1919 Associated Camera Clubs of America was founded.
September 8, 1932 Meeting in Newark, NJ, first step towards creating Photographic Society of America.
December 1, l932 Letters sent to 200 likely interested parties to be part of organizing committee.
Early 1933 Nearly all of the solicited persons joined for one dollar per year dues.
Early 1933 Officers of the Organizing Committee were elected as follows:
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Headquarters was located at the site of the Newark Camera Club in Newark NJ.
September 4, 1933 The second meeting of the committee was held at the Fort Dearing Camera Club in Chicago, IL. Progress reports were favorable, and it was decided to enroll individual members.
October 1933 A resolution to change the name of Associated Camera Clubs of America to Photographic Society of America was presented to the Board of the Associated Camera Clubs of America and passed.
December 1933 Records and funds of Associated Camera Clubs of America were transferred to the newly organized Photographic Society of America.
1934 |
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HONORARY PRESIDENT: |
PRESIDENT: |
VICE PRESIDENT: |
SECRETARY: |
TREASURER: |
DIRECTOR: |
DIRECTOR: |
DIRECTOR: |
DIRECTOR: |
DIRECTOR: |
DIRECTOR: |
DIRECTOR: |
President Thorek appointed William Woodburn as chairman for a committee to draft a constitution and by-laws of the Society. |
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PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA |
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| 2021 J.R. Schnelzer, FPSA, MPSA2, EFIAP | 2017-2021 Elena McTighe, FPSA, MPSA | 2015-2017 Charles Burke, FPSA, EPSA | 2011-2015 John Davis, Jr. | 2007-2011 Fred Greene |
| 2003-2007 Richard M. Frieders | 1999-2003 Albert L. Sieg | 1995-1999 Pauline Sweezey Fredrickson | 1991-1995 James H. Turnbull | 1987-1991 Ralph E. Venk |
| 1985-1986 Paul T. Luebke | 1983-1985 Frank S. Pallo | 1979-1983 Henry W. Greenhood | 1975-1979 Arthur P. Henricks, Jr. | 1971-1975 DeWitt Bishop |
| 1967-1971 Joe E. Kennedy | 1963-1967 Nester Barrett | 1959-1963 Robert J. Goldman | 1955-1959 Melvin M. Phegley | 1951-1955 Norris Harkness |
| 1949-1951 John G. Mulder | 1945-1949 Charles B. Phelps, Jr. | 1941-1945 John S. Rowan | 1937-1941 Frank Liuni | 1934-1937 Max Thorek |
Saturday 18th November 1939 Page 8 - The Newcastle Sun (NSW)
MEN VAINER THAN WOMEN
Men are much vainer than women, at least when they are being photographed. That is the Judgment of Dr. Theron Wendell Kilmer, of New York, children's specialist, police surgeon and an amateur photographer of 50 years' standing, who is known for his portraits of men and especially of his fellow-physicians.
Dr. Kilmer spoke at the fifth annual convention of the Photographic Society of America at the Hotel Capitol and spared neither sex with his remarks.
"People say women are vain", he said, "Don't you believe it. I never saw anything as vain as a man in a studio. I have known many men take up a mirror, smile, strike the right pose, one that the wife would like".
A portrait of a man, said the doctor, "must look like the fellow. Otherwise it's punk. If it's not like him, he'll say so. You must remember it has to take his place when he is away. His wife should be able to look at it and sigh, "I wish John were here".
Saturday 9th December 1939 Page 3 - The Newcastle Sun (NSW)
CAMERA CRAFT by Hypo
VANITY OF SUBJECTS
Men are much vainer than women, at least when they are being photographed. That is the judgment of Dr. Theron Wendell Kilmer of Hempstead, Long Island, U.S.A., children's specialist, police surgeon and an amateur photographer of 50 years standing, who is known for his portraits of men and especially of his fellow-physicians.
Dr. Kilmer spoke at the fifth annual convention of the Photographic Society of America and spared neither sex with his remarks.
"People say women are vain", he said. "Don't you believe it. I never saw anything as vain as a man in a studio. I have known many men take up a mirror, smile, strike the right pose, one that the wife would like". A portrait of a man, said the doctor, "must look like the fellow. Otherwise it's punk. If it's not like him, he'll say so. You must remember it has to take his place when he is away. His wife should be able to look at it and sigh, 'I wish John were here'."
"When a woman is photographed she must have an ensemble", he continued, "but a man has nothing but his face. That's all any one cares about".
Dr. Kilmer did not approve of full length portraits for men. It was important that men should pose simply and directly. Too often they were stood half-side on, left shoulder thrust toward the camera, hands folded".
Dr. Kilmer advocated plain back grounds and simple lighting for men's portraits. He felt, too, that it was more important for the photographer to feel comfortable than the sitter. "You can't take a masterpiece if you have to break your back crouching down to focus. Put the man on a stool", said he. Nor should men be given the chance to be camera-conscious. On no account should the wife be allowed in during the sitting, said the doctor. "She is apt to say 'Robert, your tie's not straight' just at the wrong moment, and men's ties are rarely straight".
Photographers should know their sitters and their interests, whether they were religion, high-diving or money. He did not see why photographers should not take a leaf out of the artist's book and have a sitter come back several times.
Photographers should not be tempted to retouch pictures of men. Their wrinkles and mussed-up hair should be left as they were. They were the signs of their characters.
Dr. Kilmer also said he opposed photographic salons being judged by any one but photographers. In a recent national American salon the three Judges were the mother of a President of the United States, an inventor, and an authority on etiquette.
Thursday 1st February 1940 Page 53 - Chronicle (Adelaide, SA)
Saturday 10th February 1940 Page 3 - Kalgoorlie Miner (WA)
Friday 23rd February 1940
Page 4 - Daily Telegraph and North Murchison and Pilbarra Gazette (WA)
Page 4 - The Yalgoo Observer and Murchison Chronicle (Meekatharra, WA)
Page 4 - The Manganese Record, Peak Hill, Nullagine and Marble Bar Gazette (Meekatharra, WA)
IN FRONT OF CAMERA
MALE AND FEMALE VANITY
Dr. Theron Wendell Kilmer, a children's specialist, police surgeon and famous photographer of U.S.A. had some interesting comments to make at the Annual Convention of the Photographic Society of America recently on men's attitude when having their photographs taken.
She declared that men are more vain in front of the camera than women. Invariably when a man enters a studio she had noticed him posing himself before a mirror in a posture which he thought would show him at his best.
Men, too, according to this expert, want the best of both of the photographic worlds. Any portrait of them must be attractive and it must also be like them. Women, on the other hand, demand that a photograph be attractive; they prefer it to be like them too, but if it isn't they don't toss it on one side as do the male sex with the remark that it is "punk".
A man's idea regarding his photograph is that it must take his place. His wife should be able to look at it standing on the mantelpiece and say "I wish John were here". That, by men's standards, is the perfect photograph.
Among much valuable advice given on the taking of male photographs, this expert emphasized that a man's wife should not be present during the procedure, he was too apt to upset the man's vanity and ruin his portrait in consequence by some instruction to "put his tie straight" at a most disastrous moment.
Saturday 5th October 1940 Page 4 - The Newcastle Sun (NSW)
CAMERA CRAFT
With the world at war, amateur photography is well in the background in most countries, but photographers of every class have been and are, having a wonderful time at the World Fair in the United States.
Under the guiding hand of the Photographic Society of America, the World's Fair has this year produced a remarkable photographic effort. It has been gold-starred with popular contests and pleasing exhibitions. But at the moment the Photographic Society of America must ride in a back seat. The Oval Table Society's member salon has been assembled and is occupying the place of honor in the rotunda of the Hall of Industry and Metals.
By and large, the Oval Table exhibition is the most gratifying yet to hang at the Fair. It Includes 182 prints by some 39 photographers. These pictures vary in size from about 8 x 10 inches to prodigious efforts larger than the standard 16 x 20 exhibition mount. But the effect is not spotty. The majority of the prints are of standard size and variations, due to the uniformly high print quality, do not seem obvious.
Membership in the Oval Table is by invitation only, largely dependent upon a worth-while contribution, scientifically or otherwise, to the progress of photography and the prints displayed prove that the members - from the pictorial point alone - rank among the world's finest photographers. A glance at the exhibition catalog will show the visitor that 29 Fellows and Associates of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain are exhibiting. Included is a former president of the Royal Photographic Society, the president of the Photographic Society of America, the President of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia, the past president of the Pictorial Photographers of America and a number of professionals whose names are bywords in the industry. In fact, every participant is either an outstanding exhibitor or internationally known judge.
The prints now being shown have not passed before any committee of Judges. Each member has sent what he considers the outstanding examples of his work and they make a fascinating combination.
Saturday 28th December 1940 Page 4 - The Newcastle Sun (NSW)
CAMERA CRAFT
A photographic exhibit arranged by foreign salons under the sponsorship of the Photographic Society of America is now open in the Hall of Industry and Metals at the World's Fair.
This display embraces pictures from Hungary, France, Scotland and China, totaling 275 prints. The component sections, with the exception of the Chinese, have been separately exhibited throughout America for the past six or eight months. This, however, is the first time they have ever been grouped and the Chinese work displayed. The Photographic Society of America arranged with the leading amateur organizations in each country for the loan of the collections and has supervised their travels.
The most obvious reason for visiting this exhibit, aside from the pleasure of looking at good pictures, is to make a comparison with contemporary work in the United States. In that respect the Hungarian pictures will undoubtedly be the first to catch the eye. Principally the work of that group of photographers who look to Erno Vadas for leadership, the prints are decidedly worth seeing.
There are 100 pictures in this group and, with the exception of the subject matter which reveals their origin they might well be found in any of the better domestic salons. The photographers have attacked their subject matter, which covers a wide range, quite vigorously and have utilized a high standard of print technique to project the story.
These photographers are masters at picturing people at work, at play and in the little humdrum round of life. It is interesting to note that they seem to realize the dramatic value of close-ups far more keenly than do most photographers. This characteristic gives to their work a dramatic strength, which is best evidenced in this salon by the portraits of native types. Another feature, which might advantageously be adopted universally is the habit of turning out not a single portrait but a series of studies of an individual to be hung side by side. From such a series the visitor gains a more concrete and lifelike picture of the subject.
The great majority of these Hungarian studies are printed on glossy or semi-matte papers. One immediate advantage of the technique is apparent in the amount of detail held by the print. Another is the high brilliance, which is attractive as the standard of an entire salon. Somehow it seems to level the advantage of a heavy purse, which permits one photographer to buy better paper than an other, and to place all pictures on a plane where inherent photographic — not paper - quality is the basis for judgment. The gloss also gives to the Hungarian prints a dynamic quality rarely found in matte-surfaced photographs.
DIFFERENCE IN TECHNIQUE
The 100 French prints included in the exhibition might be considered the diametric opposite to the Hungarian work. Whereas the Hungarians are interested in people and their occupations, the French - as represented by the exhibiting photographers — place their emphasis on placid scenes and still-life. To a large degree they are interested in pattern, in some instances almost to the point of abstraction.
