was a pro photographer—
Until I turned amateur
BY DICK WEST United Press International
WASHINGTON—(UPI)—Recently I read an article which said that amateur photographers in this country took 2,650,000,000 snapshots in 1964.
I don't know who took the other 2,000,000,000 but I hope they turned out better than the 650,000,000 I took. That was a bad year for me.
I estimate that about 600,000-000 of my 1964 snapshots produced images that could be easily identified. Most of them were in focus, sharply outlined and clearly lighted.
In other words, they were dreadfully amateurish. I blame this on the camera I was using.
No Fashion Plate
It is one of those foolproof models that automatically adjust for distance, lighting, shutter speed and so forth. With a camera like that, you rarely get pictures of fashion magazine quality.
The next time you are in your dentist's waiting room, pick up a 1964 copy of Vogue or some
other fashion magazine and you will see what I mean.
You will find numerous photographs that are blurred, fussy, shadowy and distorted, with the subjects obscured in' a swirling mist or a watery haze.
In short, they have a professional touch.
Back in the days when I still had my old box camera, a lot of my pictures turned out like that. I would jiggle the camera, or forget to wind the film, or leave a finger over the lens or shoot into the sun.
This would create a foggy milkiness or a pearly frostiness and everyone would have a good time guessing who or what were in the pictures.
Change In Standards
Unfortunately, I was ahead of my time. In those days only pictures that were clear, sharp and recognizable were considered in the professional class.
When the advent of automatic cameras made it possible for amateurs to take clear, sharp pictures, the professionals naturally adopted a new technique. Otherwise,
they might have been mistaken for amateurs.
Many photographers turned to impressionism and in some cases abstraction. Which is exactly the sort of thing I used to do with my box camera.
I must have thrown away a dozen pictures of Aunt Hilda simply because they had zigzag streaks that made it appear she had just been struck by lightning.
Had I but had the foresight to save them I feel certain I could have won this year's prize for the best fashion photograph.
NIX NAGGERS
SAN FRANCISCO —(UPI)— Remain calm even in face of one of the greatest dangers to modern human life—the backseat nagger —warns the National Automobile Club, or you may lose control of your car.
Daily Kansan
Monday, December 5, 1966
--guest composer. He is executive vice president ad managing editor of Galaxy Music Corporation and Highgate Press.
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