AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER and PHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS
published in London
COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION
The photography magazine "Amateur Photographer" - London, each year offered a Special
prize for the best collection of pictorial photographs from a Colonial Photographic Society.
Colonial Photographic competition was contested
by all the leading Clubs throughout the British Dominions.
- 1909 1st place Cape Town Photographic Society
- 1911 1st place Photographic Society of New South Wales
- 1912 1st place Photographic Society of New South Wales
- 1913 1st place Photographic Society of New South Wales
- 1914 1st place Pictorial Photographers Society, Melbourne
- 1916 1st place Photographic Society of New South Wales
- 1917 1st place Photographic Society of New South Wales
- 1918 1st place Photographic Society of New South Wales
- 1919 1st place Photographic Society of New South Wales
- 1920 1st place Photographic Society of New South Wales
- 1921 1st place Photographic Society of New South Wales
- 1924 1st place Melbourne Camera Club
- 1925 1st place The Sydney Camera Circle
- 1927 1st place Melbourne Camera Club
- 1928 1st place Melbourne Camera Club
- 1929 1st place Dunedin Camera Club
- 1930 1st place Johannesburg Photographic Society
- 1931 1st place Johannesburg Photographic Society
- 1932 1st place Port Elizabeth Amateur Photographic Society
- 1933 1st place Johannesburg Photographic Society
- 1938 1st place Photographic Society of India
- 1942 1st place Johannesburg Photographic Society
- 1943 1st place Adelaide Camera Club
- 1949 1st place Melbourne Camera Club
- 1951 1st place Johannesburg Photographic Society
- 1952 1st place Johannesburg Photographic Society
- 1953 1st place Johannesburg Photographic Society
- 1954 1st place Johannesburg Photographic Society
- 1955 1st place Pretoria Photographic Society
AUSTRALIA
INTER-COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITIONS
Wednesday 4th March 1896
Page 5 - Evening News (Sydney NSW)
HOBART (Tasmania), Wednesday, The Inter-colonial Competition Exhibition of the Northern Tasmanian Camera Club was opened at Launceston yesterday. There are over 1300 pictures on view. Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and New Zealand are strongly represented.
A feature of the exhibition was the tele-photographic pictures, taken at from three-quarters of a mile to five miles distance. The photo-mirographs were also particularly interesting, being chiefly reproductions of low forms of vegetable life.
The prize takers from New South Wales were Mr C. Robins, Judge Docker and Mr E.A. Bradford.
The Photographic Society of New South Wales, with a very fine frame of silver prints, won the club prize.
Sir Lambert Dobson, Chief Justice of Tasmania, was among the prize takers.
ANNUAL OVERSEAS COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION and EXHIBITION
ORGANIZED BY THE
AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER JOURNAL
LONDON
1912
PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES: |
|||||||
| H.E. Cartright Sydney |
Norman C. Deck Sydney |
H.C. Dreyer Sydney |
C. Luscombe Newman Sydney |
J.S. Stening Sydney |
Gerald E. Jones New Zealand |
E.H.W. Williams | R.V. Simpson | A. Hurst |
Monday 28th July 1913
Page 5 - Evening News (Sydney NSW)
22nd August 1913
Page 442 - Australasian photo-review
Tuesday 29th July 1913
Page 4 - Goulburn Evening Penny Post (NSW) Page 5 - Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate (NSW)
Page 7 - Bendigo Advertiser (Vic) Page 5 - Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tasmania)
Page 5 - The Mercury (Hobart, TAS) Page 5 - Kalgoorlie Miner (Western Australia)
Page 5 - Queensland Times (Ipswich) (QLD) Page 10 - The Advertiser (Adelaide, South Australia)
Page 5 - Northern Star (Lismore, NSW) Page 7 - Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Queensland)
Page 7 - The West Australian (Perth, WA) Page 5 - Daily Post (Hobart, Tasmania)
Wednesday 30th July 1913
Page 4 - Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Queensland)
Saturday 2nd August 1913
Page 22 - The Capricornian (Rockhampton, Queensland)
PHOTOGRAPHY - A NEW SOUTH WALES SUCCESS - HIGH AVERAGE OF WORK
LONDON, 27th July 1913
It is announced that the Photographic Society of New South Wales has won the competition for amateur photographers. In making his award the adjudicator stated that the collective entry shows a great advance and reaches a notably high average.
Following were the individual awards:
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
||||||
| Norman C. Deck New South Wales |
Harold Cazneaux New South Wales |
Gerald E. Jones, New Zealand |
J.S. Stening New South Wales |
H.C. Dreyer New South Wales |
C.L. Newman New South Wales |
J.W. Hunter New South Wales |
J. Williams, Melbourne |
left to right NORMAN C. DECK, HAROLD CAZNEAUX, J.S. STENING
Tuesday 29th July 1913
Page 2 - The Border Morning Mail and Riverina Times (Albury, NSW)
CABLEGRAMS - (PER REUTER)
ALBURY'S SUCCESS IN LONDON IN PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION
MR J.W. HUNTER AWARDED A BRONZE PLAQUE
LONDON, Monday
The awards in the fifth competition organized by the "Amateur Photographer" for pictorial photographers, in the British Colonies, are announced. The Photographic Society of New South Wales won the competition for the best collective exhibit, sent by a colonial society. The editor states that the collective entry shows a great advance and reaches a notably high average.
The competitions are held annually by the "Amateur Photographer" journal, of 52 Long Acre, London, W.C. and are the biggest competitions for amateurs held in the world. Competitive pictures are sent from all the British overseas dominions and dependencies. Mr J.W. Hunter, of Albury, who has secured the distinction of being awarded a bronze plaque, sent two studies. One is entitled "The Deserters", showing a study of four sheep with a background of marshy country. This picture was snapped at Mr Breadmore's Hawksview Estate. The other is entitled "A Dusty Road" and depicts a mob of sheep on a bend of the Howlong road. Both are typical Australian pictures and give true conceptions of local conditions, "holding as 'twere the mirror up to nature". Most probably the award has been made for "The Deserters", which is a delightful piece of work. The effort is produced by the manner in which the sun strikes the sheep. The picture is taken against the sun and shows fine detail in the shadows. Each picture was taken with an ordinary Kodak camera and was enlarged up to 15in. x 12in. Doubtless very many people will to-day seek a view of copies of the pictures, one of which has brought Mr Hunter such fame.
Tuesday 29th July 1913
Page 4 - Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW)
Tuesday 29th July 1913
Page 7 - The Register (Adelaide, SA)
Wednesday 30th July 1913
Page 2 - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW)
Wednesday 6th August 1913
Page 47 - Sydney Mail (NSW)
PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITIONS
London, Sunday Evening
The results of the Royal Photographic Society's competition, have been made known. The Photographic Society of New South Wales won the amateur photographs competitions. The adjudicator states that the collective entry shows a great advance and reaches a notably high average.
This competition is held once a year in London and colonial societies are invited to compete. It may be interesting to readers to know that the Photographic Society of New South Wales has more than held its own by winning the competition for three years running. This is a splendid record, especially when it is taken into consideration that the entry embraces societies from India, Canada, New Zealand, Africa. The competition and exhibition are held by the proprietors of the London "Amateur Photographer and Photographic News". The journal with the account of the competition and reproductions of some of the winning pictures should reach us in Australia in about five to six weeks time. In the mean time the Photographic Society is catering for new members. They may be just beginners in photography; it makes no difference to their admission, but the advantages are ten fold. Not only are the ambitious brought in touch with the best work for exhibition purposes, but they receive instruction from the advanced members of the society. These advanced members are those who have helped the society to win that big competition for three consecutive years. That speaks for itself and I advise any amateur who contemplates joining a photographic society to do so at once. If distance prohibits joining the Photographic Society of New South Wales in Sydney, then get in touch with the one nearest to you. The subscription on joining is generally £1/1s per year. Some societies are charging only 10s 6d per year. The amount may be ascertained upon writing to the secretary of the society you desire to join.
1914
22nd September 1914
Volume 21 Number 9 - Page 488 - The Australasian Photographic Review
THE AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER COLONIAL COMPETITION AND EXHIBITION
In its issue of the 27th July last “The Amateur Photographer”, London, says: “The sixth Colonial Competition organized by “The Amateur Photographer and P.N." has brought a great number of excellent pictures to Long Acre from all parts of the world, and it is interesting to note that our go-ahead friends in Australia still hold their own and show continued progress. This year the special award for a Collective Exhibit from an overseas photographic society goes to the Pictorial Photographers Society, Melbourne. Their collection of prints reaches a high standard.
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
|||||||||
| J. Williams Melbourne |
Gerald E. Jones New Zealand |
W. Howieson Melbourne |
J.B. Hayles Melbourne |
J.W. Hunter Albury, New South Wales |
J. Temple Stephens Melbourne |
Alfred Wilkinson South Australia |
W.J. Chapman Victoria |
R.R. Baldrey New Zealand |
H. Davidson New Zealand |
R.V. Simpson New South Wales |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
||||||||||
| F.J. Parker Perth, Western Australia |
B. Schleicher New South Wales |
Charles Seymour Melbourne |
E.C. Joshua Melbourne |
M.F. Nichols Tasmania |
C.G. Ingall New Zealand |
C.J. Merfield Melbourne |
F. Dutton Melbourne |
H.E. Kennedy Melbourne |
O.H. Coulson Melbourne |
C.J. Johnson Melbourne |
1915
SILVER PLAQUE: |
BRONZE PLAQUE: |
|
| Mr. Alfred Wilkinson PRESIDENT Adelaide Camera Club |
Mr. I.R. Elliott HON.SECRETARY Northern Tasmanian Camera Club |
|
1916
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
|||||||||||
| Harold Cazneaux | W.S. White | Norman C. Deck | J. Stening | C.W. Bostock | M. Mackinnon | E.N. Poole | W.F. Baldwin | J.E. Paton | C.E. Wakeford | J.C. Elliott | A. Ford | C.L. Narman | R.G. Boggis |
15th October 1916
Page 533 - Australasian photo-review
THE “AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER” COLONIAL SHOW
In other words, the Exhibition of Pictorial Photography by colonial workers, on view at the Little Gallery, at the home of the "Amateur Photographer" (Long Acre, W.C.). I have just spent a most enjoyable hour among these pictures. I began making what I intended to be a careful and critical selection of the noteworthy pictures, but I soon found that there was very little selection in the process. Because I discovered that, I was including very nearly every one. These Colonial Shows always have, for me, a very special attraction, one feels a kind of long arm stretched to reach the hands of friends and then again in many ways one seems to be seeing something which looks very like English scenery on a large scale. If one casts back one’s memory a decade or so, and then brings these pictures “in amongst”, they would do more than hold their own bravely. Though greatly tempted to refer to a number of the Australasian contributors to this show, I feel any remarks for which space could here be found would be very inadequate to the occasion. But may I make just one quite general criticism or hint, viz., that I notice some thing like a tendency to rather over do the sky and cloud part of the pictures. This is one of the commonest points of weakness in very many otherwise conspicuously successful workers.