The lack of the human quality in these photographs is the chief point in which they differ from what might be termed accepted technique. In looking at the prints one gets the feeling that he is looking back upon photography of ten or even twenty years past. There are quite a few prints, of course, which in themselves would contradict that statement. Yet by and large, the impression remains.
The Scottish work, totaling 47 items. is more in line with the general impression of Western European photography, it illustrates effectively what can be done with patience in the way of pure pictorial photography. This is especially evident in the landscape and genre work.
One field in which it would be hard to deny that the Scots do excellent work is bromoil. There are at least half a dozen prints in this style which are among the best examples exhibited in New York In months. They use it to good advantage in presenting pictures of misty landscapes and coastal fishing villages.
The Chinese exhibit is interesting since it gives the first inkling in many months of what China is doing photographically. All the pictures exhibited are the work of students at the Princeton-Yenching University at Peking.
For the most part these photographs would fall into the snapshot classification, being merely records of the students and buildings of the university, which occupies a portion of the old Imperial Palace grounds. But included in this group are about ten hand colored prints which are well worth study. Hand coloring is not acceptable at most salons, but these prints in any color exhibition would stand up well with average Kodachromes.
Saturday 4th October 1941 Page 4 - The Newcastle Sun (NSW)
CAMERA CRAFT
NATURE is one of the most difficult fields of photographic endeavor. It is a field in which patience, more than a virtue is a necessity. It is a field which holds more disappointments per square inch of film exposed than any other, and yet the Photographic Society of America has just announced a salon to be limited to nature photographs.
"Because nature photography all over the world, and especially In the United States, lacks the interested and enthusiastic following it deserves", says the announcement: "because it is the wish of the Photographic Society of America to stimulate such an Interest by assembling an outstanding salon of photographs covering the field of nature as completely as the camera is capable of coverage: and because the society feels that the public would be more than ordinarily interested in such a salon, this, the first Nature Salon of the Photographic Society of America, respectfully invites the contributions of the world's photographers - the specialists in scientific and natural-history pictures, as well as the thousands of skilled photographers in other fields who could to advantage turn a portion of their time to photographing the beauties and fascination of nature".
The salon will be held at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago from October 24 through November 22, in conjunction with the annual convention of the Photographic Society of America. Subsequently, the pictures will be shown in New York, Philadelphia and Washington. And, so eager is the society that those prints exhibited shall represent only the best in nature photography, that it has ruled out bromoils, prints made from paper negatives, hand-colored prints and transparencies. This elimination of the most contribute to the honesty of the salon - the only unfortunate aspect being that Kodachrome transparencies, which are being used to such good effect in nature photography to-day, are also excluded.
FOUR DIVISION
The salon is divided into four sections: First, zoological, which will include all animals, reptiles, birds, fish, insects and animal products such as shells, fossils, etc. This group is subdivided into class A for zoological pictures made in the natural environment of the subject, and Class B for zoological pictures made under controlled conditions or studio conditions including zoos.
Division two is for botanical pictures including all plants, trees, flowers, ferns, mosses, fungi and so forth. This class is also subdivided into two sections for natural and controlled pictures.
The third division embraces the technical aspects of nature photography, including geological, meteorological, astronomical, metallurgical, photomicrographic and radiographic work.
Division 4 is generally titled "Series Groups", and is for the display of picture sets showing metamorphoses, evolutions, "magic eye" series and all other nature stories in which a series of pictures is needed for proper narration. There is no limit on the number of pictures which may be used to tell these stories. Photographers may submit not more than four prints in any division upon payment of the standard salon entry fee of one dollar, but they may enter as many divisions as they wish upon payment of the entry fee for each division.
As to the eligibility of photographers the Photographic Society of America sets no limitations. Any photographer who sees or can see nature pictures is invited to submit his prints for judging, and the society wishes particularly to bring this salon to the attention of radiographers, photomicrographers, astronomical, geological, meteorological and metallurgical photographers, as well as zoological and botanical photographers everywhere.
To assure such photographers that their work will get a fair and competent appraisal, the society has named among the judges Henry Fairfield Osborn, president of the New York Zoological Society; Miss Margaret Baker, of the New England Museum of Natural History; Mrs. Matthew R. Barcellona, of the Buffalo Museum of Science; R. Meyer De Schauensee, curator of birds and member of the board of the Academy of Natural Science and director of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia and other well-known scientists and photographers.
Sunday 1st September 1946 Page 6 - The Sun (Sydney, NSW)
COLOR MAN
Clarence B. Young, photographer and city hotel manager, of Abbotsford, has "always been crazy about color".
"Australians", says Mr. Young, "are not as tough as they think they are. If they were tough, they would not worry about being laughed at, or called 'sissies' when they wear brightly-colored clothes.
"The Australian scene breeds a natural love of color in most men, who admire the color in nature, but won't introduce that same brightness into their clothes.
"Even if a man does not want to wear bright suits, he should at least introduce color into his accessories — shirts, ties, socks, hat bands, scarves".
"Clarrie" Young's vivid ties, bright sports clothes are a byword among his friends. His color camera-work is a byword among photographers. (COLOR, March 3, published his remarkable sunset and lightning flash color photos). He is an associate of the Royal Photographic Society (Great Britain) and an active member of the Photographic Society of America. His pictures have won international awards.
The bright-tied manager of the Liverpool Arms Hotel, King and Pitt-streets, Sydney, is also a judge of photographs for Kodak's, a lecturer on color photography.
Sunday 10th November 1946 Page 3 - The Sun (Sydney, NSW)
HIS OWN LIFE WAS A COMPOSITE PICTURE
The first Australian to be made an Associate of the Photographic Society of America manages an Hotel in King-street. He is a slightly-built ex-professional fighter Clarence B. Young, 44.
He is a judge of photographs, a writer and lecturer on camera subjects. His wife has modeled for more than half of the pictures in his one-man exhibition now touring Australia. Says Young: "She also takes my lectures and articles in shorthand and types them".
Young's daughter Jill, 20, has her Diploma of Design and Crafts from the East Sydney Technical College, is a keen amateur photographer. She also models for Young.
December 1946 Page 618 - Australasian Photo-Review
The Editor, Mr. KEAST BURKE, B.Sc., ARPS, of the Australasian Photo-Review has been appointed Honorary Representative of the Photographic Society of America for Australia.
At its 1946 meeting the Honors Committee of the Photographic Society of America, the Associateship of the Society was awarded as follows: Clarence B. Young ARPS, APSA.
Wednesday 27th November 1946 Page 7 - Daily Mercury (Mackay, Qld)
Saturday 30th November 1946
Page 7 - Tweed Daily (Murwillumbah, NSW)
Page 7 - Cairns Post (Qld)
PICTURE SHOWS START OF ATOM BOMB EXPLOSION
ROCHESTER, New York (Associated Press):
A photograph of a thin streak of light is said to be the only known existing photograph of the early stages. of the explosion of the atomic bomb dropped from a plane at Bikini Atoll.
Dr. Brian O'Brien, Professor of University of Rochester Institute of Optics, who developed the high speed camera which caught the explosion, said the photograph was taken at a "very, very early stage of the explosion", but added that for security reasons the exact time could not be revealed.
The picture was exhibited at the annual convention of the Photographic Society of America.
January 1947 Page 50 - Australasian Photo-Review
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
At its 1946 meeting, the Honors Committee of the Photographic Society of America, the Associateship of the Society was awarded as follows: Ainslie Roberts APSA (Later: We have just learnt that Mr. Roberts has also gained his ARPS).
Saturday 4th January 1947 Page 8 - The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA)
Mr. Ainslie Roberts, past president of the Adelaide Camera Club, has been made an associate of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain and the Photographic Society of America. Mr. Roberts is one of Australia's leading amateur photographers.
March 1947 Page 150 - Australasian Photo-Review
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
EXHIBITION NOTE
Acceptances at the recent Photographic Society of America Exhibition were gained by Ainslie Roberts ARPS, APSA (2); E. Robertson ARPS (1); L.A. Lyons (2).
August 1947 Page 441 - Australasian Photo-Review
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
THE “MOST PHOTOGRAPHED” EVENT OF 1946
The world’s most photographed event was the atomic bomb tests, “Operation Crossroads”, which were held in Bikini Lagoon in the Pacific on July 1st and 25th. More than 500 cameras were used, ranging from small 16mm and 35mm, movie cameras to large 40-inch telephoto still cameras; many of these being remote and electronically-controlled models. Automatically operated cameras were installed in batteries in high steel towers around the lagoon, in airplanes such as G-54’s, F-13’s, Martin PBM Mariner" and TBM’s, and on destroyers and target ships. Cameras were also installed in four B-17 “drone” airplanes. Not including the pictures taken by accredited newsreel and press photographers, more than 100,000 still pictures and three million feet of film were exposed during the two tests. Even underwater damage to ships was recorded by specially-trained underwater photographers. Panchromatic, infra-red and color films were used and special filters were employed in many instances to absorb unwanted radiation. Some high speed movie cameras were loaded with color films. It was expected that measurements from these photo records would reveal much valuable data on the destructive force of this powerful bomb.
Photographic Society of America Journal, January, 1947
December 1947 Page 650 - Australasian Photo-Review
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Glenn E. Matthews FRPS, FPSA
Chairman, Sustaining Membership Committee of the P.S.A.
The Photographic Society of America began its existence in January 1934, as an outgrowth of the Associated Camera Clubs of America; which began in 1919. Whereas membership in the Associated Camera Clubs of America was limited to camera clubs, the Photographic Society of America is open not only to clubs but to anyone who is interested in the encouragement of the art and science of photography. More specifically, the purposes of this broader Society, as defined in its original constitution, are:
(1) Promotion of the art and science of photography in all its various branches, through individual memberships, associated camera clubs and other photographic organizations;
(2) research and dissemination of photographic knowledge and
(3) promotion of photographic salons and exhibitions.
These ideals are expressed succinctly in the revised constitution and by-laws adopted in March 1947, as follows: "This Society shall be a medium for co-operative action in promoting the arts and sciences of photography and for furthering public education therein".
GROWTH AND STRUCTURE
One hundred members, designated as Charter Members and fifty-one clubs, known as Charter Member Clubs, joined the Society between the time it was organized in 1934 and 13th March 1935, when the constitution and by-laws were adopted. Growth of the Society was slow for several years, but the number of members began to increase rapidly about 1940 and passed the 6000 figure during 1946. The expansion of camera club affiliation has been equally encouraging, over 700 clubs having joined the Society by the end of 1946. Another 100 or more clubs are affiliate4 through nine camera club councils scattered throughout the country. About 100 additional miscellaneous members are included in a list of firms, libraries, laboratories and government bodies. Chart 1 plots the growth of individual and club memberships for 1934 to 1947 inclusive, with estimated growth through to 1955.
