simple matter to preserve your favorite developing formulas, exposure tables, and other data, and keep them protected from acid, dirt, and just plain wear and tear. You can do it by laminating them between sheets of celluloid or film.
YOU don’t need a high-speed shutter to take action pictures. Even the humblest box camera will get reasonably sharp shots of moving objects, if they are caught from the right angle. Don’t pass up moving subjects if your shutter isn’t fast. Instead, look for an angle from which you can get good pictures of them.
PHOTOGRAPHING ANIMALS, by W. Suschitzky, A.R.P.S. Published by The Studio Publications, Inc. Case bound, 7½x10, 80 pages, illustrated, $3.50. Most camera owners delight in photographing pets and other domestic animals, or in taking pictures at the zoo.
UNDOUBTEDLY, many photographers make it a practice to siphon solutions out of bottles just as I do. When you’re not in a rush, this method is very handy, for it enables you to start the siphon going and then go on about other work in the darkroom.
CAMERA fans throughout the country have been enthusiastic in their reception of the Second POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY Traveling Salon, which is now being exhibited. There are 100 excellent black-and-white prints and four color prints in the collection.
MANY amateurs have had the experience of losing a thermometer through the neck of a deep bottle and then having to empty the bottle to retrieve the thermometer. This mishap can be avoided very easily. Take a paper clip and bend it into the shape of an S. Fasten one end of the S to the upper end of the thermometer by means of transparent waterproof tape, using several turns of the latter to make a permanent joint.
MOST photographers know that diffused light is more satisfactory than that from a bare flood bulb, even if the latter is used in a good reflector. This is especially true in portraiture. But many fail to take advantage of this fact because of the trouble involved in making a diffusion screen out of tracing paper.
PHOTOGRAPHY is a strange mixture of science and craft—definitely an art in the broader meaning of that word. It is almost medieval in this respect, for in no other field since the days of the alchemists has science, skill, theory, superstition, and absurdity been blended into such a successful whole.