OR PICTORIAL WORK

"Are there commercial possibilities at present for pictorial
photographers? Has the public shown an increasing desire to buy soft
focus pictures? Is there a demand on the part of magazines and newspapers
for pictorial work?"

"There is a very definite demand on the part of both magazines and
newspapers for soft focus pictures. In fact, sometimes the art editors,
in their eagerness to get soft focus work, will buy a photograph because
it is fuzzy, without regard to its quality. But the outlook for the
pictorial worker in its financial possibilities is steadily improving."

AIRPLANE PHOTOGRAPHY

"Has any pictorial work been done in connection with airplane photography?
Is the apparatus for this sort of work too expensive for anything besides
military or movie use?"

"At present I do not know personally of any pictorial work being done in
this direction, but I have seen reproductions in newspapers of pictures
from airplanes that show most interesting results. Airplane photographers
as a rule do not as yet put into their work a marked pictorial quality."

ELABORATE APPARATUS NOT ALWAYS NECESSARY

"Have any notable inventions marked the year? Is the photostat coming
into use and has it any value other than commercial? Do you recommend one
of the new high-priced enlarging cameras, which focus the lens
automatically on any size of paper, as suitable for clubs to purchase?"

"Well, I must confess that I have only heard of it, and the price seems to
be such as to discourage almost all the pictorial workers that I know. In
my observation of the work that has been done by pictorialists, the very
fact that in many instances they use makeshift apparatus has resulted in
some of the most beautiful effects in their work. Good apparatus is of
course desirable, but there are happy accidents with the other sort. It
is the workman, not his tools, that counts. Get the best tools if you can
afford them, but remember that you can make just as bad pictures with an
expensive outfit as you can with the cheapest."

HOW MR. WHITE JUDGES A PHOTOGRAPH

"Many persons would like to know, Mr. White, what are the criteria used by
advanced workers like yourself in judging a photograph. Do you allow so
many points for composition, for technique, for originality of conception,
or for success in a difficult medium? Or do you say