The structure of the Photographic Society of America can be divided into two principal groupings: (1) the membership organization and (2) the government, management and administration.
In connection with the first grouping, the by-laws provide that general membership of the Society shall be made up of individuals, organizations and business firms. Individuals may be enrolled as (a) Active Members, (b) Honorary Members, (c) Life Members, or (d) Contributing Members. Organizations may be enrolled as Organizational Members. Business firms may be enrolled as Industrial Members. Initiation fees and membership dues are fixed by the Board of Directors.
Besides the general membership there are three classifications of members. The first classification divides the general members resident in the United States or its territories and possessions into ten geographically defined areas called Districts. The other two classifications are Divisions and Chapters respectively. Either of these latter can be established by petition of a specified number of members resident within an area and upon approval of the Board of Directors. A division can also be created by the Board when in its opinion such action advances the objects of the Society and serves the interests of the membership. Sections of divisions can also be established to facilitate local participation in the activities of the division and of the Society. Chart 2 shows the structure of the membership organization.
In the second broad grouping defining the structure of the Photographic Society of America, representative government is established through the medium of a National Council, which has the powers of recommending policies, procedures and practices and of proposing and ratifying amendments to the constitution and by-laws. The Council is composed of the national officers, divisional chairman, district representatives, chairmen of standing committees, past presidents and honorary representatives when visiting the United States. One annual meeting is held and others may be called by the President either directly or upon request of one-third of the Council members. The Council has approximately 70 members.
Management of the Society and administration of its affairs are placed with a Board of Directors comprising about 30 members. The Board is made up of the national officers, chairmen of divisions, chairmen of standing committees, the immediate past-president and three members elected one each from three geographical sections of the United States. The Board holds at least eight meetings each year, at times and places designated by the President. The annual meeting of the Board is held in the final quarter of the year. No elected officer receives any salary for his services. The Board may create positions of employment to conduct the Society's business, employ qualified personnel, dismiss any employee and prescribe terms of employment and remuneration. Present salaried employees are an executive secretary and staff and an editor of the official journal and his staff.
The national officers of the Photographic Society of America, are a president, first vice-president, second vice-president, secretary and treasurer, all of whom are elected by the membership. The term of each officer is two years and none are eligible to serve more than two elective terms consecutively in the same office.
Standing Committees of the Society for 1947 are as follows: Finance, Public Relations, Conventions, Journal Supervisory, Publications, Membership, Sustaining Membership, Foreign Circuits, Library and Historical, Headquarters Advisory, Honors, Veterans Aid, National Lecture Program, International Relations and Exhibitions.
Chart 3 explains the government, management and administration of the Society.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The activities of the Society are accomplished largely through integral units known as divisions, sections, chapters and affiliated associations. These groups represent much of the life-blood of the organization because many of the services are channeled through them. The names of the present divisions are: Camera Club, color, Motion Picture and Cinema Groups, Nature, Pictorial, Photo-Journalism and Technical. Of these, the Camera Club Division is the oldest, since it represents a continuation of the nucleus that comprised the parent organization, the Associated Camera Clubs of America.
One of the oldest activities that has many ramifications and has proven both popular and beneficial is the Print Interchange. In its usual form, it constitutes a group of pictorial prints that have been assembled by one club for the purpose of interchanging for similar groups of prints assembled by other clubs. Through the medium of the Society, several thousand such print groups have been circulated among several hundred clubs in various parts of the country. Thus the members of the participating clubs in small towns as well as large cities have an opportunity of seeing and criticizing the work of others. The interchange has undoubtedly served to encourage more active interest in photography as well as to stimulate better work. A 100 Print Exchange Exhibit was arranged with the Royal Photographic Society and a Pan-American Exhibit Exchange was started in 1942. Arrangements for additional foreign exchange exhibits are being made in collaboration with the Department of State of the United States. The Photographic Society of America Award of Merit was initiated in 1946 and is intended to give successful exhibitors national recognition and to encourage closer relationships among leading pictorialists.
The Color Slide Interchange was initiated in 1940. It is patterned somewhat after the Print Interchange and has grown in size and interest during the intervening years. Sets of slides are circulated for individuals as well as clubs under the supervision of the Color Division. Some other activities sponsored by this division are: A news bulletin on division activities, a national color print competition, slides for veterans hospitals (10,000 collected and distributed), slide loan library service, national club slide competition, color print courses and circuits and international color slide exhibitions for which standard regulations are provided and competent judges listed.
Another interesting type of interchange is the Postal Portfolio, of which there are two general groups in active operation, the Pictorial Portfolio group, having 29 circles of about 15 members in each and the International Portfolios, having about 5 circles of 10 members each. Each member contributes one print, pays a small fee and in return gets the entire group of pictures for a short period, during which he is supposed to withdraw his original print, substitute another and to comment on the other prints in the portfolio. New portfolios started in 1947 are the Portrait, the Press and the Star Exhibitor Portfolios.
The Camera Club Division published a 40-page booklet in 1945 entitled "Manual for Camera Clubs". Full details of organization, meetings, activities and other matters of interest to clubs are contained in this useful publication. In previous years, the Associated Camera Clubs of America and subsequently the Photographic Society of America has prepared and distributed three editions of another similar manual. Another manual dealing with the conduct of photographic courses in schools is scheduled for publication in 1947. The Camera Club Division publishes a Speakers List, a Camera Club Meetings List and has in preparation a Judges List for Club Contests.
Through its Nature Division, the Society encourages collaboration among nature photographers by holding two print and slide competitions each year in addition to the annual Nature Division Salon as a part of the National Photographic Society of America Salon. Besides awards for the best prints, a group of fifty prints is chosen from the annual exhibition for circulation. The division also aids the formation of nature photography groups and helps existing groups to plan local exhibitions of nature photography.
Besides taking an active part in the Photographic Society of America Annual Exhibition, the Photo-Journalism Division distributes to its members a News Bulletin, as well as Bulletins from the University of Missouri Department of Journalism and technical data on flash photography and other subjects. Publication of articles on news photography in the journal is encouraged. It is an object of this division to encourage better relationships between news photographers and pictorialists and technical workers, to the end that each may understand the others problems.
ln 1946, a Motion Picture and Cinema Groups Division was established with the aim of helping amateur motion picture photographers to make better motion pictures and to aid them in their technical problems. Special showings of outstanding 16mm and 8mm movies were sponsored at the 1946 national meeting in Rochester and plans have been drawn up for the First International Motion Picture Exhibition of the Photographic Society of America in Oklahoma City in October, 1947. An Editorial Board has been formed which reviews articles on motion picture photography for the journal and several articles have been published. Members of this division will also be able to see and criticize each other's pictures through a Motion Picture Portfolio now under organization. Cinema Clubs can benefit through affiliation with this division. Plans are also under way to provide information on organization of new cinema groups and to supply an official list of speakers on motion picture subjects.
The oldest publication of the Society is its Journal, which has been distributed to every member since it was first published in March 1934. The present circulation is approximately 7000 copies. During the 13 years of continuous publication, over 3300 pages of material and over 650 pages of photographic abstracts have been printed. An article describing the composition and growth of the journal during its first ten years was published in the issue for March 1945, pp. 100-103. Through the medium of the journal, every member is kept informed of the progress of the Society, of new developments, processes and equipment and of exhibitions and activities in the photographic world.
For the purpose of providing a common meeting place to discuss the Society's business, hear reports of committees and division chairmen and to have a program of lectures, the Society has held eight national conventions in various cities since the organization meetings were held in Chicago in 1933 and in Pittsburgh in 1934. More than 1000 persons attended the 1946 convention in Rochester, N.Y. Two of these annual meetings were held in Pittsburgh, two in Chicago, two in Rochester, N.Y., one in New York and one in Cleveland. The 1947 convention will be held in Oklahoma City.
Through the medium of the Photographic Society of America more than a million persons have been able to see exhibits of good photography since 1934 and many thousands of photographers have been encouraged to exhibit their pictures. Eleven national exhibitions have been held under the sponsorship of the Society; of these, eight were held as a feature of the annual national convention. The majority of these exhibitions have been hung in some of the leading art galleries of the country such as the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, the Brooklyn Institute, the Art Museum, Chicago, and the Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, N.Y. A 100-Print Exhibit is selected each year from the annual exhibition and routed to various cities throughout the nation. Several foreign print shows have been obtained from such countries as England, France, Italy, Hungary, Australia and New Zealand for showing in many cities in the United States.
Besides pictorial photography, the annual exhibitions have featured for several years special exhibits of color slides and prints, technical photography, nature photography and more recently, press photography and motion picture photography. Each of these exhibits is under the auspices of the division represented by the subject.
One of the most comprehensive exhibitions of technical photography ever assembled was sponsored in 1937 by the Rochester Technical Section of the Photographic Society of America. It was hung in the Rochester Public Library and attracted over 30,000 visitors while it remained on display. Subsequently, a large selection of the best prints were circulated to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, where many thousands of persons had the opportunity to see these unusual technical pictures.
Numerous other exhibitions and contests have been or are being sponsored by the Society, such as the Continental Print Contest, the Petroleum Industry Salon, the Documentary Exhibit (in collaboration with the Farm Security Administration), the Print Shows at the New York World's Fair, a Photographic Contest in 1942 for the American Red Cross.
During the war the Society assisted the Government by preparing a census of Camera Club facilities. Regional committees were formed in 27 cities throughout the nation to register names of photographers and establish auxiliary photographic services. These groups made photographs of civilian aid service personnel and of members of the armed services of our forces as well as our allies. Since the end of the war the Society's Veterans Aid Committee has given local assistance to veterans hospitals and facilities in connection with occupational therapy and other rehabilitation programs.
Technical sections of the national Technical Division have been formed to encourage talks and demonstrations of new scientific developments in various branches of photography. The Rochester Technical Section held its first meeting on 30th September 1935 and has had regular meetings each year since. The Binghamton Section was started in May l941, the Cleveland Section in the fall of 1941, the New York Section in the fall of 1946 and the Boston Section in the spring of 1947. Many of the papers read before these sections have been published in the Journal of the Society. A Technical Editorial Board reviews all technical papers before publication. These published articles represent an expanding file of useful information on the technical advances made in photography. Since 1945 a selection has been made of the outstanding prints in the Open Technical Exhibit of the Photographic Society of America Annual Exhibition for a Traveling Print Show. This exhibit is made available to Photographic Society of America groups, camera clubs, and technical societies in all parts of the country.
In the field of standardization, the Photographic Society of America has been represented for some time on the American Standards Association Committee on Standardization in the Field of Photography, Z38. This committee formulates dimensional standards and recommended practices and establishes methods for testing, rating and classifying the performance characteristics of materials and devices used in photography. The Society has recently set up a Standards Committee of the Technical Division to advise its delegates in connection with their activities on the American Standards Association committees. The Society is also represented on American Standards Association Motion Picture Committee, Z22, from the standpoint of amateur motion picture equipment and practices.