15th October 1916
Page 555 - Australasian photo-review
THE “AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER” COLONIAL COMPETITION
We congratulate the Photographic Society of New South Wales in having once more succeeded in winning the special prize, and the Pictorial Workers Society of Melbourne, a picture awarded by the editor for collections of photographs submitted to The Amateur Photographer, London.
Wednesday 1st June 1921
Page 26 - Harringtons Photographic Journal
COLONIAL COMPETITIONS OF "THE AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER AND PHOTOGRAPHY" AWARDS in the 1920 COMPETITION
"The Amateur Photographer and Photography" reports that entries in the above competition were considerably in excess of those of the previous year and the quality of the work reached a very high standard. "We are particularly glad to note", says "The Amateur Photographer", that the workers who entered in this competition have borne in mind our suggestion given on previous occasions and confined themselves very largely to pictorial photography depicting subjects which may be termed "local"; and we have, therefore, an opportunity of seeing photographs of the scenery and other subjects peculiar to the place of their origin. For this reason the collection is an extremely interesting one and will afford a very attractive exhibition.
The Australian workers have again sent the strongest series of pictures. The The Sydney Camera Circle, which contains the leading pictorial workers of the Photographic Society of New South Wales, are a particularly strong lot and include a considerable number of workers whose pictures have appeared in the London Salon. The collection of pictures sent by the The Sydney Camera Circle for this competition formed a special exhibit at the recent Scottish National Salon at Dundee.
The awards in the competition are as follows:
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
||||||||||||
| Mrs A.G. Milson Sydney |
C.E. Wakeford Sydney |
Harold Cazneaux Sydney |
Walter Mackenzie Montreal |
Ernest Hoch Toronto |
J. Williams Melbourne |
C.F. Wood Melbourne |
J.E. Paton Sydney |
George Chance Dunedin, New Zealand |
Sir William Beardsell Madras |
F.E. Hodges Shanghai |
Miss V.F. Taylor Jamaica |
S. Bowers Toronto |
L.S. Geddes Toronto |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
||||||||||||
| Ruth Hollick Melbourne |
C.W Bostock Sydney |
M. Hilney Egypt |
Travers Sweatman Winnipeg, Canada |
A. Wilkinson Adelaide |
W. Barrett Sydney |
D.R. Wadia Bombay |
A.E. Harris Calcutta |
A.M. Macdonald Invergargill, New Zealand |
Albert Eades Sydney |
W.S. White Sydney |
K. Ishida Sydney |
Percy Tibbs Rhodesia |
R.R. Baldry Gisborne, New Zealand |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
|||||||||||||
| P. Angus-Catania Malta |
J.H. Coatsworth Egypt |
W. Mathieson Capetown |
G.R. Smith Toronto |
L.S. Geddes Toronto |
Miss E. Clarke Victoria |
O.H. Coulson Melbourne |
A. Field Melbourne |
J.B. Eaton Victoria |
S.W. Eutrope Sydney |
E.M. Poole Sydney |
F. Tornquist Auckland, New Zealand |
Henri Mallard Sydney |
J.W. Jones Wellington, New Zealand |
Special award (for best collection exhibit) - The Sydney Camera Circle
This award has apparently by some means been wrongly awarded, as we understand the The Sydney Camera Circle did not enter the competition, but entered in conjunction with the Photographic Society of New South Wales. We are informed that the The Sydney Camera Circle has written to both the Photographic Society and the editor of the "Amateur Photographer" pointing out the error.
Tuesday 2nd August 1921
Page 6 - Evening News (Sydney NSW)
Much interest is shown in a number of fine photographs (exhibited in Kodak window, Adelaide), which are to be submitted for competition in the Salon of Photography and the Colonial Exhibition held in London once a year. These photographs are by Mr A. Wilkinson, who has already won many prizes. The salon is the Mecca of photographic art and to have work accepted by it is a coveted honor. The Colonial Exhibition is opened to the British colonies only. Two of Mr Wilkinson's pictures— On the Summit and Nature's Frieze — were successful last year. The former was reproduced as one of the pictures of the year. Nature's Frieze won distinction in the Colonial competition and was commented upon by one of the leading critics in England. This exhibit won the bronze plaque and was reproduced in The Amateur Photographer. Overlooking the Plains; The Ridge; The Close of Day; and The Quarry; (are views taken at Glen Osmond), On the Edge and Beyond; The Monarch of the Glen; Owienagin Creek; The Rugged Edge near Mount Padawurta; A Misty Morn; (depicts scenes in the Flinders Range), The Last Haul; is a late evening impression at Henley Beach and Sunshine and Shower; also had its origin at Henley. A spot near Lockleys formed the subject for The Pines.
Tuesday 2 August 1921
Page 6 - Evening News (Sydney NSW)
PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION
THE AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER AND CINEMATOGRAPHER (London)
The results have come to hand of the annual overseas competition of "The Amateur Photographer and Cinematographer" (London). This competition is confined entirely to photographers residing in any part of the British Empire outside the British Isles. Awards, consisting of silver and bronze plaques and certificates, are made and a Colonial Exhibition is held at the house of the Royal Photographic Society in Russell Square. The members of the Queensland Camera Club sent a number of entries for the competition and were awarded:
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
||||||||||
| Mrs Rose Simmonds | H.A. Snape | S.W. Eutrope | W. Orthman | J.H. Foster | Miss May | Miss L. Steed | F.H. Wedd | F.G. Crook-King | A. Burnett | R.L. Higgins | F. Wall | W. Hume |
As well as Queensland and the other Australian States and New Zealand, hundreds of entries were received, including South Africa, Canada, Egypt, British West Indies, Ceylon, India, Burma, Federated Malay States and Singapore.
Thursday 17th July 1924
Page 8 - The Register (Adelaide, SA)
Mr A. Wilkinson, the well-known photographer, of Adelaide; recently received an intimation that he had "been" awarded the silver plaque at the overseas photographic competition for his study "Holiday Morning — Adelaide Railway Station". William Moore, in writing on the exhibition of the Australian Salon of Photography in The Australasian Photo Review, states. "Then the gumtree. How admirably were the two placed in "Majestic Gums" by A. Wilkinson, of South Australia. It was an imposing work, in which there was nothing to mitigate the grandeur of the subject. In this picture Mr Wilkinson has done for the gumtree by means of the camera what Heysen has done for it in paint.
Summing up the position of the camera art in Australia, as far as one can judge by the works in the Salon, like the art of painting here, it is the strongest in landscape. In John B. Eaton, S.W. Eutrope and A. Wilkinson we have a trio whose work will rank with the best in the world".
1925
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT
J. Byfield, W.H. Pridmore, both are members of the Southern Tasmanian Photographic Society.
15th June 1925
Page 290 - Australasian Photo-Review
1924 COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION: |
||||||||||
BRONZE PLAQUE: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
|||||||||
| Albert E. Stevens | Mrs. B. Buggee | C.S. Tompkins | R. McLister | C. Stevens | L.A. Baillot | |||||
15th June 1925
Page 291 - Volume 32 No. 6 - Australasian photo-review
1924 AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHIC OVERSEAS COMPETITION
The following awards were made to Australian and Dominion workers:
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
||||||||||||||
| J.B. Eaton Melbourne |
Monte Luke Sydney |
Harold Cazneaux Sydney |
J. Dickinson Melbourne |
A.W. Wilkinson Adelaide |
G. Chance Dunedin, New Zealand |
F. Lewis Melbourne |
S.W. Eutrope Sydney |
Albert E. Stevens Melbourne |
D.R. Hill Sydney |
C. Bostock Sydney |
W.J. Ferguson Invercargill, New Zealand |
A.M. MacDonald Invercargill, New Zealand |
|||
CERTIFICATES: |
|||||||||||||||
| Henri Mallard Sydney |
C.S. Tompkins Melbourne |
J.R. Byfield Tasmania |
R.M. Lister Melbourne |
A. Ford Sydney |
J.W. Jones New Zealand |
F.R.S. Petrie New Zealand |
Mrs. B. Buggee Melbourne |
H.E. Gaze New Zealand |
H. Beddgood Sydney |
E.T. Robson New Zealand |
H. Pridmore Tasmania |
I. Treloar New Zealand |
C. Stevens Melbourne |
R.R. Baldry New Zealand |
L.A. Baillott Melbourne |
1st June 1926
Page 20 - Harringtons Photographic Journal
The Empire Edition of the "Amateur Photographer", dated 24th March, contains a list of the awards made in the 1925 Annual Overseas Contest and Australasian readers have done well.
Australasian winners are:
SILVER PLAQUE: |
BRONZE PLAQUE: |
|||||||||||
| Harold Cazneaux | J.B. Eaton | J. Treloar | Monte Luke | G. Chance | A. Dickinson | A. Wilkinson | A.E. Stevens | S.W. Eutrope | J. Williams | Henri Mallard | H.N. Jones | Cecil W. Bostock |
CERTIFICATES: |
||||||||||||
| J.W. Jones | H.L.R. Bedggood | C. Stevens | F. Petrie | G.J. Morris | R. McLister | D.R. Hill | Mrs B. Buggee | L.A. Baillot | F. Lewis | H.O. Fenton | P.J. Maynard | W.J. Ferguson |
| Miss E. Legge | A. Ford | J.W. Hunter | T.P. Dunstan | E. Annabell | E.T. Robson | W.S. White | C.J. Seymour | H. Beggs | J.W. Johnson | C.T. Tompkins | C. Webb | |
Mr Mortimer reports a huge entry for this annual contest and speaks highly of Australasian work and the pictures bear out his statements. The winning prints, with many others sent in, are to be exhibited at the Royal Photographic Society during May. The official report says that not only were the numbers of prints in excess of those entered in any previous year, but the standard was much higher. New Zealand entered a larger quantity than before and good work also came from other Colonies, notably Canada and South Africa, but prints from India were disappointing. The selections sent by the The Sydney Camera Circle and the Melbourne Camera Club were the best of the groups received and while the numbers were about equal, the The Sydney Camera Circle sent the best individual pictures and secured the Special Award. This is the third occasion on which the plum has gone to Sydney.
left to right HAROLD CAZNEAUX, MONTE LUKE, HENRI MALLARD, CECIL W. BOSTOCK
15th September 1927
Page 448 - Australasian Photo-Review
MELBOURNE CAMERA CLUB won the "Amateur Photographic Overseas Competition", 23 pictures being submitted. The following received individual awards:
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES: |
||||
| A. Dickinson | Albert E. Stevens | L.A. Baillot | C.S. Tompkins | H.N. Jones | I.G. Thompson | H. Beggs |
16th July 1928
Page 344 - Australasian Photo-Review
MELBOURNE CAMERA CLUB won the "Amateur Photographic Overseas Competition" for best collective exhibit. The following individual awards:
SILVER PLAQUE: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES: |
|||||
| Miss Ruth Hollick | L.A. Baillot | J.S. Simmons | H. Beggs | W. Broadhead | R. McLister | J.S. Simmons | Miss M. Skertchley |
15th July 1929
Page 338 - Vol. 36 No. 7 Australasian Photo-Review
The following is from the Report from Rev. H.O. FENTON B.A., FRPS
Special Correspondent to “The Australasian Photo Review"
The Antipodes again figure largely in the annual competition arranged by the proprietors of the Amateur Photographer for its oversea readers. Mr Eaton and Mr Luke must have a goodly collection of Overseas plaques by this time.
