12 http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk
Nigel Atherton looks back at past AP issues
IN 1967AmateurPhotographerwascon dentenoughas
a brand to change the masthead to just a simple ‘AP’,
though not quite con dent enough not to write the full
name underneath, just in case. There were no coverlines
either – buyers could only guess at the delights inside. In
fact this issue contained an informative feature on
advanced portraiture, and a charming photo story about a
piglet raised with Dachshunds. Also, if you wanted to
know how it could be possible to be happy despite being
married, John Cope had the answer: don’t spend too
much on camera gear. To prove it he put a Russian
Cosmic 35 through its paces which, he enthused, had a
remarkable speci cation for £5 19s 6d. (£112 today) and
delivered pleasing results. Richard Greene, meanwhile,
owned a Pentax SV (£108 at the time, or £2,030 in
today’s money) so presumably it was in order to escape
from his wretched marriage that he went to pop concerts
to photograph the ‘tears and hysteria’ of screaming
teenagers. ‘I covered one of these events at a local
cinema,’ he wrote, ‘and came out at the end reeling from
the accumulated screams and shouts from the audience,
but very pleased with the amount of pictures that were
there for the taking.’ At least with the mostly school-age
audience he didn’t have to deal with clouds of cigarette
smoke – only chewing gum and sweets getting stuck to
his shoes and camera case. So what was the name of
this band the kids had come to see? Nobody special –
just some group called the Rolling Stones.
Bacon and sausages – Sally the pig The strangely dated Miranda SensorexScreaming teenagers watch the Rolling Stones play at their local cinemaThe Cosmic 35 delivered pleasing pictures and a happy marriage for a mere £From the archive
18 January 1967