In addition to its journal as a valuable reference, the society is gradually building up a library of books, magazines, pamphlets, reprints of technical articles, patents and other useful source material for the use of its membership. This program was initiated in 1941 and has been under the supervision of a Library Committee. It is now about to be housed in a section of the Society Headquarters at 1815 Spruce Street, Philadelphia 3, Penna. Many of the items cataloged by this committee are of historical nature and in November 1946, the Directors recognized this expanded responsibility by re-naming the committee the Library and Historical Committee. A permanent print collection was established several years ago to recognize and collect examples of outstanding photographic pictorial photography. The collection was strengthened during 1946 by a generous gift by the Oval Table Society of a group of prints made by leading workers abroad.
SUMMARY
From the preceding discussion, it is evident that the Photographic Society of America is a non-commercial, educational organization that is striving to encourage wider interest in photography in all parts of the United States and to some extent in other countries. The Society encourages high standards of photographic work through its annual exhibitions, interchanges, portfolios. Technical advances are fostered through its technical sections. The official Photographic Society of America Journal has recorded many of these technical developments as well as other useful articles and is rapidly becoming one of the primary sources of reference on photographic information in the world. Through the medium of its divisions, chapters and sections the activities of the Society are integrated in such a manner that every member is kept informed of developments and is permitted to take an active part in the work of the Society.
September 1948 Page 548 - Australasian Photo-Review
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The 1948 Directory Issue of the Photographic Society of America Journal indicates that there are twenty-two members in Australia and five in New Zealand. These members are as follows:
AUSTRALIA: S.J. Balma, T.A. Beswick, Keast Burke, J.P. Carney, Dr. A.E.F. Chaffer, Miss M. Clark, A.V. Glutterbuck, K.M. Crammond, G.F. De’Lisle, K.V. Hicks, L.H. Hill, H. Jay, B. Jessop, Laurence Le Guay, S.W. Martin, A. Roberts, E.W. Robertson, E. Rouse, A. Shmith, W. Van der Velden, W. Woodward-Smith, Clarence B. Young.
NEW ZEALAND: A.G. Andrews, F.L. Casbolt, B.A.L. Desgranges, H.A. Larsen, C.C.B. Smith.
Thursday 16th September 1948 Page 3 - The Canberra Times (Australian Capital Territory)
One of Australia's internationally-known photographers, Mr. Clarence B. Young, is at present in Canberra, recording in color the beauty of spring.
Mr. Young, who is an associate of the Royal Photographic Society and the Photographic Society of America, selected the print of the year at the annual meeting of the Canberra Photographic Society on Tuesday.
The winning print was by Mr. Christopher S. Christian who was awarded the John L. Davies trophy. The B.R. Roberts trophy for yearly competition was won by Mr. K.B. Dinnerville and the junior section by Mr. Alfred Clegg Redpath. Mr. W.A. Jessop won the R.S. Stevenson prize.
The cine competition was awarded to Miss E Holt.
Saturday 30th October 1948 Page 24 - The Mail (Adelaide SA)
BIG PHOTO AWARD TO SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MAN
HELPED BY TWO GIRL DANCERS
Two dancers from a stage show passing through Adelaide helped Mr. Ainslie Roberts, of Blackwood, win the highest award of the 1948 Vancouver International Salon of Pictorial Photography.
This week he received his award, the Pacific National Exhibition silver medal, for his "Tableau", a study of two semi-nude Spanish dancers. Today Mr. Roberts said two Australian girls from a stage show, using their own stage costumes, had posed for the picture. Official advice of his success did not arrive until this week, but Mr. Roberts knew about it a week earlier. A former Adelaide man in Vancouver had read the report in a newspaper, air-mailed the cutting to him. The cutting said judges had deliberated for six hours before classing his print ahead of 550 entries from China, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United States, England and Canada.
Mr. Roberts, who is a director of Webb-Roberts, McClelland Pty, Ltd., said he took up photography eight years ago. He was president of Adelaide Camera Club for two years, is an associate of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain and associate of the Photographic Society of America.
Sunday 7th November 1948 Page 5 - The Sun (Sydney, NSW)
HONORS FOR SYDNEY PHOTOGRAPHER
The one-man show of Sydney photographer Clarence B. Young, will be displayed at the Cincinnati convention of the Photographic Society of America.
The convention is the biggest photographic gathering in the world. This is the first time an Australian photographer's work has been selected for screening.
WORLD REPUTATION
Mr. Young, who is manager of a hotel, submitted a series of 200 color photographs. Most were taken near Sydney.
Mr. Young has an international reputation as an amateur photographer in color and black-and-white.
He was the first Australian to be elected an associate both of the Photographic Society of America and the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain. From the latter, yesterday he received the silver plaque for the highest award in the British overseas photographic contest, besides three bronze plaques.
Monday 29th November 1948 Page 6 - Daily Mercury (Mackay, Qld)
A PHOTO IN 60 SECONDS
CINCINNATI, (A.P.)
Picture-in-a-minute photography emerged from the laboratory stage here as Dr. Edwin H. Land, inventor of the process and president of the Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, used actual production models in a demonstration at the annual Convention of the Photographic Society of America.
Dr. Land said his camera, which previously had been shown in test models, would be offered to the public this year.
Containing no tanks or liquids, the camera produces a finished, permanent, sepia-toned picture, 3 1/4 in. by 4 1/4 in., one minute after the shutter is snapped. A special film develops the picture automatically when it is moved up for the next exposure.
The camera demonstrated by Dr. Land was similar to a conventional folding camera. It weighs a little over four pounds.
The Land film consists of a double roll, one part of which looks like an ordinary negative and the other like a roll of plain paper. Concealed in the paper roll are tiny sealed containers, one for each of the eight pictures in the roll. These "pods" contain a few drops of jellied chemical reagent.
When the tab is pulled out of the camera, the film and paper pass between two small rollers, opening the container and releasing the jelly. The chemical spreads between the two sheets to form a picture layer, one ten thousandth of an inch thick. The jelly develops the negative and simultaneously forms the positive image.
About a minute is required to finish the action and then the picture may be removed.
Dr. Land showed convention delegates that the print could be handled immediately.
The negative used in the model demonstrated by Dr. Land is of no value, but he said an attachment, with which the user will be able to make extra copies, had been designed, but was not ready for marketing.
DR. EDWIN LAND, PICTURED IN 1948, PEELS OFF A PICTURE OF
CHARLES B. PHELPS, PRESIDENT OF THE
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
(inset) THE FIRST POLAROID CAMERA.
Tuesday 30th November 1948 Page 3 - The Daily News (Perth, WA)
PHOTOS READY IN MINUTE
NEW YORK, Monday., (AP):
Picture-in-a minute photography emerged from the laboratory stage as inventor Dr. Edwin H. Land used production models in a demonstration at the annual convention of the Photographic Society of America in Cincinnati.
Dr. Land said that his camera, which had been shown previously in test models, would be offered to the public this year.
Containing no tanks or liquids, the camera produces a finished, permanent, sepia-tone picture — 3 1/4 by 4 1/4 inches — one minute after the shutter is snapped. A special film develops the picture automatically when it is moved up for the next exposure.
Monday 11th April 1949 Page 6 - Cairns Post (Qld)
A PHOTO IN 60 SECONDS
CINCINNATI, (A.P.)
Picture-in-a-minute photography emerged from the laboratory stage here as Dr. Edwin H. Land, inventor of the process and president of the Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, used actual production models in a demonstration at the annual Convention of the Photographic Society of America.
Dr. Land said his camera, which previously had been shown in test models, would be offered to the public this year.
Containing no tanks or liquids, the camera produces a finished, permanent, sepia-toned picture - 3 1/4 in. by 4 1/4 in. - one minute after the shutter is snapped. A special film develops the picture automatically when it is moved up for the next exposure.
The camera demonstrated by Dr. Land was similar to a conventional folding camera. It weighs a little over four pounds.
The Land film consists of a double roll, one part of which looks like an ordinary negative and the other like a roll of plain paper. Concealed in the paper roll are tiny sealed containers, one for each of the eight pictures in the roll. These "pods" contain a few drops of jellied chemical reagent.
When the tab is pulled out of the camera, the film and paper pass between two small rollers, opening the container and releasing the jelly. The chemical spreads between the two sheets to form a picture layer, one ten thousandth of an inch thick. The jelly develops the negative and simultaneously forms the positive image.
About a minute is required to finish the action and then the picture may be removed.
Dr. Land showed convention delegates that the print could be handled immediately.
The negative used in the model demonstrated by Dr. Land is of no value, but he said an attachment, with which the user will be able to make extra copies, had been designed, but was not ready for marketing.
July 1949 Page 464 - Australasian Photo-Review
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
A group of twenty-five character portraits by E. Robertson ARPS, has been forwarded to Dr. Glenn Adams, of Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A. Dr. Adams has taken over from Mrs. Sylvia Sminkey as the Director of the Photographic Society of America International Exhibits. In due course, an additional collection of Photographic Society of America pictorial work will be received for circulation throughout Australia.
In this connection, an invitation is once again extended to any club or individual who would like to organize or prepare a collection of twenty-five (approx.) salon prints for circulation in the United States. Every group sent abroad means that an additional U.S. group can be obtained for Australian circulation.
August 1949 Page 526 - Australasian Photo-Review
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The 1949 Directory issue of the Photographic Society of America Journal shows that there are 35 members in Australia and 10 in New Zealand. Altogether, Photographic Society of America has 851 “foreign” members and 8,146 in the United States.
24th October 1949 Page 3 - Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 11
HIGH HONOR
NEW ZEALAND PHOTOGRAPHER
NEW YORK, October 22nd
The Photographic Society of America has announced that Mr F. Lennard Casbolt, of 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.
January 1950 Page 54 - Vol. 57 No. 1 Australasian Photographic Review
Noted in the Photographic Society of America, Journal for October 1949 in the Photographic Society of America International Exhibit Section, recorded by Dr. Glenn Adams, Associate Editor of "The Folio":
“A splendid Australian show, made up of prints by E. Robertson ARPS, an exhibitor widely known in that country, has now arrived here, thanks to the interest and activity of Keast Burke, Editor of The Australasian Photo-Review. It is to be exchanged for a St. Louis show, which was sent to Australia early in August. This is the second collection of prints assembled in the St. Louis area and credit goes to George Willson. The Robertson Exhibit, which is largely portraiture, will be available late in the fall for other clubs”.
In the Nature Division’s “Who’s Who in Nature Photography” appearing in the Photographic Society of America Journal for October, 1949, it was pleasant to observe the following Australian names: L.G. Chandler, Athel F. D’Ombrain, C.O. Kroker, L.A. Lyons, D.D, Stead, G. Grant-Thomson.