The prize list shows that:
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
|||||||||||||
| Miss Ruth Hollick Melbourne |
J.B. Eaton Melbourne |
F. Lewis Melbourne |
Monte Luke FRPS, Sydney |
H.E. Gaze New Zealand |
G.E. Jones New Zealand |
George Chance FRPS, New Zealand |
Harold Cazneaux | J.F. Simmons | A.E. Stevens | S.W. Eutrope | J.V.H. White | C.S. Tompkins | E.N. Poole | A. Wilkinson |
Dominion winners include F. Mitchell, E.D. Dawson, Miss Una Garlick, J. Treloar and C.A. Weedon.
Though Melbourne takes first place for the collective exhibit, both NSW and New Zealand were in the running, all of which is very gratifying. The pictures form the House Exhibit in the larger hall at the Royal for the month of May.
If I begin to criticize them I shall get into hot water, for judging and criticizing prints is very largely a matter of taste, and no man’s tastes are exactly the same as those of another man. If two prints fulfill all the required conditions of composition, lighting and technique the order in which he places them is simply a matter of his personal predeliction. The printed catalog of the exhibit gives no indication of the prints which received awards. So it is quite possible I may be found expressing disapproval of a print highly placed by the judge.
As a whole, I think I was a trifle disappointed. My digestion was in perfect order, so it could not be that. Perhaps it was be cause of the amount of exceptionally fine work that has been on view lately in the same hall. In this collection there are some portraits that no one could have mistaken for the work of anybody but Monte Luke, bold black figures with a minimum of model ling in the face, done in chloro-bromide. I think, nevertheless, I prefer “The Debutantes" (with its extraordinary patch of light between the figures) and “Mrs. Mark” Of Mr. J.B. Eaton’s pictures there is a real charm about the quiet horses in “The Day’s Work Done", though his blue gums are as good as ever. Although Mr. Cazneaux did not get a premier award, the quality of his “Wheel-barrows” is equal to anything in the exhibition. Miss Hollick’s portraits are charming. Special praise must be accorded to the unconventional pose of the figure in “The Smile”, while “Tessica” is delightful. Mr. F. Lewis presumably caught the judge’s eye with his picture of one massive cloud, a rather rare venture in cloud studies. Three silver plaques go to New Zealand. Which of Mr. Geo. Chance’s entries scored is a matter on which I do not feel equal to speculating. I do know that his “Matukituki River" brought back to me a glorious day’s trout fishing in that delectable stream. I liked his “Beside a Sylvan Stream” with its forced highlights. But some of the others have not the pleasant warm black tone that is characteristic of this worker. I refer especially to the picture of a figure playing a pipe on the seashore. This seems to me to want a more delicate treatment both as regards sharpness and color. Mr. Gaze’s “Vivette" would attract attention anywhere. It is a perfect example of lighting and modeling. I imagine that it was for the “Disc Thrower” that Mr. Gerald Jones got his trophy. It is a strong bromoil and illustrates the unbelievable shape that shadows can take on uneven backgrounds. The poise is excellent. A very pleasing feature of the show is the number of comparatively new entrants that have secured awards of one kind or another. It is quite evident that there is coming on, and coming on steadily, a band of workers who in the not distant future will be able to vie with those whose reputations have been long established. Only to mention one or two names, there are Messrs. A.E. Stevens. S.W. Eutrope. E.N. Poole, A. Smith. E.D. Dawson. W.S. White, J. Treloar and C.A. Weedon. The exhibits of Mr. A.E. Stevens are excellent. I must also mention the “Mt. Black” of Mr. Cazneaux.
15th April 1930 Page 172 - Vol. 37 No. 4 The Australasian Photo-Review
KOOTINGAL
E.J. Dann
This picture received a Certificate of Merit at the
Overseas and Colonial Exhibition, London, March, 1929
14th MAY 1930
Page 10 - OTAGO DAILY TIMES, ISSUE 21025
DUNEDIN PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
During the evening the president announced that the Dunedin Society had received the highest award for the best collective exhibit of photography in the amateur photographer’s overseas competition, held in London recently. This competition is open to all the photographic societies in the British dominions overseas, and it was particularly gratifying that the Dunedin Society should win it at the first attempt. Individual members of the Dunedin Society also did remarkably well, the following awards being made:
1929 COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION: |
||||||||||
SILVER PLAQUE: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
||||||||
| Miss Una Garlick | Mrs M.C. Ball | George Chance | F. Mitchell | G.S. Erwin | Mrs M.C. Ball | Miss E.B. Jeans | H. Gardner | J. Treloar | T.A. Dawson | Dr Tizard |
Thursday 15th May 1930
Page 60 - The Queenslander (Brisbane, Queensland)
Every year "The Amateur Photographer and Cinematographer" arranges a special print competition for its readers residing in any of the British colonies and dominions and it always proves to be very popular, the entries increasing year by year. The winning prints and a selection from the unsuccessful entries are exhibited at the headquarters of the Royal Photographic Society and form one of the most attractive house exhibitions of the year. Silver and bronze plaques and certificates of merit are awarded. In the latest issue to hand the awards of the 1929 competition are published and show that Australian photographers gained 13 of the awards. Mr James A. Murray, Brisbane, secured a bronze plaque and Mr H.A. Snape, Brisbane, a certificate of merit. Fourteen silver plaques were presented, of which number 5 came to Australia. Of the 20 bronze plaques presented Australia again took 5. Of the 25 certificates of merit Australia got 3. New Zealand scored very well, securing 17 awards and the special award for the best collective exhibit, which went to the Dunedin Camera Club.
14th June 1930
Page 282 - Vol. 37 No. 6 Australasian Photo-Review
The results of the annual competition held by the Amateur Photographer for oversea photographers have been published. The award for the best collective exhibit, usually held by either Sydney or Melbourne, goes this year to Dunedin for the first time. And I extend hearty felicitations to that city on its win. Many familiar names appear in the individual award list and some new ones, which is an excellent augury for the future.
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
||||||||
| E.C. Adamson Victoria |
J.B. Eaton Victoria |
Ruth Rollick Victoria |
Harold Cazneaux NSW |
W.W. Cooke NSW |
Una Garlick New Zealand |
R.M. Gillingham New Zealand |
F. Lewis Victoria |
Monte Luke NSW |
Doris C. Barnes South Australia |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
|||||||||
| A. Wilkinson South Australia |
J.A. Murray Queensland |
Mrs M.C. Ball New Zealand |
George Chance New Zealand |
G.S. Erwin New Zealand |
G.E. Jones New Zealand |
A.R. Kingsford New Zealand |
F. Mitchell New Zealand |
F.R.S. Petrie |
|
These are only the plaque winners from your part of the world. Singapore, Vancouver, Egypt, Bombay, Ceylon and other places appear in the list. There is also a goodly array of certificates awarded.
15th August 1930
Page 390 - Vol. 37 No. 8 Australasian Photo-Review
Last month I gave the names of the winners in the annual competition instituted by the "Amateur Photographer” for overseas workers. A selection from the pictures now forms the house exhibition in the large hall of the Royal Photographic Society. For some reason the prints that received the awards bear no indication of that fact, so those who inspect the prints can amuse themselves by trying to spot the winners! On several occasions I have come hopelessly to grief. But the direction that judging takes now-a-days is often most perplexing. Not so long ago a well-known judge selected as the best picture in an exhibition a print that practically every member in the club was emphatic in declaring much inferior to an other print by the same exhibitor. Without knowing any of the circumstances, I was asked to select what I considered the best picture, and I unhesitatingly chose the one that was un-medalled.
Speaking of the prints as a whole, the average level does not reach the level of some of our best clubs, such as Hampshire House, for instance, but here and there are prints that have been hung in the Salon or in the Royal. Not being on standard size mounts, the effect on the walls is a little patchy. Most clubs in England have now adopted the sizes of mounts as chosen by the Royal Photographic Society for its annual exhibition. An other thing that strikes one at once is the number of prints that have been sulphided. Especially was this the case in the entry from Dunedin. With the exception of the warm black of chloro-bromides, there is scarcely a brown print to be seen in either the Salon or the Royal Exhibitions. For pictorial work in England, sulphiding has nearly gone out of fashion.
One hundred and fifty-four prints are hung. Of these, 36, by 23 workers, are from New Zealand, 37 from Australia by 19 workers, and one print from Tasmania. The great increase in the number of contributors from the Dominion is most gratifying, and now that Dunedin has carried off the premier award, no doubt we shall have other clubs sending in a collective exhibit. For all I know this may have been done but the catalog does not suggest this to have been the case. Two things stand out in the collection from Dunedin. One is the astounding fact that though it secured first place not one of its prints received a silver plaque, unless by any chance Miss Una Garlick happens to be a member. This shows what a remarkably even lot of prints they must have been. The other point is the omission of Miss B.M. Gibson from the prize list. This must have been an oversight, for "The Mill House” would hold its own anywhere, and "The Harbour” is very pleasing and tranquil.
