New Zealand Casbolt

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LENNARD CASBOLT APSA, FRPS

F. Lennard (Len) Casbolt was a stalwart of the Christchurch Photographic Society, helping to revive it in 1923 and serving as president for 31 years.

His work was exhibited internationally, especially from the 1930's to the 1960's, and he remained active in photography into the 1980's. In 1971 he was awarded the title of Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society.

Casbolt tended to work in the style known as pictorialism, which often involved significant hand working of prints. This is evident in the different versions of some of his prints held by Te Papa. The acquisition in 2009 of Casbolt's work also included 281 original negatives, potentially allowing a study of the interpretations he made when printing his negatives.

10th APRIL 1930 Page 6 - PRESS, VOLUME LXVI, ISSUE 19900

CHRISTCHURCH PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
The monthly meeting of the Christchurch Photographic Society was held on Tuesday, Mr W.A. Taylor presiding over a good attendance of members and visitors. The resignation of Mr L.W. Haxell as Secretary and Treasurer was accepted with regret. Mr R. Ramshaw consented to act as Secretary, and Mr S.W. Perkins as treasurer for the present. Two new members were elected. The chairman notified that the next field outing would be held at Stewart's Gully. A fair number of entries were received for the current monthly print competitions, namely "Portraits" and "Landscape with Figure". Mr F.L. Casbolt gave an instructive demonstration of enlarging, dealing fully with insertion of clouds and double printing. A vote of thanks was accorded the lecturer.

8th MAY 1931
Page 15 - OTAGO DAILY TIMES, ISSUE 21329

In the annual overseas competition of the Amateur Photographer many prizes were gained by New Zealanders.

SILVER PLAQUES: George Chance (Dunedin) and F.H. Taylor (Invercargill), now of New Zealand House.
BRONZE PLAQUES: Una Garlick (Auckland), H.E. Gaze (Hamilton), F. Mitchell (Nelson).
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT: 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), and A.C Armstrong (Dunedin).

The special award for the best collective exhibit went to South Africa, the Johannesburg Photographic Society.

28th SEPTEMBER 1933 Page 4 - PRESS, VOLUME LXIX, ISSUE 20972

FLOWER SHOW AT PAPANUI
PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION
LANDSCAPE: Mr F.L. Casbolt 1; H. Milne 2; F.R. Lamb h.c.
ANIMAL STUDY: Mr F.L. Casbolt 1; A.W. Beales 2.
RIVER SCENE: Mr F.L. Casbolt 1; H. Milne 2.
SEASCAPE OR MARINE: V. Whiteside 1; Mr F.L. Casbolt 2; F.R. Lamb h.c.
PORTRAIT OR FIGURE STUDY: Mr F.L. Casbolt 1; R.W. Chiplin 2; F.R. Lamb h.c.

THIS FREEDOM

accepted in the
Ninth Chicago International Salon of Photography

14th OCTOBER 1938 Page 6 - PRESS, VOLUME LXXIV, ISSUE 22532

PHOTOGRAPHIC CONTEST
ENTRIES FROM MANY SCHOOLS
The results were announced last evening of the school photographic competition arranged by the Christchurch Photographic Society. There was a large number of entries representing the intermediate and secondary schools of the city.

Mr F.L. Casbolt, president of the Christchurch Photographic Society, gave criticisms of the prints and some advice to the competitors. He found the standard of work high and praised the imagination shown by many of the workers.

The results were: G. Adams, age 13, Shirley Intermediate School, 1, "Nigger"; Miss Heather Lilly, Christchurch Girls High School, "Kaikoura Peninsula", and J.N. Burdon, Christ's College, "Reflections"(equal), 2; P.R. Vincent, Christchurch Boys High School, special prize for a group of three photographs. The award to the school with the highest aggregate marks was made to the Christchurch Girls High School.

20th JULY 1939 Page 4 - PRESS, VOLUME LXXV, ISSUE 22767

PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION
PRIZES AWARDED
There were 58 entries from seven schools in the photographic competition arranged by the Christchurch Photographic Society. The prints were judged by Mr F.L. Casbolt, president of the society. The following were the prize winners: Barbara de Lambert (Christchurch Girls High School), “Evening Clouds”, 1; C.R. Anderson (Christ’s College), “Morning Mists", 2; Ruth Adams (St. Margaret’s College), “Don’t Want a Wash”, 3; George Weigel (Shirley Intermediate School), “River Mists”, 4.

The special trophy for the school sending the best set of prints was awarded to Christchurch Girls High School.

Mr Casbolt gave a detailed criticism of each print, pointing out mistakes in technique, composition, and lighting, and showing where the photographer had succeeded in his aim. It was difficult to judge all the prints equally, because they were not all the sole work of the competitors. The rules of the competition allowed entrants to have their work developed, printed, and mounted by experienced workers. To those who had done their own work Mr Casbolt gave some helpful advice.

The variety of subjects treated was good, and there were some interesting attempts to make studies by artificial light.

The winning photograph was described by Mr Casbolt as a very pleasing pictorial composition. He showed how the cabbage tree and the dark mass of the base led round towards the waves which curved to the distant land and the clouds. The whole effect of curved composition was particularly pleasing; the ivory paper used was suitable for the subject, and the tones were excellent. Mr Casbolt suggested that a more suitable title than “Evening Clouds” could have been chosen for this very pleasant picture.