March 1950 Page 190 - Vol. 57 No. 3 Australasian Photographic Review
FRANCES S. ROBSON APSA
NOVEMBER 26, 1949
With the death of Mrs. Frances S. Robson, of Vina, California, on November 26, 1949, after an illness of less than two months, the Photographic Society of America, the Pictorial Division and pictorial photography throughout the entire world lost one of its staunchest supporters and most industrious workers.
It was in 1945 when I gained her agreement to serve on the Pictorial Division Executive Committee, that she started her illustrious career of service to the Pictorial Division and Photographic Society of America. From this time on, Frances Robson served on many Photographic Society of America and Pictorial Division committees, starting with the Portfolio Committee in 1945 and The Judges List for Small Camera Clubs Committee in 1946, and ending with the Stuyvesant Peabody Memorial Award Committee in 1949.
Being of English ancestry (her maiden name was Woolsey), Frances Robson became intensely interested in the International Portfolios, becoming a member of the Second Anglo-American Portfolio when it was organized. Joining new International portfolios as fast as they were organized, Frances belonged to thirteen at the time of her death.
Frances Robson became the American Secretary of the Second Canadian-American Portfolio, then Associate Editor on The Folio for International Portfolios, then General Secretary of the South African-American Portfolios, and finally Assistant Director of the International Portfolios. In the intervening time, she assisted in the formation of other International Portfolios, the Chinese-American Portfolio being the latest. Many of the International Portfolio services and features were conceived and put into effect by Frances Robson; the extremely popular composite prints that will remain as a permanent history of the start of the Internationals, the Toning Booklet, the furnishing of gummed paper for comments and many others.
A constant figure in the International Portfolio Room at the 1948 Photographic Society of America Convention, one of Frances Robson’s last activities was the organizing of the International Portfolio activities at the 1949 Photographic Society of America Convention, the many exhibits of foreign folios, the International Portfolio Secretaries Meeting, the International Portfolio members register, and others.
A successful salon exhibitor in both black-and-white prints and color slides, Frances had many activities outside of her beloved international portfolios. She was a Pictorial Division Three-Star Exhibitor, on the staff of the 1948 Pictorial Division Year book, received her Associateship in Photographic Society of America in 1948, a member of the California Camera Club (which required a 200 mile drive each way once a month to attend meetings), and a member of the Kamera Kranks of Chico, California.
In conclusion of this tribute to a departed friend, associate, and worker, I want only to express the heartfelt appreciation for her sincere advice, inspiration, encouragement, enthusiasm, industry and loyalty, not only to myself first as Director of the International Portfolio and later as Chairman of the Pictorial Division, but also to each and every officer and worker in the Pictorial Division, not only in these United States, but all over the world. The world-wide cause of Pictorial Photography salutes and mourns for you, Frances Robson, May you rest in peace until we all join you in an eternity of international goodwill, understanding, and appreciation.
BURTON D. HOLLEY
April 1950 Page 262 - Vol. 57 No. 4 Australasian Photographic Review
The Photographic Society of America Journal 1950 Annual is truly a magnificent production, both as regards the editorial contents and the reproductions, a number of which appear to have been executed by sheet-fed gravure. As is becoming something of a pleasant custom, The Folio Editor (Dovel Le Sage) devotes a substantial amount of space to accounts of the activities of Australian members of the Photographic Society of America; E. Robertson and the Lyons duo came in for special attention.
May 1950 Page 333 - Vol. 57 No. 5 Australasian Photographic Review
Speakers at the Annual Banquet of the Rochester Section of the Photographic Society of America at Brooklea Country Club, on April 14th, were Alfred Landucci, of Kodak-Pathe, and Edgar Rouse, of Kodak Australasia. Edgar Rouse, spoke of photography in Australia to-day and of the life and work of Dr. Julian Smith; later he displayed one of the new portfolios which will shortly be distributed throughout the world.
Friday 5th May 1950 Page 3 - The Murrumbidgee Irrigator (Leeton, NSW)
JOHN P. CARNEY ARPS
Mr. J.P. Carney recently was honored by an Award of Merit by the pictorial division of the Photographic Society of America. Apart from that, he has achieved fame both in Australia and in Britain, as well as other overseas centers, for his photographic work.
Sunday 22nd October 1950 Page 14 - The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW)
SYDNEY MAN'S PHOTO HONOR
NEW YORK, Sat:
The Photographic Society of America announced in Baltimore today it had awarded an associateship to Keast Burke, of George Street, Sydney.
The award was made "in recognition of outstanding ability and his contribution to photography". Only seven Associate-ships out of 68 have been awarded outside the United States.
The Photographic Society of America is the leading organization of its type in the United States.
Mr. Burke, who is 54, edits the magazine, Australasian Photo Review. He lives in Montah Avenue, Killara. As a hobby he specializes in pictorial interpretations of nature, such as landscapes. His work has appeared in overseas exhibitions of photographs. His father, Mr. Walter Burke, was one of the earliest fellows of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain.
Monday 23rd October 1950 Page 1 - The Newcastle Sun (NSW)
Mr. Keast Burke, of Sydney, who has been made an associate of the Photographic Society of America for outstanding ability and contributions to photography, is a frequent visitor to Newcastle as a lecturer and judge in camera art. A World War 1 Digger, he is one of that select band who had high adventure with the famous Dunstar force in Mesopotamia and thereabouts.
Monday 23rd October 1950 Page 3 - Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate (NSW)
PHOTOGRAPHIC HONOR TO AUSTRALIAN
BALTIMORE, October, 22. A.A.P. Reuter.
The Photographic Society of America awarded an associateship to Keast Burke, of George-street, Sydney, in recognition of his outstanding ability and contribution to photography.
Only seven associate-ships were awarded outside the United States from a total of 68.
1st November 1950 Page 724 - Vol. 57 No. 11 The Australasian Photo-Review
Latest from Ray Meiss (Milwaukee, U.S.A.), now home from the 1950 Photographic Society of America Convention:
“I have just returned from the convention in Baltimore, and can say that we held one of our most successful meetings, both from a general interest and attendance record. May I suggest that you contact Fred Bowron, the Vice-President of Christchurch Photographic Society, who was here, and is flying home Friday. He might be able to give you material for an article for the A.P.-R. from the angle of one from your part of the world. In addition to Fred, we had Maurice Tabard, of Paris, France; Manuel Ampudia, President of the Club Fotographico de Mexico; the Treasurer, Jose Turu, and the editor of their monthly bulletin, Mario Sabate; Angel de Moya, of Havana, Cuba; and Dr. Douglas Spencer, past President of the Royal Photographic Society, from London, England, along with a couple of more people from there that I did not get to meet. Rex Frost and Sam Vogan, of Toronto, headed up a large Canadian contingent. Dr. Spencer was the featured speaker at the Honors Banquet, and he did a swell job of it. Very humorous.
“All of us felt highly honored to have a great fellow like Fred Bowron attend this event of ours, and New Zealand can well be proud of a man of his high type, representing them anywhere. We thoroughly enjoyed his presence and company, and had many joyous hours with him. He visited me here in Milwaukee, about three weeks before the Convention, when he was here on a business mission. He even helped wash glass for our 14th Milwaukee show, and also to hang the prints. We kidded him about running away from Christchurch to get away from the salon work, so to keep him in practice we gave him a job here. He seemed to enjoy the Convention greatly, and I hope that he left feeling that we are another group of good fellows, also.
“I feel sure that the results of his visit will result in greatly increased interest in exhibitions in New Zealand and Australia. And we hope that he will be able to stir up more interest among you people for our various activities. You will be reading about the details of the Convention in the Photographic Society of America Journal, so I will not load this letter down with all of the details. Believe me, Keast, when I say that I consider the future exchange of visits between members of our hobby group of the utmost importance in helping to cement the good relations that we always have enjoyed between our English speaking nations, and I hope that the near future will see you, Leo and Molly Lyons, and many other people in your area, exchanging visits. Please feel free to call on me at any time that I can be of any assistance to you or any of the other fellows. Especially if they are coming over for a visit, and if I am in a position to make any contacts for them, I will gladly do so.
THE INTERNATIONAL FLAVOUR
Some Overseas visitors at the recent Photographic Society of America Conference, Baltimore, U.S.A.
Left to right: FRED BOWRON, Vice-President, Christchurch Photographic Society, of Christchurch, New Zealand;
MANUEL AMPUDIA, President, Photographic Club of Mexico, Mexico, D.F., Mexico;
JOSE TURU, Treasurer, Photographic Club of Mexico, Mexico, D.F., Mexico;
MARIO SABATE, Editor of their “Boletin” — Photographic Club of Mexico, Mexico, D.F., Mexico;
ROBERT LAUER, PSA Pictorial Representative to Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Friday 24th November 1950 Page 2 - The Canberra Times (Australian Capital Territory)
Encouraging support is being given to the Canberra Photographic Society's International Salon of Photography by well known overseas photographers. The salon, which will be held from 24th to 31st January, will be one of the first functions in the Jubilee year celebrations in Canberra.
Pictures so far received indicate that this exhibition will be of a high standard and prints not previously seen in Australia will be on display. They will include the work of Fellows and Associates of the Royal Photographic Society, the Royal Society of Artists, the Photographic Society of America and several European photographic organizations.
The jury of selection for the Salon will be Messrs. Keast Burke, ARPS, APSA, Clarence B. Young, ARPS, APSA, of Sydney and C.S. Christian of Canberra.
Thursday 7th December 1950 Page 6 - The Canberra Times (Australian Capital Territory)
Judging of the International Photographic Salon organized by the Canberra Photographic Society will take place on Saturday.
More than 600 prints have been entered in the salon. They include works from the United States, India, France, Norway, Holland, China, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Several Chinese entries are held up in Sydney, but officials are hopeful they will arrive in time for the judging.
The judges will be Mr. Keast Burke ARPS, APSA, Editor of the "Australian Photographic Review", Mr. Clarence B. Young, ARPS, APSA, of Sydney and Mr. Christopher S. Christian, of the CSIRO.
The salon will be opened for public inspection between 24th and 31st January, as a Jubilee Year event.
The Prime Minister (Mr. Menzies) has agreed to open the salon if he is in Canberra at the time.
A portfolio of prints from the Photographic Society of America was exhibited and discussed at the December meeting of the Canberra Photographic Society on Tuesday night.
Interpretation of techniques used by internationally famous photographers was discussed.
Tuesday 26th December 1950 Page 7 - Cairns Post (Qld)
Monday 29th January 1951 Page 6 - Maryborough Chronicle (Qld)
Wednesday 31st January 1951 Page 2 - The Inverell Times (NSW)
LITTLE GOLD HELPS
EVEN X-RAY PHOTOS
What happens in the darkroom while laymen wait to see the results of modern camera magic brought several thousand of the nation's leading experts here over the week-end. at the annual meeting of the Photographic Society of America, writes the Natural Science Editor of The Christian Science Monitor.