Taking the prints from the Dominion first, Mr. Chance’s "The Bathing Pool” has been reproduced and well commented on in one of the photographic journals. A similar honor has been accorded to Mr. F.R.S. Petrie’s "Pioneer”, both of which enhance the reputation of their makers. Mrs. M.C. Ball scores with a well composed harvest scene, which might have a stronger accent added to it. Mr. Erwin’s bromoil of Port Chalmers appears to be on the heavy side, although there is a tendency in modern photography to produce black, gradation less shadows. Turning to the Auckland pictures, Mr. Gerald E. Jones has brought off an effect in his portrayal of surf and bathers that rather contravenes the ordinary laws of composition. But what does that matter since the result is successful! Miss Una Garlick’s "Pleasure Craft” was hung in the Salon last year, and if that were not sufficient hall-mark it has received a silver plaque in the present competition. Not trusting my own judgment, I asked a well-known critic for his opinion. He said, "Main boat too central and attention distracted by crowding together of other boats”. Mr. Gillingham, of Auckland, has three pictures on the walls. Making a guess, I should say that it was "A Summer’s Morn” that secured his silver plaque. It is worth it. Next to it is hanging a wintry snow scene by Mr. F.H. Taylor, of Invercargill, which deserved a recognition, though a little sunshine would have improved it. Mr. Denton, of Wanganui, sends a pleasing portrait, and Mr. Treloar, of Hamilton, is represented by three prints, of which the portrait of Mr. A.H. O’Keefe painting is clever, and the bush scene is typical of New Zealand. Messrs. Seymour, Dawson, Sheriff, Weedon, and Miss Jeans have long been stalwart workers in Dunedin and are worthily represented. Dr. Tizard also is not unknown, and his "Dart River” has received an acknowledgment. Mr. H.E. Gaze, who deals both with portraiture and landscape, is represented by one of each. It may be suggested that in the marine picture, the quality of the sea rather falls away on the left. Mr. Mitchell, of Invercargill, has a nice example of front lighting. I fancy Mr. Casbolt, of Christchurch, and Mr. Garvitch, of Masterton, are newcomers. The latter has the only animal study in the exhibition. The dog’s head is good, but the color of the print is too foxy.
THE AUSTRALIAN PICTURES
As usual, three workers carry the brunt of things on their shoulders, Messrs. J.B. Eaton, Cazneaux, and Monte Luke, though they are ably assisted by Messrs. Wilkinson and Snape. Mr. Eaton contributes five pictures, of which "A Dusty Highway” and "Decoration” seem to be the favorites here. The latter consists of "one moon, one cypress, one tree, and a lot of sky", as one visitor facetiously but truthfully described it. That versatile worker, Mr. Cazneaux, equally artistic, also sends five prints, several of which were hung in the Salon last year. The name given to a portrait, "Maisie Gay", probably conveys a good deal to a Sydney photographer. Here it makes one think immediately of the flower girls who used to station themselves under the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus. Special mention must be made of Mr. Cazneaux’s "Mud Flats”, a charming piece of work. Monte Luke worthily upholds his reputation with his four prints, the nuances in "Souvenir” being especially well rendered. Miss Ruth Hollick wins a silver plaque with one of her two portraits. Mr. Wilkinson’s three landscapes are typical of Australian scenery and at the same time are pictures. Of Mr. Snape’s three, "The Bridge” has excellent quality. Mr. Cooke’s medaled "Gums” is very striking and has elicited high praise. I don’t seem to be familiar with this Goulburn worker’s pictures. Two pictures from Melbourne hang side by side. Mr. Adamson claims the only nude in the show, and has combined beauty of figure with pattern. He received a silver plaque for his work. The other print is Mr. Duncan’s "Footprints in the Sand”, where the play of sunlight is delightfully rendered. One naturally looks for the work of Mr. Lewis, of Malvern, and one finds a splendid pattern made of boats in a very pleasing setting. His other picture is well clouded. One wonders if it might not have a few seconds longer in the developer. "Falmouth for Orders”, by Mr. A. Ford (N.S.W.), stands out prominently. How one deplores the loss to pictorial photography occasioned by the disappearance of these old windjammers! Amongst the exhibitors with whose names we are not so familiar over here are Messrs. Murray, of Brisbane, Beggs (Melbourne), Robson (Brisbane), Asms (Melbourne), Simmons (Melbourne), and Lupton (Sydney). I am giving the spelling of the names of the exhibitors as they appear in the official catalog.
8th May 1931
Page 15 - OTAGO DAILY TIMES, ISSUE 21329
9th May 1931
Page 3 - TIMARU HERALD, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18872
11th May 1931
Page 4 - Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV
In the annual overseas competition of the Amateur Photographer many prizes were gained by New Zealanders.
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
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| George Chance Dunedin |
F.H. Taylor Invercargill |
Una Garlick Auckland |
H.E. Gaze Hamilton |
F. Mitchell Nelson |
Dr E.S. Erwin Hamilton |
F.L. Casbolt Christchurch Photographic Society |
R.M. Gillingham Auckland |
L.W. Green Wellington |
R.R. M'Gregor Invercargill |
H. Claughton Havelock |
A.C Armstrong Dunedin |
The special award for the best collective exhibit went to South Africa, the Johannesburg Photographic Society.
15th June 1931
Page 280 - Vol. 38 No. 6 Australasian Photo-Review
The Overseas competition - that is, the one organized annually by "The Amateur Photographer", has this year been a greater success than ever, both as regards the quantity and quality of the prints sent in. Quite a number of these pictures find their way to the big exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society and the Salon later on in the year. It is very pleasing to note a number of new names from your part of the world appearing among the veteran exhibitors.
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
|||||||||||
| J.B. Eaton | Harold Cazneaux | Miss Ruth Hollick | Monte Luke | F. Lewis | J.S. Simmons | George Chance New Zealand |
F.H. Taylor New Zealand |
C.S. Tompkins | W.W. Cooke | R.M. Weller | J.A. Murray | W. Wainwright |
The Dominion winners are Miss Una Garlick, H.E. Gaze and F. Mitchell. Australia wins six certificates and New Zealand seven. This means that there are quite a number of pictorialists who are making steady progress towards the top of the ladder. I hope their perseverance will soon be rewarded. Messrs. Eaton, Cazneaux and Luke, not to mention Mr Lewis and Miss Hollick, must be finding the storage of their plaques a matter of difficulty, unless they use them as sinkers for deep-sea fishing, for which purpose their weight well adapts them. As far as I know, it is the most substantial plaque awarded in England today.
The prize for the best collective entry consists of one of Mr F.J. Mortimer's exhibition pictures and goes for the first time to South Africa, the Johannesburg Photographic Society annexing the award. Last year Dunedin received this Honor.
The above written by Rev. H.O. Fenton B.A., FRPS; special correspondent to Australasian Photo-Review.
20th April 1932
Page 6 - EVENING STAR, ISSUE 21082
AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY
DUNEDIN'S HIGH STANDARD
The high standard of artistry and efficiency attained by amateur photographers of Dunedin is evidenced by the large number of awards which have come here as a result of the 1931 competition run by "The Amateur Photographer”.
This journal states that the entries far exceeded those of previous years, and indicated the widespread interest in the art existing in all parts of the British Empire. Entries came from Australia, Malay, India, Egypt, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.
The New Zealand awards are as follow:
SILVER PLAQUE: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
|||||
| George Chance Dunedin Photographic Society |
R. Throp Dunedin Photographic Society |
J.D. Dawson Dunedin Photographic Society |
G.D. Anderson Dunedin Photographic Society |
F.L. Casbolt Christchurch Photographic Society |
A.C. Armstrong Dunedin Photographic Society |
Dr G.S. Erwin Dunedin Photographic Society |
P. Beck Dunedin Photographic Society |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
|||||||
| Una Garlick Dunedin Photographic Society |
Mrs Ball Dunedin Photographic Society |
Eana B. Jeans Dunedin Photographic Society |
Dr Tizard Dunedin Photographic Society |
L. Bagley Dunedin Photographic Society |
D.Y. Erwin Dunedin Photographic Society |
E.H. Ombler Dunedin Photographic Society |
H.E. Gaze Hamilton |
Thursday 12th May 1932
Page 43 - The Queenslander (Brisbane, Queensland)
The results of the annual competition for overseas workers, conducted by "The Amateur Photographer and Cinematographer," have just reached me. Ten countries were represented. Canada gained six awards, 4 silver plaques, 1 bronze plaque and 1 certificate of merit; South Africa, 5 silver, 3 bronze and 3 certificates; Australia, 4 silver, 7 bronze and 5 certificates; New Zealand, 1 silver, 4 bronze and 11 certificates; India, 2 silver, 3 bronze and 7 certificates; Egypt, 4 bronze plaques; British West India, Kenya Colony and British Colombia, each 1 bronze plaque; Mauritius, 1 certificate. Three bronze plaques and two certificates came to Queensland, of which 3 bronze plaques and 1 certificate were gained by members of the Queensland Camera Club.
15th June 1932
Page 282 - Australasian Photo-Review
The names of the prize-winners in the 1931 competition organized by the "Amateur Photographer" have been published. The award for the best collective exhibit has gone to the Johannesburg Photographic Society for the second year in succession. But the award list hints that Dunedin made a vigorous attempt, for it obtained no less than ten certificates, three bronze plaques and one silver. But what about other clubs in the dominion? It does not appear as if they were interested, for there were only two awards given to the rest of New Zealand, a certificate going to Hamilton and one to Christchurch.
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
|||||||||
| J.S. Simmons | C.S. Tompkins | J.B. Eaton | Harold Cazneaux | J.A. Murray | H.S. Kaye | Athol Shmith | Monte Luke | Miss Ruth Hollick | F. Lewis | Mrs Rose Simmonds |
George Chance secured New Zealand's solitary silver tablet, the bronze winners being R. Thorp, J.D. Dawson and G.D. Anderson. Gerald Jones was a noticeable absentee. Perhaps he was too occupied with winning the district grand prize in the great Kodak competition. The word tablet doesn't accurately describe the massive plaques given to successful exhibitors. They make quite a substantial award. The prints form the subject of the Royal Photographic Society House exhibition for May. It is evident that quite a number of new picture makers are going in for this competition and this is excellent both for themselves and for the competition. Few things improve a person's work so much as a little friendly rivalry.
Friday 5th May 1933
Page 21 - The Brisbane Courier (Queensland)
The results have come to hand of the annual overseas competition of "The Amateur Photographer and Cinematographer" (London). This competition is confined entirely to photographers residing in any part of the British Empire outside the British Isles. Awards, consisting of silver and bronze plaques and certificates, are made and a Colonial Exhibition is held at the house of the Royal Photographic Society in Russell Square. The members of the Queensland Camera Club sent a number of entries for the competition and Mrs Rose Simmonds and Mr H.A. Snape have been awarded silver plaques, Messrs. S.W. Eutrope, W. Orthman and J.H. Foster bronze plaques and certificates of merit have been gained by Miss May, L. Steed and Messrs. F.H. Wedd, F.G. Crook-King, A. Burnett, R.L. Higgins, F. Wall and W. Hume. As well as Queensland and the other Australian States and New Zealand, hundreds of entries were received, including South Africa, Canada, Egypt, British West Indies, Ceylon, India, Burma, Federated Malay States and Singapore.