“Morning Mists, Lake Pukaki”, the second prize photograph, was a picture in delicate tones; its particular merit was the subject itself, and Mr Casbolt congratulated the photographer on seeing that the picture was there. The title he considered good, the only suggestion he could make being that the quality of the snow in the foreground would have been shown more clearly if a white paper with a crisp finish had been used. Hints about the suitable uses for cream, ivory, and white printing paper were given by Mr Casbolt to a very attentive audience.

Remarks on titles were also listened to with eager attention. A photograph of a billy and a glass of milk was well named. “Health”; one of three horses looking towards the camera was also fittingly titled “Photo, Please!” But a very delicate snow scene, a very pleasant picture, was spoilt by the title, “Who Said it Couldn’t Snow?” The judge said that short titles were generally the best, and that unusual ones, helping with the composition of the picture, to concentrate attention on the main point of interest, were to be sought.

18th JANUARY 1940 Page 6 - PRESS, VOLUME LXXVI, ISSUE 22921
19th JANUARY 1940 Page 8 - EVENING POST, VOLUME CXXIX, ISSUE 16
22nd JANUARY 1940 Page 9 - NEW ZEALAND HERALD, VOLUME LXXVII, ISSUE 23560

CHRISTCHURCH PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
Mr F.L. Casbolt ARPS, and Mr. F.E. McGregor, members of the Christchurch Photographic Society, have received advice that they have had prints accepted in the second international salon at Debrecen, Hungary. Mr Casbolt's work is represented also in the exhibition at Zagreb, Yugoslavia.

10th AUGUST 1940 Page 18 - PRESS, VOLUME LXXVI, ISSUE 23095

SCHOOLS PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION
MR F.L. CASBOLT’S JUDGING OF PRINTS
The annual photographic competition arranged for Canterbury schools by the Christchurch Photographic Society was judged by Mr F.L. Casbolt, president of the society. The winner of the competition was P.R. Vincent, of the Christchurch Boys High School; his picture was of a rainy night scene in Christchurch, and the quality of the print was excellent. The second prize was won by J.S. Pollard, also of Christchurch Boys High School, for a landscape showing foothills and mountains with good cloud effects. Barbara de Lambert, of Christchurch Girls High School, won the third prize with a landscape. The boys of the Shirley Intermediate School did hot compete, but brought for exhibition a set of pictures which they had enlarged and mounted from negatives that were not made by them; Mr Casbolt congratulated these boys on the quality of the technical, work in some of these enlargements.

The girls and boys who entered for the competition this year, Mr Casbolt said, showed that they had the most valuable possession a photographer can have — imagination. They produced many pictures of which the subject matter was highly interesting and certainly worthy of photographers attention. They had gone out to find subjects that would make interesting pictures, and had not been content merely to follow and copy others who had gone before them. The technical merits of their photographs were not always high, but if an idea was there a photograph had something of importance to recommend it. Technical competence would come with practice, but not every photographer could hope to develop the essential quality of imagination.

Brian Brake (left) and Lennard Casbolt at the Fifth International Salon of Photography, Christchurch, in 1948

24th OCTOBER 1949 Page 3 - ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, VOLUME 70, ISSUE 11

HIGH HONOR
NEW ZEALAND PHOTOGRAPHER
NEW YORK, October 22.

The Photographic Society of America has announced that Mr F. Lennard Casbolt, of 22 Tancred Street, Christchurch, New Zealand, is one of the 50 persons who have been made associates of the society. The award, the society stated, indicated that the recipients "have attained proficiency in photography and made initial contributions, to photographic science and art”.

The society stated that the award was sought by photographers all over the world.

Mr Casbolt, who is president of the Christchurch Photographic Society, and an associate of the Royal Photographic Society, is the first New Zealander to be made an associate of the Photographic Society of America. He has had photographs exhibited in many of the most important overseas exhibitions in the last 10 years.

28th APRIL 1949 Page 6 - OTAGO DAILY TIMES, ISSUE 27066

PHOTOGRAPHIC ART
Two New Zealanders, Mr Gerald E. Jones, of Auckland, and Mr F. Lennard Casbolt, of Christchurch, had works hung recently in the eleventh International Photographic Salon at Lisbon. One of three prints by Mr Casbolt, entitled “Spring”, was reproduced in the catalog of the exhibition. Mr Jones showed one print, “The Flautist”. He was the only New Zealand exhibitor in the last International Salon at Madrid, which accepted a study of breaking waves, taken on the Auckland west coast.

24th OCTOBER 1949 Page 5 - OTAGO DAILY TIMES, ISSUE 27219

COVETED AWARD
CHRISTCHURCH PHOTOGRAPHER HONORED
The St. Louis Photographic Society of America announced that Mr F. Leonard Casbolt, of Christchurch, is one of 50 persons who have been made associates of the society. This award, the society stated, indicated that the recipients “have attained proficiency in photography and have made initial contributions to photographic science and art”. The society stated that the award is sought by photographers throughout the world.