Evening star., 1961-07-09
CAMERA ANGLES
Snapshot Contest Still Wide Open
BY A. J. WEDDERBURN
Contributing Writer

In the remaining three
weeks of the Stars 1861 AM
ateur Snapshot Contest your
chances are as good as ever
to win both local and ma
tional awards. Any snapshot
you have taken since July /,
1860. is eligible for one Of the
prizes.
Hundreds of snapshots are
entered each week, some in
color and some in black-and-
white. From these, four win
ners, one in each of the
classes, are picked by the
judges for publication in
SUNDAY, the Star Magazine.
The best snapshot of the
week receives a $40 award and
SIS goes to each Of the rum
nerS-up. At the end. Of the
local contest the best picture
in each of the four color
classes will be awarded fur
ther prizes Of a 500 Savings
Bond while the four black
and-white winners will re-
ceive $25 bonds. The win
ing snapshots will go into
the national competition for
a chance at final prizes rang
ing from $25 to $1,000 each.
We urge all who have not
as yet entered the contest
to send in their best snap
shots before July 20, when
the contest closes. And, Of
course, If you have been send
ing in your entries-keep
them coming.
Improve Your Chances
There is no sure way to
win a prize but there are
ways to improve your
chances. For example, while
no great emphasis is placed
on technical quality of the
prints it is obvious that. when,
snapshots equal in all other
respects are compared by the
judges, the nod will 60 to the
print that has been most
carefully made.
Before taking q picture
make sure that the compost
ton is good. A final glance
in the viewfinder may warn
you that you are about to
cut off an arm or leg, or
even a head. If so, move your
camera back or to one side
before clicking the shutter.
Also, when posing subjects
try to avoid a busy back
ground"-too many objects
that tend to compete with
the main subject. The sky
or a stretch of green lawn
is better than a clotheSline,
telephone pole, a picket fence
or other distracting details.
Avoid Posed Look
When children are the sub
jects try to catch them un-
aware of the camera.
When swapping pets, catch
them in some appealing pose
or bit of action. A snap
shot Of a sleeping animal
will seldom find its way to
the winners circle.
Pictures of young people
and adults should also con-
vey the illusion Of action.
Whether they are engaged in
a sports contest or just work
ing at a. desk, inject that
bit of purposefulneSs in each.
snapshot that will catch the
eyes Of the judges.
Landscapes, Seascapes, pho
tos of buildings and other
still-life shots should be made
with equal care. The judges
will look for good compost
ton or arrangement Of sub
ject matter, as well as for
good lighting, exposure and
meaning.
If your pictures don't say
anything then they won't
have a chance to win.
When you find a scene
worth reproducing make some
object its center of interest.
For instance, if you should
run across a sylvan view of
considerable pictorial appeal,
find an especially graceful
tree. or perhaps a waterfall
or shrub for the center of
interest and let the rest of
the scene complement the
main subject.
For the rest of it-just fol-
low the rules of good pho
Biography and keep your en-
tries coming in. There is no
limit to the number of en-
tries per week nor the num-
ber of times you may submit
entries.