ROSE SIMMONDS
1st July 1933
Page 280 - Australasian Photo-Review
The awards in the overseas annual competition organized by The Amateur Photographer and Cinematographer have just been published. The Editor of that journal remarks that the standard of prints submitted was higher than that of the previous year and also that the entries were more numerous. From the list it is evident that photography in South Africa is making rapid advance.
The best collective exhibit was awarded to the Port Elizabeth Amateur Photographic Society
Second place awarded to Johannesburg Photographic Society
Third place awarded to Auckland Camera Club
Australia takes 4 silver plaques out of 18 awarded and New Zealand secures three silver plaques.
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
||||||||||||
| Mrs Rose Simmonds | J.B. Eaton | H.A. Snape | Harold Cazneaux | H.E. Gaze New Zealand |
George Chance New Zealand |
H. Tornqvist New Zealand |
W.J. Thompson | S.W. Eutrope | A.L. Shmith | W. Orthman | Monte Luke | C.S. Tompkins | J.H. Foster |
Of the 50 certificates, Australia gets 14 and New Zealand 6. The prize list shows that many new competitors are entering and this is all to the good. Moreover, the fact that they are winning plaques or certificates indicates that their work is being appreciated and that they are climbing up the ladder at whose summit dwells that elusive imp called Fame. It may further be mentioned that Queensland has done exceedingly well, New Zealand is only just behind and possibly rather exhausted herself in sending that large number of prints that formed the House exhibition at the Royal recently. Auckland is well represented, Victoria comes next, New South Wales is far behind, while Western and South Australia do not appear at all in the award list. A similar indistinction belongs to Tasmania.
Now, why should photography be so flourishing in Queensland, where one would imagine climatic conditions would make things difficult and so little in evidence in Tasmania, where conditions should be perfect?
Why is interest in this competition so much less in New South Wales than in Victoria?
I always think that competitions do much to improve the quality of one's work, not forgetting also that it is quite a pleasant thing to have one's own productions regarded with favor by the powers that be.
The prints will be on view at the Royal next month.
23rd June 1934
Page 9 - NEW ZEALAND HERALD, VOLUME LXXI, ISSUE 21834
PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
Advice has been received by the director of the Camera Pictorialists, of Auckland, Mr. Douglas R. Lyons, that the following awards hare been made to Aucklanders represented in the annual Overseas Exhibition of Photography, recently held in the galleries of the Royal Photographic Society, London:
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
||||
| R.M. Gillingham | E.C. Lackland | W.J. Thompson | H.E. Gaze | Gerald E. Jones | Douglas F. Lyons |
The exhibition is open to all photographers in the British Empire and the judges stated that the work submitted for the present show was of such a very high standard that additional awards had to be made.
1st August 1934
Page 393 - Volume 41 Number 8 The Australasian Photographic Review
OVERSEAS COMPETITION
The cream of the prints submitted to the Amateur Photographer and Cinematographer annual competition for readers residing overseas are now hanging on the walls of the large gallery in the Royal Photographic Society. They at once give one the impression of being a much better set than last year’s. For one thing they are much more uniform in size, and the smaller set from Dunedin are judiciously hung together on one panel. The color of the South Africa and India entries is gradually becoming very much less foxy; New Zealand has now got a very good sepia. The average quality, though a long way below the average of, say, the Salon, is improving. There is no indication as to which prints secured the awards. I think that if I were judge I should say to myself, "This man (J.B. Eaton, for example) has sent in half a dozen jolly good prints: he deserves a silver plaque”, and I should not actually pick out one as being specially superior to the rest of his entry. Quite possibly this has happened here. One or two hints will, I hope, be taken in good part. A contrasty print in a large size may get away with it, but an equal hardness in small prints becomes much more conspicuous. This point is evidenced by Mr. Seymour’s "From Mihiwaka”. Unmounted prints doubtless look all right in the hand when being judged, but when they are mounted for this exhibition on plain mounts they would look better for a dark line, say, 1/8 inch broad, round the edge of the print. If this is not made in the actual printing it can very easily be ruled after (or before) trimming. Dunedin apparently sent in most of its prints mounted on a narrow tint and so made a pleasing show on the wall. Of course, I may be entirely wrong in imagining that some of the Australian entries were sent in unmounted; it may be that they were mounted before being despatched.
The prints are, with hardly any exception, on the sane side, and the few freaks were not unduly freakish. Quite a number are making their second appearance in London, having been sent on to the competition from the Salon and other shows. Amongst the winners of silver plaques are J.B. Eaton, whose work is as delightful as ever, and who must be finding difficulty in finding room for housing his plaques. The latter remark applies also to George Chance and to HaroldCazneaux. The two girl studies of Mr. Cazneaux are sheer delight. Mr. Chance’s pictures vary from plaque standard to a nightmare I cannot conceive as being made by a worker of usually such impeccable taste. It is titled "Gathering Clouds”, and the print is a combination of a quiet pastoral scene with a sky that resembles a soccer cup final in front of goal! Mrs. Rose Simmonds (Brisbane), also a plaque winner, has, too, prints of very varying quality. Some of these might almost be termed artificial or washy, for instance, "Tall and Stately”, where the vista through the woods suggests comparison with Mr. Cazneaux Bush Fire Haze, where the haze is really that of a fire, while the former haze merely suggests manipulation. But she shows what she is capable of doing in "Summer Morning”. C. Weedon (Dunedin) may have secured his plaque with "Seashore Treasures”, where a well-placed white cloud makes a most useful balance. C.S. Tompkins "pattern print”, "Lighthouse", S.W. Eutrope’s "Relic of the Past” and A.L. Shmith’s "Portrait” may have been the prints that secured silver plaques for their makers.
Amongst the winners of bronze plaques are several newcomers, that is if my memory is not playing tricks. Miss Peggy Clarke, for instance; and Miss Jeans, who has not been quite successful in avoiding double tones in partial bleaching, and who must be a little more careful when using ferricyanide; E.E. Lackland (Auckland), whose "Storm” is quite convincing; J.G. Johnston (Dunedin), with a strong "Winter Sunshine”; W.J. Thompson (Auckland). Other winners are H.E. Gaze (with a charming nude), W. Orthman, H.A. Snape, R.M. Gillingham, Arthur Ford, A.J. White. There are two other names on my list, viz., Max Dupain and W. Broadhead, but I cannot trace their pictures.
1st July 1935
Page 328 - Volume 42 Number 7 The Australasian Photographic Review
AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER AND CINEMATOGRAPHER COMPETITION
J. DUDLEY JOHNSTON Hon. FRPS
Special Correspondent to The Australasian Photo-Review
The Royal Photographic Society lends its gallery annually in May for the exhibition of photographs sent in to the Amateur Photographer and Cinematographer competition for overseas readers. In several ways this is an important event in the photographic year, and principally because it is our unique opportunity to get a real insight into what our brother photographers are doing in distant lands. It is true that a certain amount of work from these lands is sent to the Royal Photographic Society Annual Exhibition, but the competition for a place on the walls at that show is very keen and many excellent workers are deterred from contributing because they don’t fancy their chances, whilst some of the more eminent seem to think that only a certain type of work has any likelihood of acceptance and, if we judged them merely by what they send, then we might have a poor opinion of their versatility. But this "Amateur Photographer Exhibition" competition is a different matter. It seems that they let themselves go then and try their chances with pictures of varied subjects. Were it not for this we might not have known that Eaton does still life or that Cazneaux takes snapshots.
In this "Amateur Photographer Exhibition" this year there were 185 prints hung, of which 53 were Australian by 21 workers and twelve from New Zealand by 4 workers, so we were provided with a liberal education in Australasian photography. Cazneaux has pride of place with seven examples and J.B. Eaton comes next with six. Cazneaux’s work we see at the Salon but not at the Royal, but Eaton’s landscapes are familiar at both. The formers pictures are a varied assortment of subjects and no two are treated quite similarly. His "Fair Balloonist", a child’s head vignetted in old-fashioned style, is a long way from "Recess", a group of boys looked down upon from above in the modern manner. Needless to say, they are all masterly in their technique, even if none of them is to be reckoned up to his highest standard. "The Shawl” is an attractive work, but "The Archibald Fountain at Night” is, to my thinking, the best of the bunch. Eaton’s six are more level in merit and quite up to his best. I prefer of them his landscape with a low horizon under a dull sky entitled, "Showers on the Plain", which is not quite in the vein to which he has accustomed us in recent years. Still, all are fine and the "Mystic Bush", with its tall trees partly shrouded in mist, in what we should call a woodland but which you call the bush, drew an expression of admiration from Bertram Cox in my hearing. The still life subject, "The End of the Chapter", is also a clever bit of work. Monte Luke’s two contributions are not up to his best, though the transfer print of a yachting scene, "Summer Morning", is fine technical work. Stuart Tompkins has five pictures, all widely differing in subject and treatment, of which "Mother and Daughter” is best pictorially, whilst "The Ambulatory” is striking for its clean, precise photography. A.L. Shmith specializes in dark tones and low keys, which are rather out of favor nowadays, but it is accomplished work. W. T. Owen, whom we regarded as one of our coming young men when he was with us here a few years ago, maintains his promise with four pictures which are amongst the best in the show. "The Bluff” was a notable picture at the Royal a few years back and "Storm Whispers” is another fine thing. A third picture, "Still Life", is the only three-color carbon print in the show and makes it quite clear that he is a master of that difficult process. S.W. Eutrope is a name that was more familiar here in years gone by than it is to-day. It is good to see a fine bromoil from his brush. R. V. Simpson’s name is one that we have begun to notice of recent years and with which we hope to become more familiar in the future. He has the technical equipment but at present his work is rather conventional, rather too ordinary and lacks the individual touch to make a real mark for itself. W. Orthman, too, is known here for his small and pleasant bromoils that have frequently figured in our exhibitions. Other names, mostly unknown to me hitherto, are F. Wall, with a pattern effect of foliage, "Paw-Paws”; Max Dupain, whose "Still Life” is an essay in the modern style; J. Beare, whose "Booklover” is a very sound piece of photography by lamplight; Pegg Clarke, with "Monna Pomona", a reconstruction of a Rosetti picture; H.S. Kaye, H. Chargois, A.J. White, A.W. Briggs, D.H. le Messurier and R. Simmonds, none of whose work rises quite to the level expected of exhibition pictures over here. Lastly are three prints by Keast Burke, which are notable for their fine feeling for open air and sunshine, I need not analyze these, as "Patience", a picture of two youngsters fishing, has a whole page of comment devoted to it in the A.P. for May 29th. This is the most important of the three, though my own preference is for "The Water Baby", which, with treatment and a better print, should be a pictorial success. Of the New Zealanders, George Chance and H. E. Gaze are well-known exhibitors; F. L. Casbolt and Graham Riley are less known here. In no case is their work calculated to enhance their reputations, although excellent technically in most instances. Chance’s two Maori girls rubbing noses is an ethnographical record of some interest but little pictorial merit and his "Sheep Drover” would have been so much better had the flock been coming towards us instead of receding. His landscape, "Mount Eden", is a curious experiment in composition. The outlines of the mountain and that of the great mass of cumulus cloud behind are roughly two curves in opposition with their apices coming close together. The clouds are finely rendered but the mountain is too uniformly dark for the best effect. Gaze’s principal contributions are two heads of girls, one in profile in which lighting and modeling are good but in rather too low a key, the other in the character of a nun with somewhat too sentimental an appeal. Casbolt’s principal picture is "The Shadow on the Road", a pattern effect of cast shadows taken contre jour, which is illustrated in a recent number of the A.P. Riley’s most striking print is "Design", a picture of ploughed furrows leading to four symmetrical poplar trees in the center. It is too mathematically precise to give a really pleasing effect, though he deserves a word of appreciation for spotting it. His "Rocky Point” appears to be a typical piece of New Zealand fjord scenery with a well selected subject.