They talked of adding gold to the silver emulsion used in X-ray photography; described a simple photo process that eliminates fixing and washing of prints; received exact data showing that natural daylight varies as much as 50 per cent, in its color during the year, due to variation in the altitude of the sun; learned how pictures can be made of particles less than one-millionth of an inch long or nebulae captured in the outer regions of space and resolved into "portraits" containing billions of stars like our sun.
Dr. Douglas A. Spencer, former president of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, told assembled photographic specialists that England considers photography one of its most important tools for tackling 20th-century problems connected with national defense.
Ansco Research Laboratories reported on a new technique for simplifying production of military maps; and society officials, at their annual banquet on October 22, honored four outstanding men in the world of photography by naming them honorary fellows. Also selected were eight men for honorary membership, 23 for fellowship and 63 as associates.
The four honorary fellows are Joseph M. Bing, of New York, for "his distinguished contributions to photography in art, organization, and development of equipment for over 40 years"; John G. Capsaaff, of Rochester, N.Y., for his work in "motion picture photography, particularly in the creation of amateur motion picture processes"; John S. Rowan, of Baltimore, for his "unselfish devotion to photography, particularly in the organizational, pictorial, and educational fields"; and Dr. D.J. Ruzicka, of Jackson Heights, New York, for his "friendly contributions to the appreciation of beauty in photography".
Dr. Spencer, an authority on photographic science and a deputy managing director of Kodak Limited, was the principal speaker at the annual Photographic Society of America banquet and stressed the role of photography as a medium for international accord, "As the one truly international language, photography has much to contribute to the job of bringing the nations of the world together in friendlier understanding", he said, adding:
"The strengthening of the links between the Photographic Society of America and the Royal Photographic Society is one step in this direction which is immediately before our eyes".
A touch of humor was added to the English visitor's remarks by his observation that "we both live in democracies where we can say what we like, so long as we do what we are told. And that is an improvement on the eastern European type of democracy, where they name a street after you one day and chase you down it the next".
Dr. Spencer said the current shortage of photographic materials abroad has not really hampered photography in Britain.
"Such shortages are not as bad for us as you might think", he said. "They tend to discourage indiscriminate snap-shooting - the piling up of collections of black and white or colored platitudes. You think before you press the button. You learn to estimate exposures properly, process your films with care".
E.T. Larson of Ansco Research Laboratories presented data showing that the addition, of minute quantities of gold compounds to the regular silver bromide emulsion increases the sensitivity of X-rays by as much as ten times.
In comparing the photographic action of X-rays with light rays. Mr. Larson said that light rays are more than five times as efficient as X-rays in forming the latent image. Adding the gold image at the surface of the emulsion grains, he said, rather than in the interior where it is inaccessible to normal developers.
A new short-cut photo process to eliminate fixing and washing of prints was described by E.C. Yackel, of Kodak Research Laboratories. It involved so-called "stabilizer" chemicals which react with silver halides of the photo emulsion to produce a compound that is relatively stable to light, heat, humidity, and atmospheric effects.
The negative or prints obtained have "reasonable permanence", he said, but prolonged storage may bring a brownish stain so that pictures are considered useful mainly for temporary record purposes. The advantage of the stabilization processing lies in a speedy finishing of large quantities of prints with a minimum of equipment without washing the prints.
R.H. Bingham and Dr. Harman Hoerlin, Ansco research scientists, noted the wide variation in natural daylight during the year, on important factor to all outdoor color photographers.
The results of their project in studying daylight to determine the effects on the individual layers of color film showed a close relationship between the color of light and the angle of the sun above the horizon.
1st March 1951 Page 189 - Vol. 58 No. 3 Australasian Photo-Review
RECENT NEWS
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
A recent press release from the Photographic Society of America gave full details of the awards at the Baltimore Convention for Honorary Fellows, Honorary Members, Fellows and Associates. With regard to the first two classifications, the announcement gave the full citations on which the awards were based. It was pleasant to observe that the citations were, in almost every instance, made in connection with services to photography. To quote a few at random: “For his distinguished contributions to photography in art, organization and development of equipment for over forty years”; “for his unselfish devotion to photography, particularly in the organizational, pictorial and educational fields”; “for his friendly contributions to the appreciation of beauty in photography and his generous assistance to others for nearly half a century”; “for creative organizational work and contributions to photographic technology”; “for generous services in organizational work and contributions to pictorial photography”; “for his unique contributions to photographic education in teaching and lecturing”; “for his unselfish devotion to the cause of amateur movie-making and his ability as a cinematographer”; “for his inspirational leadership in pictorial photography”; “for his distinguished services to photography as a publisher, lecturer and administrator of international renown”; “for her services to photographic organization and her outstanding ability as a photographer”; and “for his long and unselfish devotion to photography as a writer, lecturer, juror and exhibitor”.
It was fine to learn that good friend Burton Holley received honorary membership “for many services in pictorial, portfolio and other work over a long period of time”.
Amongst the new associates we noticed the names of Dr. Glenn Adams, of International Portfolio fame and also that of Charles A. Kinsley, Chairman of the 14th Kodak International Salon of Photography.
Dr. Loyd A. Jones, head of the physics department of Kodak Research Laboratories, received the 1950 Progress Medal of the Photographic Society of America.
Adolf Fassbender, chairman of the Photographic Society of America Progress Medal Committee, presented the medal, citing the Kodak scientist “for outstanding contributions to photographic science and practice, especially in the field of sensitometry”. The citation also takes note of Dr. Jones work in “original and productive photography, photometry, colorimetry, motion picture engineering, design of interpreting apparatus, A.S.A. speed rating and leadership. In connection with the award, Dr. Jones delivered the Society’s 1950 Progress Medal address. His topic was “The Psychophysical Evaluation of the Quality of Photographic Productions”.
Fassbender has said that the scientist’s work has benefited all photographers by providing better understanding of the characteristics of photography and their application to various photographic problems.
The Photographic Society of America honor is the fifth recognition in two years of Dr. Jones long service to science. In 1949 he was elected an honorary fellow of the Photographic Society of America and an honor fellow of Great Britain’s Royal Photographic Society. That year he also received the Royal Photographic Society 1948 Progress Medal and the Royal Photographic Society Hurter and Driffield Medal.
Dr. Jones joined Kodak in 1912 as one of the first staff members of the company’s research laboratories. He has been active in photography for nearly 40 years. He is an authority on the sensitometry of photographic materials and on the theory and practice of brightness reproduction by photographic processes.
1st September 1951 Page 530 - Vol. 58 No. 9 Australasian Photo-Review
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CONDUCT OF INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
The Photographic Society of America has revised the minimum requirements of the Pictorial Division for the conduct of national and international print exhibitions held after July 1, 1951. These requirements represent the consensus of current thinking of representative salon chairmen and exhibitors in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Cuba, as indicated by replies to a five-page questionnaire received about a year ago.
SPONSORSHIP: Each exhibition shall be sponsored by a recognized institution, camera club or association sufficiently interested to guarantee the execution of the many details incidental thereto, including the careful handling and prompt return of exhibitors prints and the payment of all expenses.
CHARACTER OF THE EXHIBITION: Each exhibition shall be open to all possible contributors, amateur or professional, without restriction as to residence. PLACE: Each exhibition shall be held in a public or semi-public building, with facilities for the proper display of the number of prints likely to be accepted by the jury. If the building is a club or of similar semi-public character, it must be kept open to the public at least eight hours a day during the period of the exhibition.
PERIOD: The minimum period of each exhibition shall be one week; the maximum, one month.
JURY: The jury of selection shall consist of three or five qualified judges. The two-jury system, whereby two juries of three judges each pass on all prints submitted, is also acceptable.
SCHEDULE: A schedule should be developed for each salon consisting of the closing date or dates, the date notification cards will be mailed to entrants, the dates the show will be on exhibition, the date total rejects will be returned, and the date by which all prints will be returned. The objective for the overall length of this schedule shall be six weeks (closing date to return of last prints) with a maximum allowable period of eight weeks.
ORIGINALITY: All prints submitted shall be the sole work of the contributor, mounting excepted.
ACCEPTABLE PRINTS: Four prints in any recognized photographic process or medium, including color, may be submitted. The acceptability of hand-colored prints is left to the discretion of the committee and the good taste of the jury. Prints may be in any size up to the maximum size of acceptable mounts.
MOUNTS: The maximum size of the mount shall be 16 x 20 inches. Prints may be mounted either vertically or horizontally. The color and weight of the stock is left to the choice of the exhibitor, although light colored mounts are recommended. All unmounted accepted foreign prints shall be mounted temporarily before being placed on exhibition.
FEES: The maximum entry fee shall be $2.00; the minimum, $l.OO.
PRIZES OR AWARDS: The practice of giving prizes or awards is not recommended. If made and accepted by the contributor, the print or prints involved must be permanently surrendered to the salon committee as evidence of value received.
ENTRY FORM: The entry form shall carry a statement concerning sponsorship, character of the exhibition, place and period of the exhibition, the names of the jurors, the salon schedule, a statement regarding originality of work submitted, acceptable prints and mounts, fees and the character of the lighting to be used during the judging, as well as space for information concerning the prints submitted, the name and address of the maker, and necessary return of forwarding instructions. General distribution of the entry forms must be complete two months prior to the closing date (four months for foreign exhibitors).
LIGHTING DURING JUDGING: Either the spotlight method (Sept. 1948 P.S.A. Journal) recommended by the P.S.A. Standards Committee or the standard P.S.A. light box may be used during the judging. If the light box is used, the wattage should be cut to 160 (four 40-watt daylight type bulbs) and room lights left on to provide approximately 10-foot-candles overall illumination. Committees having facilities to judge prints from the regular exhibition walls may do so provided the general lighting intensity is on a level substantially equal to that provided by the spot-light method or the modified print box.
PRESENTATION OF PRINTS TO JURY: Prints shall be presented to the jury in ascending order as to size: 11x14 and smaller, first; foreign prints, second; and finally the 14 x 17 and larger prints. Prints by the same maker shall not appear before the judges in consecutive order. All prints, including those rejected on the first round of judging, shall be reviewed a second time.
RECORDING JURY DECISIONS: The decision of the jury shall be recorded on the back of each print immediately after its removal from the easel or light box on the first round of judging, and for those “held” on each subsequent round until acceptance or rejection. A gummed form, lightly attached to the back of the print, is recommended for this purpose.
NOTIFICATION OF JURY DECISIONS: Postal cards shall be mailed to all entrants within 48 hours after the close of the judging, indicating the final decision of the jury regarding each print submitted.
HANGING: All prints shall be hung under glass under lighting conditions approximately equivalent to that used at the judging.
CATALOGS: Catalogs (or their equivalent) shall be available at the opening of the exhibition. Where prints are being returned direct to the maker, they may be included in the package with the prints; otherwise they shall be mailed under separate cover.
CARE AND RETURN OF PRINTS: Reasonable precaution shall be taken at all times to ensure the safety and proper appearance of all prints submitted. This applies especially during the check-out and repacking period. Prints shall be packed and mailed prepaid as soon as possible after the close of the exhibition. In no case shall they be retained beyond two months after the closing date without specific authority.