Summing up, I feel inclined to say that whilst Australasian photographers are well equipped technically and can produce prints of fine quality by all the current processes - they are perhaps in some instances rather prone to produce low-toned effects and lose that luminosity which modern photographers regard as the most desirable quality, they, taken as a whole, neglect to study pictorial requirements in their selection and treatment of their subjects. The portrait and figure work smacks rather too strongly of the studio and its conventions, whilst landscape also tends to follow the conventional outlook that is current in all countries instead of cultivating an individual outlook based on the characteristics of the national scenery. Eaton has shown successfully how this can be done and his individuality of outlook is much appreciated here. I am far from being an advocate of a blind adherence to tradition, but a knowledge of pictorial essentials and an intelligent application of them to our picture-making is necessary for success.
1st July 1936
Page 327 - Vol. 43 No. 7 The Australasian Photographic Review
AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER AND CINEMATOGRAPHER COMPETITION
J. DUDLEY JOHNSTON Hon. FRPS
Special Correspondent to The Australasian Photo-Review
During May we have had at the Royal Photographic Society Gallery that annual exhibition of photographs by overseas workers which gives the opportunity, not otherwise to be had, of seeing something of what our fellow-photographers in other parts of the Empire are doing. I say advisedly "something", because it is only a relatively small proportion of the photographers overseas that contribute to these competitions, and those not always the best, nor do these always send their best work. Still there is sufficient and of good enough quality to give some idea of what the Empire is doing, and very interesting it is.
TECHNICAL QUALITY
Improves from Year to Year, and there is more, it seems to me, of what I should call conviction about the picture-making. There is a feeling that more and more photographers are selecting their subjects, not because they are the sort of thing that they have been taught to take, but because they are genuinely interested in them themselves. They have seen something of interest or beauty which they wish to record, and that is the first healthy step towards picture-making. At the same time, of course, that is not in itself sufficient, and many do not grasp the fact that there are certain other essential conditions to be observed if the result is to be pictorial and not merely a record. This knowledge is of slow growth anywhere and at any time, but is naturally quicker in the greater centers of population, where there is access to collections of fine pictures, and where there are opportunities for artistic education and development. But so much depends upon the individual that one cannot be too axiomatic about it. This year there are nineteen Australian and eight New Zealand names in the catalog. I have no comparative figures for other years, but I imagine it represents a considerable increase; at any rate, it is a most commendable showing. Harold Cazneaux has five prints, and decidedly the strongest contribution of anybody. The first is a delightful child portrait entitled "Balloons", a girl’s head with three balloons of about the same size. Apart from the happily caught expression, the four rounded masses make an interesting design, and the skilfully rendered flesh texture contrasts effectively with the smooth skins of the balloons. His next, "The Charcoal Drawing", is less successful as a design, although as masterly as photography. The upper part of the figure of the artist is on one edge of the picture and the drawing on the other, with the arms stretching across from one to the other. The two objects of main interest are too widely separated, and the long stretch of the arms does not make an adequate linking up. Had the full-length figure been shown and the whole of the easel, this separation would have appeared normal and satisfactory. A third print shows a group of seven medical students at work on a dissection. It is cleverly arranged and photographed, but equal emphasis is thrown on each of the seven, and so the interest is too dispersed. It lacks that concentration that is the essence of pictorialism. The fourth, "Waifs", two forlorn little figures wandering in the snow, is excellent in most respects. One may take exception to the "sunning down” of the lower part of the print, as it has no obvious reason artistically or naturalistically, and there is a tree stem in the background which comes awkwardly and might be removed or toned down with advantage. Lastly there is his portrait of Dr. Julian Smith, Melbourne surgeon and keen photographer, which, if I mistake not, is the same as that in last year’s Salon. He seems thinner than when we saw him over here some ten years ago, but is the same alert, keen personality. It is fine photography, although the left hand is not quite happily managed and the figure is rather out of balance. J.B. Eaton has six prints hung, none of which is quite up to his best standard, which is, of course, a very high one. Even so, his second best is pretty good. I like the way he is not content to stand still, but is continually reaching out and experimenting with new ideas, even if they don’t always come off. His first, "Crowning the Hill", is a fine group of majestic gums, admirable in themselves, but the disposition of the masses tends to divide the picture diagonally into two parts, with the greater weight in the upper part, thus creating a feeling of instability. The next, "A Smiling Valley", is not one of his best, though the patterning of the fields is good. The third, "The Quarry", is very good, but unfortunately is so very reminiscent of a picture that was prominent in exhibitions here some years ago that one cannot award it all the praise that it merits. The fourth, a landscape, is the least successful. The fifth, "Hillside Pattern", is quite experimental and courageously seen, though in the result it is not a success, as the lines have not worked out well. The sixth is still more experimental, and, in spite of some lovely photography, equally unsuccessful. We look down almost vertically on a space of sunlit sea, upon which is a small sailing boat, placed in the top corner. At first glance the appearance is that of a cloud picture with a low horizon, and one is naturally puzzled to know what a ship is doing up there. It is only on looking into it that one realizes that it is sea and not sky. Monte Luke has three pictures. First "Margaret Rawlings", stage or film star presumably, photographed in the manner one imagines that a star would affect embowered in an avalanche of ostrich feathers, beautiful technical photography but utterly inartistic. The second, "Hill Top Farm", is an entire change. A delicate bromide print of a very simple subject, quite delightful. It is a low horizon picture with a quiet sky, almost too slight for the best effect. The third is a low-toned portrait of a soldier, rather too dark if anything, but well arranged and masterly. Keast Burke has three also, excellent photography, but not particularly pictorial. "The Bogey Hole", a snap of a bather diving into rough water, is purely snapshot work. "Coal and Steam” is a type of subject for which I am afraid I can raise no enthusiasm, and "Mulga Harvest” is interesting, but the central placing of the reaping team and empty space below are not helpful pictorially. Rose Simmonds also contributes three prints, bromoils, which hardly justify the use of that process and give the impression that good bromide prints would have done more justice to the pictures. In "Gums at Evening” there is too much obtrusive handwork, and the darkening of the sky does not of itself necessarily produce an evening effect. "As the Twig is Bent” is a picture of two trees, but there is no attempt at a composition, and the trees are not sufficiently interesting in themselves. The third one, "When Shadows Lengthen", has slightly more pictorial selection, but is not a very satisfactory picture. Stuart Tompkins shows a portrait in delicate tones, and "Sunlit Plumes", the said plumes being of pampas grass. There is no arrangement of the subject, and the background of inky blackness is objectionable. F. Lewis has three. "The Power Line” is a power line and poles extending across an open hillside with a sky full of clouds. It is an unpromising subject at best, and is not improved by the fact that no selection or composition has been attempted. "Rippling Reflections” shows squiggling, jazzy reflections in water of some light object above and out of sight. It is good photography wasted on a worthless subject. "A Windy Hilltop” further exemplifies this entire lack of selection. The wind effect is admirably shown and the photography is quite good, but beyond that it is impossible to say anything except to wonder what induced Mr. Lewis to select that particular clump of trees which seem peculiarly unfitted for pictorial treatment. There are some nice points about "The Path of Progress", by H. Chargois, and the photography is admirable, but here again pictorial effect is sacrificed because our attention is divided between the group of workers in the bottom corner and the sunlit cliff on the other side of the picture; unity has not been attained. H.V.L. Leckie also has a "Ripples” picture. The ripples are certainly there and are good, but there is nothing else, and it needs more than a record of ripples to make a picture. A.L. Shmith has three prints, two of which I think were at The Salon. These deal with a nude figure draped with a gauzy material spangled with sequins. Here again we have excellent photography in the technical sense, but they get nowhere pictorially. The third print, "Thespian", is a man’s head strongly lit from above, with such black shadows as to make the eyes empty darkness neither good photography nor good art. R.V. Simpson’s couple deal with sand-dunes. "Low Lit Dunes” is the better, and would have been a good thing if a little more discretion had been displayed in the choice of foreground. The broken-down tree messes it all up. The more distant dunes are well shaped and lighted. "Wind-rippled Sands” is just what the title suggests, a nicely photographed record of a natural effect, curious if you like, but not noticeably beautiful. In "Sunlit Trees" F. Dale has a well-selected group of tree trunks, which would have been better if the woods beyond had not consisted of impenetrable blackness. "Water Lilies", by A.J. White, is a not very distinguished picture of a much overdone subject, in which the pattern made by the circular pads is the governing motive, A. W. Briggs comes near to having a fine thing in his "Reflections", the hull of a sailing ship at the top and the reflection of her spars below. A little more ship and rather less of the reflection would be an improvement. E. Robertson gives an excellent character study in "The Genial Australian Outbacker", which is interesting if not exactly pictorial. O.M. Walsoe has two studies, from the same model apparently, a lean and hungry - looking type. The lighting is rather forced and artificial, but the photography is certainly forceful. In a view of "H.M.A.S. Canberra” F. Wall gives us some exaggerated perspective and tone values that are "all over the place”. L.A. Baillot’s "Squally Weather", a baby in his bath-tub, is almost the greatest success of the Australian contingent. Cleverly caught, well composed, excellent photography, and a good dash of humor make it a conspicuous success. Last of the Australians, S.O. Cowen gives us one of those puzzle pictures, "The Circular Stair", photographed looking up or looking down, it doesn’t matter which. What little merit these things ever had as novelty disappeared ten years ago, and their continued repetition is merely boring. A thing may have no intrinsic beauty, but may have a sort of "news value” on the score of novelty, but once done and circulated sufficiently for every photographer to have seen it once, the novelty goes and it becomes simply meaningless repetition.
That exhausts Australia’s contributions, and I turn to New Zealand’s. F.L. Casbolt has three pictures, each excellent in idea and showing good technique, but not sufficient appreciation of the essentials of a picture. Steaming Pans” is a still life — pans simmering on a cooker. The arrangement is quite good, except that the bottom of the saucepans is cut off, and not only does the composition lack stability, but the design is impaired. The second, "Haven", shows a duck on a pond,with a splash of reflected sunlight. So far quite good, but there is a long, empty, and uninteresting foreground of blank water which could be removed with advantage. "Heads in the Sun” shows a couple of horses heads, an excellent record, good photography, but with no pictorial feeling. E.F. Lord’s two are distinguished by good clean photography. They are, however, of topographical rather than pictorial interest, though "The Sweep of the Bay” is a fine subject if it had been properly treated. C.A. Weedon has four pictures. He is evidently interested in skies, for three of them depend mainly on their cloud effects. The best pictorially is "The Helping Hand", but unfortunately it is technically the poorest print. "Silvery Light” is good, figures well placed, and print of fine quality, but it fails because all the lines radiate from a point outside the picture, and so it is not self-contained. L.V. Bagley has a quiet landscape, "Ere the Sun was Set", which comes near to being one of the best things in the show. The one point against it is that a long, dark ridge runs across the middle of the picture, effectually blocking the view just where we want to see through. Two prints by J.G. Johnston are not good either pictorially or technically. The selection of subject in each case is poor. F.T. Allen’s couple are nice clean photography, if not very distinguished as pictures. In both they are marred by the inclusion of inappropriate clouds, the ball-like puffs of white in the one and the one centrally disposed and detached mass of cumulus in the other, which catch the eye unduly. C.S. Dickson’s "The Enthusiast simply enforces our existing prejudice that photographers are not a picturesque adjunct to the landscape. Above the City” is quite a pleasant view from a hillside of a city (Dunedin?) below, though the tree is made too much of and blocks up the view unduly. Lastly come two views by George Chance, both printed through one of those screens that give an etched effect not altogether to their advantage. In both he has got his dark masses rather clogged up and too heavy. "The Distant Surf” is topographical rather than pictorial in character; "Rural Scene” would have been a more artistic success if a more drastic trimming had been adopted. It suffers from a certain diffuseness of composition, in addition to the heaviness of the row of dark trees.
Comparing the Australian contributions with the others, I am bound to admit that both the Indian and South African surpass them as a whole in appreciation of pictorial selection and treatment, and especially in print quality. The one is a matter of cultivating the art of seeing artistically, the other of better technique, and I hope that I may have the pleasure of recording next year a decided improvement in both respects.
Advance, Australia! also New Zealand.
1st July 1936
Page 344 - Vol. 43 No. 7 The Australasian Photographic Review
DUNEDIN PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
The following awards have been won by members of the Dunedin Photographic Society in The Amateur Photographer Overseas Competition:
SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
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| Mr. G. Chance | Mr. C.A. Weedon | Miss L Bagley | Mr. E.F. Lord | Mr. J.G. Johnston | Mr. W.B Seymour | Mr. C.S. Dickson | Mr. D.J. Sheriff | Mr. F.T. Allan |
As ten members exhibited prints and nine awards were gained this reflects high credit on the standard of work of the Society.
1st June 1937
Page 276 - Vol. 44 No. 6 The Australasian Photographic Review
AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER AND CINEMATOGRAPHER COMPETITION
J. DUDLEY JOHNSTON Hon. FRPS
Special Correspondent to The Australasian Photo-Review
The Royal Photographic Society exhibition this month consists of prints sent to the competitions of the Amateur Photographer and Cinematographer during the past twelve months by overseas readers. It is a large and goodly show, and contains much distinguished work by Canadian, South African and Indian contributors, in addition to that from Australasia, with which my readers will be more directly concerned. This last named section has been swollen to unusual proportions this time by the inclusion of prints sent in to the London Salon Exhibition last autumn. It is an additional pleasure to see these once again, and to be able to see them at closer quarters and study them under more intimate conditions than was possible at their public exhibition. No less than twenty-five Australasian workers are represented, three of from New Zealand.
Let us take the latter first. The most important contribution comes from H.E. Gaze, who has three pictures hung, of which two are portraits. "Study in Black and White” is a head in double lighting, excellent in all respects, except that the picture space is not well filled, there being too much vacant space in front of the head. "Thoughts” is a full-length figure of a woman seated. Here again a large amount of unnecessary space is included to the detriment of the concentration. "Happy Days” shows two women walking along a road in a landscape setting, and is very pleasant. C. Weedon in all three pictures seems to specialize in poplar trees, for they form the principal feature. The background in each case is open landscape, with somewhat heavy skies. Their fault is that they show little or no appreciation of composition, of the value of lines or balance, but are just plain transcripts of slices of nature without much selection, it being judged apparently that the interest of the trees is sufficient to ensure a success. If Mr. Weedon would devote a little time to the study of foregrounds and value of pleasing lines he would do very much better. Miss Thelma Kent has two prints; a landscape, "The Sentinel", is rather dark and heavy, and although her composition is well balanced it also is lacking in a feeling for line and the foreground is uninteresting. Her other picture, "Balcony Vista", shows a back view of two people looking from a terrace. They may be enjoying a view, but none of it is visible in the photograph, so the title is a misnomer. The interest is purely architectural.
Now we come to the Australian work, some of which is very strong. Harold Cazneaux has six pictures of widely diversified subjects, all handled with his accustomed mastery. His subjects range from the industrial, like "Steel in the Making” and "The Slag Dump", which are possibly more attractive to Australians because they are more novel than they are to us, to "An Australian Girl", who is so charming that I hope you are sending a few samples along for us to see this summer. In between we have "Mail Time at the G.P.O.", a view down a sunlit arcade with well-caught figures, "A Study in Curves", a view of the great Sydney Bridge, whose lines are offset by the counter-curves of a ship’s mooring ropes, "Aerial Antics", a snapshot of a circus roundabout, and "Mighty Gums", which is not a very successful attempt to render the majesty of those most typical of Australian trees.
Then Dr. Julian Smith, of Melbourne, has a fine set of seven of his characteristic figure subjects, in which he probably has no rival in the world to-day. His well-known profile of "Lord Horder", the eminent surgeon, is fine solid work, but the most successful pictorially is undoubtedly "The Colonel", in a lighter key, which both in design and execution is a gem. You re Telling Me” is an excellent character study of the rough and somewhat brutal type; "The Spice of Life", a figure in fancy costume with a wine glass, is more fanciful; "David” is a good head study, but his clothes lack firmness in modeling; and "The Problem shows a girl’s head with a serious cast of thought. The last, "The Story", essays the problem of dealing with two heads, and, fine as the photography is, fails to solve the difficulties satisfactorily.
The best landscape comes, as might be expected, from J.B. Eaton. Two of his landscapes, "The Watercourse” and "The Hill", will rank with his best. His other three are experimental, and none the less welcome, although they do not, I think, achieve success. "Steps” shows a wooden stairway leading up transversely across the picture. Its interest is in the pattern effect, but it lacks concentration. "Calm Sea” is a view down upon an expanse of calm water flawed here and there by the breeze. Three small boats in the bottom corner form the only visible objects in the blank expanse. "Cottage by the Sea” is only remarkable for the curious design made by a dark hedge which zig-zags across the picture. They may not be entire successes, but any attempt to break away from the obvious should be welcome. In "Summer Afternoon", E.B. Hawkes shows simply a fence in sunshine. The subject is too slight and uninteresting, but the tone values and the sky show good photography. A.W. Briggs in "Coastline, Malay", shows a surf-lined coast. The distance and sky are good, but there is too much foreground which lacks good lines to make it interesting. E. Robertson has two figure studies: "The Handmaiden", a good bit of photography, although rather too obviously posed, and "Cherry Ripe", a boy holding up a handful of cherries in pleasant anticipation. A.L. Shmith has three dark and unpleasing heads, "Civic Cynic", "Art Critic", and "The Plotter", but his "Nude in Repose” is a much more pleasant piece of work — albeit, somewhat curious in the over - smoothness of the flesh tones and the perspective, which makes the head and hand too large for the torso. The contrast between the rough texture of the striped rug and the smoothness of the figure is quite extraordinary. I feel sure that Mr. Shmith would achieve greater success if he would stick to the daintiness that he has shown in his female figure studies, and give up those unpleasantly greased faces and heavy black tones that he affects in his male portraits. Lawrence Le Guay, of Sydney, has a "Still Life” exhibiting very fine technique, although the flowers are a little formal in their arrangement. W. T. Owens, "The Survivor", a single tree trunk against a stormy sky, is accomplished work; and D. Fraser’s "Australian Blue Gums” is the best treatment of this particular Australian feature in the show. H.J. Holst has a couple of snow pictures, "Mount Feathertop” and "Hotham Heights", that are of delightful quality, but D.H. Wade’s "Blanket of Snow” has shadows that are too dark and opaque for snow. An excellent little picture is "Melbourne, Autumn Morning", by H.R. Francis, in which simplification of the planes has been well secured. C. Stuart Tompkins has a "Portrait of a Painter", rather too dark for the best effect, and the light patches on head and hand, due to top lighting, are rather disturbing. Keast Burke, in "Anzac Anniversary", shows remarkable skill in selecting a good crowd grouping, but the over-light and rather patchy sky militates against a pictorial success. Two of the best I leave till the end. Monte Luke’s "Winter Morning” is a delightfully atmospheric rendering of the subject and quite successful. Of F.W. Flood’s "Valley of Mystery” I wrote appreciatively when I reviewed the London Salon. It is a great pleasure to see it again, and a second view confirms my previous opinion that it is a very fine thing, small as it is. The treatment of the sky in it is not quite perfect, but the simple treatment of the masses, its selection, and the restricted scale of tones are entirely admirable. I look forward to seeing and hearing more of this worker in the future if he is capable of further work of equal distinction.
20th MAY 1938 Page 9 - Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22406
PHOTOGRAPHIC DISPLAY IN LONDON
SUCCESS OF CHRISTCHURCH EXHIBITORS
Members of the Christchurch Photographic Society, who sent pictures to the Amateur Photographer Colonial and Overseas Exhibition in London are prominent in the award list.
Bronze plaques have been awarded to the following: Miss Thelma R. Kent ARPS, Messrs Neville R. Lewers B.A. and M. Grant.
Certificates were awarded to Messrs F.L Casbolt, E.A. Adams, G.A. Franser, E.E. St. John, F.L. Bowron, and F.E. MacGregor.
The exhibition is held annually in London and is contributed to mainly by photographers from all parts of the British Empire. The prints will be shown at the Royal Photographic Society, Russell square, during this month.