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA APPROVAL: Salon committees, agreeing to meet the foregoing minimum requirements, may indicate on their entry forms: “Conducted according to the Recommended Practices of the Photographic Society of America”, P.S.A. recognition will be awarded such salons provided, of course, that the requirements are met, and that two copies of their catalogs are forwarded to R. L. Mahon, Director, Salon Practices, 260 Forest Avenue, Elmhurst, Illinois, not later than the closing date of such exhibitions.
Monday 15th October 1951 Page 1 - Cootamundra Herald (NSW)
HIGH HONOR FOR GRIFFITH PHOTOGRAPHER
GRIFFITH, Monday
It has been officially announced that at a banquet of the Photographic Society of America in Detroit on Saturday, John P. Carney, of Griffith, was awarded an Associateship of the Society.
Only three other photographers in Australia hold this honor, while Mr. Carney alone holds the Society's Three-Star Award of Merit, awarded in recognition of the acceptances of his prints for American Salons.
Mr. Carney, who also is an associate of the Royal Photographic Society of London, the leading exhibitor in the International photographic field.
Next week-end he has been invited to be the sole judge of an Australian-wide photo exhibition at Mildura.
Mr. Carney, is unable to make a trip to receive the U.S.A. award personally.
Saturday 6th September 1952 Page 11 - The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW)
BIRDS OF PARADISE HIS MODELS
Setting up camp this weekend near Mount Hagen, in New Guinea, is a young Chinese millionaire, W.T. Loke, who intends to spend two months in these jungles, photographing birds of paradise. He will have plenty of birds of paradise to choose from. No one knows how many different kinds there are, but they are believed to run into several hundreds. Some are known only by a single skin bought from natives. If Mr. Loke is fortunate he should get some astonishing Photographs. For example, the Crown Prince Rudolph bird of paradise hangs upside down to display his magnificent plumage which includes blue, gold, brown and black. Some of these birds have tails with feathers three feet long, though the bird itself is often smaller than a crow.
Mr. Loke comes from Singapore, where he owns the city's only skyscraper. He also owns a number of tin mines and rubber Plantations in Malaya as well as a variety of business interests in the city. His home is in the middle of a 20-acres garden, which is only three miles from his office in the center of Singapore. Because he is a busy man, Mr. Loke confines his photography to his weekends (the present trip to New Guinea, is a holiday), and he has spent as long as eight hours at a time in his "hide".
A "hide" is a camouflaged structure where the photographer can conceal himself and his equipment from the bird he wishes to photograph. A hide in Singapore is apt to be an uncomfortable place with the temperature around 105 on a cool day, and the humidity in the upper eighties. Outside Singapore and one or two other main centers in Malaya, one does not photograph birds, Mr. Loke told me, because a bird photographer in a hide is a sitting shot for a bandit. He said a friend of his experimented by holding a camera in one hand and a revolver in the other, but the combined tension of waiting for both bird and bandit proved too much.
"I have been interested in photography since I was about ten", Mr. Loke said, (He is now nearing 30). "But I only took up bird photography seriously when I was in India during the war".
Mr. Loke and his family left Malaya in 1942 and returned in 1945, so he was able to spend a considerable time practising on the birds of Kashmir and also of Kutch, a princely State on the north west coast of India.
Since he has been back in Malaya Mr. Loke has made ornithological history by securing the first photographs of a considerable number of birds. One of them, the magnificent White Bellied Sea Eagle, provided quite an adventure. This sea eagle had a nest in the garden of the British Commissioner General, Mr. Malcolm Macdonald, who is also a keen ornithologist. Mr. Macdonald invited Mr. Loke to try to photograph the bird and its nest. Mr. Loke erected a hide on top of a tower of scaffolding 130 feet high, and about 40 feet from the nest. He was testing it out one afternoon when a storm came up and the scaffolding rocked so much that Mr. Loke, deciding that he was not after storm pictures, descended. Later, after he had secured excellent photographs of the birds, he saw the scaffold dismantled and was astonished to find it went only 18 inches into the ground. His sea eagle photographs made a big hit in the photographic world and one of them has been hung by the Royal Photographic Society in London.
Each year the Photographic Society of America compiles a ranking list of nature photographers, and this year Mr. Loke stands second — not bad for a weekend photographer.
Many birds, especially small ones, are incredibly rapid in their movements. Mr. Loke says that a photograph taken at even l/5000th of a second shows movement in some birds. So he is having a special flash apparatus made for him to take photographs at 1/16,000th of a second. He hopes that will "freeze" the movements of the most jittery bird. With his high-speed cameras, Mr. Loke hopes to catch New Guinea's birds of paradise at play, when the males display their gorgeous plumes before their admiring harems of soberly feathered hens.
Mount Hagen is in the middle of the bird of paradise country, and Mr. Loke will be with Mr. F.S. Mayer who has collected many birds for Sir Edward Hallstrom. Mr. Mayer has even had a bird of paradise named after him.
Wednesday 12th November 1952 Page 5 - The Mercury (Launceston, Tasmania)
SOUTHERN TASMANIAN PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
PRINT OF THE YEAR
The judges (above left to right), Mr. R. Cox, Dr. J.H.B. Walch, and Mr. M.W. Murray, agreed that Ivan Yakovenko's print, called "Senor Cappello" (shown in the bottom right hand corner of the picture), was outstanding because of its attention to detail, boldness, and striking appearance.
Ivan Yakovenko has been in Australia about two years, but already is one of the leading exhibitors in international salons in Australia. He is an associate of the Photographic Society of America.
The judges commended the work of Alan Walters, Bay Rd., New Town, Alan B. Maddock, and A.E. Roberts. The president (Mr. Max Murray) said 30 entries had been received and the standard was higher than in previous years.
1st May 1953 Page 312 - Volume 60 No. 5 - Australasian Photo-Review
AN EXTRACT FROM |
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| AUSTRALIA | EXHIBITION | PRINTS | ||
| Carney, J.P. | Griffith, NSW | 16 | 27 | |
| Fried, John O. | Melbourne, Victoria | 4 | 6 | |
| Gray, A.G. | East Coburg, Victoria | 7 | 9 | |
| Jessop, B. | Wollongong, NSW | 2 | 3 | |
| Love, L.A. | Melbourne, Victoria | 4 | 11 | |
| Lyons, L.A. | Port Kembla, NSW | 5 | 5 | |
| Lyons, Molly | Port Kembla, NSW | 2 | 2 | |
| McKay, L. | Brisbane, Queensland | 3 | 4 | |
| Robertson, E. | Adelaide, South Australia | 5 | 12 | |
| Yakavenko, Ivan | Hobart, Tasmania | 6 | 14 | |
Wednesday 27th May 1953 Page 10 - Advocate (Burnie, Tasmania)
CAMERA CLUB
Michael Whittaker, a member of the Camera Club, was speaker at the club's meeting on Monday evening. He spoke on the application of photography in improving efficiency and comfort of the worker in industry. He demonstrated his lecture with films, showing the movements of workers and how production could be speeded up with less effort. An interesting screening on the production of handkerchiefs was also shown. A vote of thanks was moved by Mr. W. Henry. Mr. L. Hill, president, presided. The club secretary was instructed to write to the Photographic Society of America to ascertain whether the club could become affiliated.
Friday 4th September 1953 Page 23 - The Argus (Melbourne, Vic)
THE SECRET BEHIND NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
PATIENCE IS NEEDED HERE
The Nature Photographic Competition, being conducted by the Victorian Association of Photographers, is open to all. But, as few camera users have had much experience in nature photography, an "expert" has given some hints on going about the job. Mr. E.R. (Ted) Rotherham, of the Melbourne Camera Club, has specialized in photographing nature ever since he first started using a camera seriously and that's only three years ago! But in that time, Mr. Rotherham has built up a reputation locally for the quality of his work that is second to none. He has also had a number of his prints and slides accepted for international exhibitions overseas; such as the Photographic Society of America, the Rochester International Salon and exhibitions at Mysore (India) and Singapore.
May 1954 Page 322 - Australasian Photo-Review
AUSTRALIAN
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
MEMBERSHIP
The Directory issue of the Photographic Society of America Journal (January, 1954) listed twenty-four Australian members, a pleasant increase on last year, while in addition there are now one or two memberships currently going through which were not in time to be listed when the issue went to press. The list of members is as follows:
S.J. Balma; J. Bartholomew; F.J. Briggs; K. Burke; J.S. Burkitt; J.P. Carney; A.E.F. Chaffer; H.H. Deering; A.G. Gray; H. Jay; B. Jessop; C.O. Kroker; N.B. Lewis: L.A. Lyons; T.S. Pettit; A. Pettit; A. Roberts; E.R. Rotherham; E. Rouse; S. Woodward-Smith; H.M. Southern; M.T. Williams; I. Yakovenko; C.B. Young; Photographic Society of New South Wales.
WHO’S WHO |
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| - | - | Exhibition | Prints | |
| Briggs, A.W. | Mitcham | 2 | 2 | |
| Carney, J.P. | Griffith, NSW | 4 | 7 | |
| Gray, A.G. | East Coburg, Victoria | 25 | 46 | |
| Huggett, R.C. | Goulburn, NSW | 2 | 4 | |
| Joshua, U.M. | Temora, NSW | 2 | 2 | |
| Jurott, Graham F. | Brisbane, Queensland | 2 | 2 | |
| Love, Dr. L.A. | Melbourne, Victoria | 3 | 6 | |
| Maddock, Allen B. | Newton, South Australia | 2 | 2 | |
| McKay, L. | Brisbane, Queensland | 3 | 6 | |
| Ritter, Robert | Moonee Ponds, Victoria | 5 | 10 | |
| Robertson, E. | Adelaide, South Australia | 8 | 13 | |
| Rotherham, Edward R. | Caulfield, Victoria | 2 | 5 | |
| Thomson, Garth G. | Brisbane, Queensland | 2 | 3 | |
| Yakovenko, Ivan | Hobart, Tasmania | 12 | 20 | |
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA |
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Saturday 11th September 1954 Page 14 - Advocate (Burnie, Tasmania)
DEVONPORT INTEREST INCREASING
The recent annual meeting of the Devonport Camera Club reviewed a year of successful and increased activity. Membership was increasing and a feature of the year's working was the attendance at meetings and film shows of photographers and others interested in the art from other parts of the N.W. Coast. The club has affiliated with the Photographic Society of America to further its knowledge and exchange magazines, literature and slides. This has proved very beneficial to members and great interest has been created. Mr. Wilf. Henry was elected president and Mr. C. Bird Hon.Secretary.
Friday 10th June 1955 Page 4 - Healesville Guardian (Lilydale, Vic)
HEALESVILLE CAMERA CLUB
Increased interest in the photographic hobby was evidenced by the large attendance at the monthly meeting on 2nd June.