Friday 12th August 1938
Page 8 - The Herald (Melbourne, Victoria)
PHOTOGRAPHIC CONTEST AWARDS:
The awards from the oversea competition, held by the Amateur Photographer, London, arrived, and the following were for members of the Melbourne Camera Club:
SILVER PLAQUE: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
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| J. Scott Simmonds | C.A. Welch | H.J. Holst | W. Broadhead | G. Higginbotham |
The Melbourne Camera Club came second in the international contest, the winner being the Photographic Society of India.
17th MAY 1939
Page 10 - PRESS, VOLUME LXXV, ISSUE 22712
CHRISTCHURCH PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
PHOTOGRAPHIC AWARDS
Advice has been received by several members of the Christchurch Photographic Society of their success in overseas exhibitions. Miss T.R. Kent ARPS, had acceptances from the Tokyo International Salon and the Amateur Photographers competition for overseas workers. In this competition Mr. F.L. Casbolt won a silver plaque and Miss Kent a bronze plaque; certificates were awarded to Miss E. Black and Messrs M. Grant, N. Lawers, F.E. McGregor and F.L. Bowron. Mr. Casbolt was successful also at the Boston Eighth International Salon and, with Mr. McGregor at the thirty-first Scottish International Salon. Mr. McGregor had a picture accepted also at the San Francisco International Salon.
Tuesday 30th May 1939
Page 6 - Examiner (Launceston, Tasmania)
NORTHERN TASMANIAN CAMERA CLUB
HONOR FOR MR. H.J. KING
Mr. H.J. King, well known in photographic circles and a member of the Northern Tasmanian Camera Club, had one of his photographs hung at the Exhibition of "Colonial and Overseas Pictorial Photographs" held in London under the auspices of the Royal Photographic Society. It was the first exhibition held at the society's new headquarters. The same photograph was sent with Christmas greetings to Queen Mary by the Country Women's Association of Tasmania. The title of the picture was "Full Moon" and the subject "The Windermere Church".
1st July 1942
Page 269 - Volume 49 No. 7 - Australasian Photo-Review
1941 COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION: |
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SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
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| Keast Burke | Harold Cazneaux | J.B. Eaton | Dr. Julian Smith | F. Cole | J.P. Carney | E. Robertson | F.A. White | Clarence B. Young | Les. Fisher | K.H. Harrington | Ainslie Roberts |
1st August 1943
Page 314 - Volume 50 No. 8 - Australasian Photo-Review
THE "AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER" OVERSEAS COMPETITION AUSTRALIAN AWARDS FOR 1942
Extract from The Amateur Photographer , March 31st, 1943
It speaks well for the enthusiasm of amateur photographers all over the world that the entries in this year’s competition were as numerous as in previous war years and the standard of the work submitted remains of a high order. As was the case last year, club entries as such have dwindled, but many workers who have sent prints have stated to which society they belong. There were, for example, many excellent entries from South Australia, by members of the Adelaide Camera Club, but no club entry as such was sent. This was a pity, and we hope that the Adelaide Camera Club will bear this in mind and send a collective entry for the current competition. The award for the best club entry once more goes to the Johannesburg Camera Club, from whom a good, all-round entry was received. The increased number of prints from Canada this year was encouraging. As on previous occasions, the awards will take the form of Silver and Bronze Plaques and Certificates, and are as follows:
1944 COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION: |
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SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
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| Harold Cazneaux | Clarence B. Young | Dr. Julian Smith | E. Robertson | F.G. Crook-King | Keast Burke | John P. Carney | Keith McClure | F. Cole | Roy Dobbinson | F.A. White | John A. Shearer | Ainslie Roberts | J.W. Ikin |
Saturday 17th June 1944
Page 3 - News (Adelaide SA)
CAMERA CLUB'S LONDON SUCCESS
Between 20 and 25 photographs, the work of nine South Australian photographers, made up the Adelaide Camera Club's exhibit which has won the club award in the 1943 Amateur Photographer's Colonial and Overseas competition in London.
News of the award was received yesterday by the President of the Adelaide Camera Club (Mr Ainslie Roberts) in a cablegram of congratulations from the Johannesburg Camera Club, which has won the award for several years.
The South Australian photographers whose work was included in the exhibit were: Messrs. F. Day, F.A. White, F. Cole, E. Robertson, J.B. Shearer, R.H. Fisher and Miss I.M. Capper.
The trophy will be a plaque and a signed exhibition photograph by F.J. Mortimer, of London, who is considered to be the world's greatest marine photographer.
Mr Roberts said the Adelaide Camera Club was the only one in Australia that had managed to hold an exhibition every year during the war. Most of the members were using pre-war materials so old that they had become a problem, but with care they had managed to carry on.
The Camera Club's exhibition this year would be held in the Royal South Australian Society of Arts Gallery from 21st August to 1st September.
September 1945
Page 426 - Australasian Photo-Review
AUSTRALIAN SUCCESSES IN THE “AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER” 1944 OVERSEAS COMPETITION
Special awards in the 1944 “Amateur Photographer” Overseas Competition (June 13th, 1945, The Amateur Photographer) went to the following Australasian workers:
1944 COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION: |
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SILVER PLAQUES: |
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F. Cole ARPS |
F.A. White |
E.T. Robson |
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BRONZE PLAQUES: |
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| E.T. Robson Wellington |
Ainslie Roberts Adelaide, South Australia |
E. Robertson ARPS Millswood, South Australia |
Lawrie Cullen North Balwyn, Victoria |
Albert Ash Adelaide, South Australia |
Ida M. Day Toorak Gardens, South Australia |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
|||||
| F. Cole ARPS Glenelg, South Australia |
J.H. Thomas Wellington |
E.T. Robson Wellington |
R.F. Hatchett Sydney |
Ainslie Roberts Adelaide, South Australia |
J.W. Ikin Tasmania |
| E. Robertson Millswood, South Australia |
A.E. Merryful Chatswood, NSW |
F.A. White Grovene, South Australia |
Albert Ash Adelaide, South Australia |
A.V. Clutterbuck Adelaide, South Australia |
L.W. De Santo Launceston, Tasmania |
Special reference was made to the Club entry submitted by the Adelaide Camera Club.
May 1946
Page 249 - Australasian Photo-Review
AUSTRALIAN SUCCESSES IN THE “AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER” 1945 OVERSEAS COMPETITION
The following Australian references were noted in the Amateur Photographer for March 25th, 1946:
1945 COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION: |
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SILVER PLAQUES: |
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Mata Hari |
The End of Another Day |
The Dinghy F. Cole |
Sailing Time F. Cole |
Cascade Roy MacDonell |
Rain on the Hills E.T. Robson |
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BRONZE PLAQUES: |
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The Dance of the Nymphs |
A Gondolier |
Shoreline |
3 a.m. |
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CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
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| Golden Poplars Roy MacDonell |
So What! Roy Dobinson |
Next Sunday Night Roy Dobinson |
The Diver Keast Burke ARPS |
Winter at Newcastle Keast Burke ARPS |
Anzac Anniversary Keast Burke ARPS |
Gateway to the Skies Cliff Noble |
Early Morn Clarence B. Young ARPS |
| Summer Landscape E.T. Robson |
On Service F. Cole |
P.D. Clements, Esq. Ainslie Roberts |
Going Home Ainslie Roberts |
Approaching Storm Frank M. Day |
An Opportunist E. Robertson ARPS |
Aftermath |
|
The only club entries to be received were those of the Adelaide Camera Club and the Miniature Camera Group (Sydney), but no club award appears to have been made as was done in previous years.
In the subsequent issue of April 3rd, we also observe the results of the Annual Lantern Slide Competition. The name of only one Australian exhibitor appears in this list, namely Mr. J.W. Ikin, who secured a Silver Plaque for his slide “Lighten Our Darkness” and a Certificate for “Evening Shadows”.
June 1950
Page 397 - Australasian Photo-Review
AUSTRALIAN SUCCESSES IN THE “AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER” 1949 OVERSEAS COMPETITION
After the lapse of several years, thanks to the initiative of the Melbourne Camera Club, the award for the “Best Club Entry” has come back to Australia, the Club gaining not only this award, but in addition ten acceptances (at the Royal Photographic Society Gallery showing), two bronze plaques and a silver plaque. The complete Australian list is as follows:
1949 COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION: |
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SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
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| WAREHOUSE R. Gregory |
QUIET MOMENT C.G. West |
TURBULENCE Bilney |
THE PENTLAND HILLS A.G. Gray |
DECLINING DAY Dr. L.A. Love |
FIG TREES J.P. Carney ARPS |
AT SUNDOWN W. Broadhead |
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July 1951
Page 450 - Australasian Photo-Review
AUSTRALIAN SUCCESSES IN THE “AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER” ANNUAL OVERSEAS COMPETITION
The only Australasian name to be seen in the prize list of the “Amateur Photographer's” Annual Overseas Exhibition, 1950, was that of Laurence Le Guay (“Reflections”). An editorial comment referred to the fact that the group entry from Melbourne Camera Club unfortunately did not arrive until after the close of the judging.
June 1954
Volume 61 Number 6 - Page 384 - Australasian Photo-Review
“AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER” 1954 OVERSEAS COMPETITION
For the first time in many years no Australian names appeared in the award list for either of the Amateur Photographer Annual Overseas Competitions, Lantern Slide or Pictorial. Thanks to the unremitting efforts of Karel Jan Hora, Johannesburg Photographic Society once again secured the plaque for the 'best club entry' but that society appears to have been seriously challenged by Hong Kong which failed only by the fact that “the workers there had not got together for a good club entry”. Apart from the two centers named above, India and Pakistan appear to be the only other countries listed.
May 1955
CAMERA NEWS
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
The Pretoria Photographic Society this year won the main award for the best collective entry in the annual Amateur Photographer Overseas competition in London.
The Art Editor of the Amateur Photographer states that there was a very large entry from all corners of the Empire and Commonwealth, and the overall standard was extraordinarily high and few prints only did not come up to first-class exhibition standard. Individual awards from South Africa were as follows:
1955 COLONIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION: |
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SILVER PLAQUES: |
BRONZE PLAQUES: |
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: |
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| NO TITLE O. Abramowitz (Pretoria) |
L DE YAAL C. van Tilburg (Pretoria) |
MORNING REPOSE Max Nowitz |
AFRICAN WORSHIP Dr. A.D. Bensusan FRPS, FPSA ( Johannesburg) |
LADY FROM THE EAST Max Nowitz (Pretoria) |
DYING SWAN J. le Roux (Jobannesburg) |
TULIPS Elro Braak (Pretoria) |
COMMERCE WINDOW H. C. Brinkworth (Wynberg C.P.) |
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