The feature of the evening was a display of prints from the Photographic Society of America made available by the Victorian Association of Photographic Societies, of which the club is a member. The beautiful examples of pictorial photography created a great incentive amongst local members to improve their work. The exhibition was followed by the screening of color slides made by local workers of scenes in the mountain country of western Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, the last including pictures of Healsville which evoked high approval.
The meeting was opened by the president Mr J. Cunningham, who extended a hearty welcome to visitors. The vice president, Mr Elton Fox, reported on a visit, with other members, to the Camera Clubs exhibition in the lower Melbourne Town Hall. The Healesville Camera Club was represented by a collection of six prints and a fine cloud study slide by Dr. W.H.G. Steele.
Wednesday 18th April 1956 Page 35 - The Australian Women's Weekly
SMILE FOR THE LADIES, PLEASE
Women are holding their own in the first international exhibition of photography to be held in the Southern Hemisphere.
The exhibition opens in the Melbourne Town Hall on April 9 and continues until April 18.
About one-seventh of the 500 exhibits chosen from the 2500 entries are by women.
Color photography is the field in which women seem to shine. Mr. Allen Gray, one of the exhibition judges, suggests that possibly this is because there is no printing to be done.
For the first time in Australia the public will be able to see a selection of the world's best color slides.
One of the women exhibiting in the color section is Helen Manzer, of U.S.A., who is listed in the Photographic Society of America's Who's Who in Color Photography as one of the world's most successful color-slide exhibitors.
She had more than 90 slides accepted at the top international shows in the past year.
International photographic exhibitions take place in most of the major cities in the world as an annual event. The Melbourne Camera Club chose the Olympic year to inaugurate Melbourne's full-scale international exhibition.
The most successful country exhibiting is Hong Kong.
Wednesday 16th August 1961 Page 9 - The Australian Women's Weekly
ADOPTED - BY A FROG
A Blue Mountains tree frog - possibly a prince in disguise - has a silver plaque for a Sydney doctor at the YMCA Camera Circle's Fourth International Exhibition of Photography.
The amateur photographer is Dr Leopold Pavlovic, Randwick, whom the frog (definitely a Thaddeus Toad Esq. type) adopted in a Penrith milk-bar last year.
You can meet Thaddeus in his "Watch Me Mamma" color portrait at the exhibition at Sydney Town Hall, August 12 to 23.
From the moment Thaddeus startled the milk-bar proprietress by leaping out of her refrigerator, he attached himself to Dr Pavlovic. He furiously resisted all efforts to release him in the bush.
Nor would he eat - not even the flies that friends helped to catch. Which led one of them to quip, "Maybe he's a frog prince. Offer the flies on a gold platter and see what happens at sundown.
Dr Pavlovic took him home, got his prizewinning shot after four and a half hours camera work with the lively Thaddeus on the kitchen table.
Finally, he persuaded Thaddeus to settle for a spot among the water-lilies in Centennial Park - where, as any youngster knows, anything magic in the way of a frog prince can happen.
Five other Australian entries won major prizes in the exhibition, which attracted 5152 entries from 50 countries, including China with 36. They arc Lance Nelson, NSW; Aleen Woodcock, Vic; Otto Hofmann, NSW; Mervyn Thomas, Vic; Peter Slater, WA.
Peter's nature slide "Wasp Carrying Caterpillar" (recently published in The Australian Women's Weekly) won the Photographic Society of America's Silver Medal - giving him a hat-trick this year. Earlier it took a silver plaque in Melbourne's exhibition and a bronze in Adelaide's.
Tuesday 28th November 1961 Page 5 - The Canberra Times (Australian Capital Territory)
PHOTOGRAPHIC BODY AFFILIATED
The Canberra Photographic Society held their annual meeting at Hut 9, Riverside, on Wednesday.
In his annual report, the secretary, Mr. E.A.G. Richards, said the club was affiliated with the newly formed Australian Photographic Federation — a body similar to the Photographic Society of America.
The Australian Photographic Federation operated from Melbourne.
Five Canberra members are foundation members of the Australian Photographic Federation and two, Mr. C.S. Christian and Mr. C.L. Leslie, have received awards through the Federation for outstanding work.
Friday 18th October 1968 Page 12 - The Canberra Times (ACT)
AMATEUR FILM SHOW
The Canberra Cine Club will screen a selection of six amateur American films next Thursday and Friday at the Griffin Centre at 8pm.
They have been organized as a response to the loan scheme arranged recently by the ACT Council of Cultural Societies in order to raise $5,000 to furnish the new extensions to the Griffin Centre.
The films have been taken from the 35th Annual Photographic Society of America — "Ten Best Competition" held in 1964. They were shown recently in New Zealand and were freely acknowledged by critics to be some of the best of their type ever seen in that country.
All the work of amateur cinematographers — they include the Gold Medal Winner "The Hand of Decision", a film about the Strategic Air Command which describes how the SAC is constantly on the alert to strike and destroy an aggressor anywhere in the world, and 'The Cinch', a fast moving comedy about a "do-it-yourself" who decides to repair his own TV set, with amusing results — winner of the most humorous award. The other films are 'Because I Say So', 'On the Road to Mandalay' — a visually superb documentary about life in Burma, 'The Visible Woman' and 'Racing Stars' — an excellent documentary which describes, via animated diagrams, the fine points of racing Small boats of the Star Class.
Notable for a variety of cinematic techniques and effects — imaginative use of color, intricate lighting and editing effects and some excellent photography, the films display a degree of sophistication not normally associated with amateur film makers.
Thursday 24th October 1968 Page 27 - The Canberra Times (ACT)
GRIFFIN CENTRE
October 24th and 26th at 8pm
CANBERRA CINE CLUB
presents 6 amateur prize winning films from
35th ANNUAL
Photographic Society of America
"Ten Best Competition"
See "The Hand of Decision" — gold medal winner
"The Cinch" — winner of most humorous award and 4 others
Admission 50 cents — children half price
Wednesday 19th February 1969 Page 26 and 27 - The Australian Women's Weekly
THE BIRDS AROUND US
You could sense "university" the minute 19-year-old Bob Craven loped into the office. His cheeky, full of-confidence grin, rather dishevelled appearance, and the dilapidated brief case stood out flauntingly.
For years Bob Craven's greatest interest has been wildlife and photographing it. He would spend days waiting to capture one precise moment, a record of something he had experienced. Now, after a year at the University of New South Wales, he is not content to enjoy it all himself - he wants to show other people how they can enjoy it, too, and to do something about conserving wildlife.
He was 14 when he began exhibiting his color photographs. Since then he has won a first prize at Sydney's Royal Easter Show, a first, second, and third at its counterpart in Hobart, and major awards at international exhibitions approved by the Photographic Society of America, which draw entries from all over the world.
He is more interested in living birds than art photography, and so his pictures are a clear record. On his wildlife excursions he takes notes on birds habits and his unusual experiences, which he is gradually compiling for a book on Australian birds.
Existing books mostly cover bird identification, he says, and there is a great lack of information on their habits.
"My father was a photographer", said Bob, "and was always fond of the bush. When I went to high school, I took up bird photography about the same time as Dad, and for years we went out together.
"The thought of shooting and trapping birds began to embitter me, and I realized something had to be done about their conservation".
Bob might spend a day, a week, or a month at a time in the bush. Often he waits days to get one shot.
"You have to be prepared to take time", he said. "And you must understand birds, and what they're likely to do next.
"It's easier now I have my car. I just drive to some reserve. Before I had to hitch or hike. I take a sleeping-bag and sleep in the open, don't worry much about food. But I've got some of my best shots in the country round my parents home at Canowindra, you just have to look.
FALL FROM TREE
"When I sight a bird I want to take I watch it gathering food and follow it to its nest. Or if it is building a nest you can watch it collecting its bits".
Bob has two cameras, a new one he got after winning the State Open Slide Competition for school students, and his old faithful, a ten-year-old model he bought second-hand for $68, all his prize shots have been taken on it. His other stand-by is a second-hand flash unit bought for $76.
He won't use a telephoto lens because he believes they are too limiting, too slow for quick movement. Consequently he's had a number of accidents trying to get close to his subject.
"Once I was climbing a high tree and fell to the bottom. My tree-climbing doesn't extend above 60 feet," he said with a grin.
A remote trigger release fixed to his old camera enables him to take a shot from 30 or 40 feet away. He lets the bird get used to the camera by moving it a little closer every hour or so until it is in position; then he waits for the right moment.
Bob thinks it is the most relaxing thing in the world to wander through the bushland, and Australians don't do it nearly enough. In the past year he has become very interested in sociology and psychology and formed his own views on the relation of mankind to environment.
"The world's in such a mess today", he said feelingly. "People don't realize how important it is to get out and relax. In fact, they just don't know how to relax.
"Man has turned his back on nature - he's forgotten what life outside a city is really like. Mental disease is increasing and most cases are the result of people not unwinding.
"Even a simple little picnic in the fresh air does wonders for your morale. You can forget about work problems, let yourself go, and you begin to appreciate what you've got.
"People hear that we have a problem in wildlife conservation, but it doesn't worry the average person unduly, probably because the bush and its inhabitants are so far removed from everyday affairs. They're out of contact.
"Many species of birds are fast becoming extinct. We have some good national parks, but there aren't enough".
Bob Craven loves to talk about what's going on in the world, and (with typical youthful eagerness) how things should be set right. One way, he believes, is through ALF, his other absorbing interest. ALF stands for Action for Love and Freedom, a concern he belongs to at the University.
THE FUNNY SIDE
"Yes, we do hold demonstrations", he said. "But we aim for the funny side of a controversial point rather than just creating a disturbance and ruckus. It's tremendous, because we get together at lunchtime, or whenever we have a chance, and just talk about society, what's right or wrong with it, and generally thrash things out.
"All the people in it are beaut, nice kids who want to make a better go of things. Most of them are ready and willing to lend a hand in some constructive research on ways of educating the public and education is the answer, not only to the conservation problem, but world problems.
"People criticize university students for their long hair and allegedly dirty clothes. But the whole point is that most of us just don't have the money to get a haircut. A lot of us have to pay for lodgings, and even if we are on a scholarship (I'm on a teacher's) we still have a lot of extra books to buy".
And besides that, many students do things like Bob does, such as donating a two-week allowance to the Biafran famine victims. He also tried to run 26 miles in four hours to raise money for the same purpose.
He is only one of the hundreds of idealistic young people who believe that their demonstrations and public protests are doing some good somewhere.
Wednesday 19th July 1978 Page 7 - Victor Harbour Times (SA)
SOUTH COAST CAMERA CLUB
Mr. Tim Newbery AFIAP, ARPS, who was once rated sixth in the world by the Photographic Society of America for his work in the field of black and white nature prints, will be judge and guest speaker at the July meeting of the South Coast Camera Club this Friday.
Mr. Newbery, a senior dairy adviser with the Department of Agriculture at Murray Bridge, is well qualified to speak on his subject "The Balance of Nature" which he will illustrate with slides and prints.