Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-12-26
PHOTOGRAPH ON THE WING.
1he "Detective' ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
for Amateur Photographers.

| Ihere mas been OF late years a large increase in
the sale Of Photographic apparatus for amateurs
ana one often runs across people who talk
hho"lnSly Oh cameras, lenses 1.-The time Of ex-
posure. developing. quick drops. etc. ANA
| teur photography does not probably encroach
TO any extent on the business or regular photo
graphers but it affords amusement to thousands
/ OF persons and enables them to preserve bits of
| scenery, character-groups, etc, which they
could not otherwise secure. A n. Y. Tribune re-
| porter the other day dropped into the store of
| nrm who are among the largest dealers in
! PHOTOGRAPHIC apparatus in the country.
clerk brought out pretty little box about
| foot long. which looked like medicine chest
| with handle on it. This invention has only
! been on the market a week or two. 1t is so
maze that one can carry il around anywhere
and take view of street fight or policeman
| III the act OF clubbing man, or pretty girls
| smile In street car, without any trouble. All
one has to do is to press button. after looking
through Tense in the top of the box to see if
the object is in view, and presto. In the twink
ing oil an eye the picture Is taken. Then the
exutant amateur has only to take out slide
and reverse it and he has his Photographic gun
| ready for the next shot The slide holds two
| extremely sensitive plates. If one wants more
than two pictures he should carry half dozen
extra plates in his pockets. If the plates are
exposed to light after taking the picture they
can be lett for any time before developing"
The reporter was shown the work of an
amateur with the detective" camera. The
pictures were about 4X5 In siZe and were as
good as any outdoor photographs. There were
scenes in Broadway and the uptown streets in
which men and horses in motion We're clearly
pictured. horse was seen with q foot up or
Autograph boy in the act of running. Here was
group at fruit stand-every one of the peo-
Pile being caught on the fly" and sin the act ;"
whether it was dropping pennies in an old
Womans hand or deVouring big Bartlett-pear
Amateur outfits come as low as 80. and the
extra-prepared plates are quite inexpensive
Some amateur outfits cost 5000, and the "detec-
tive" camera is S45 1t is not expected that
amateurs without a gallery can take specially
good portraits, but for ordinary photography and
outdoor work they can do as well as any one.
speaking OF the improvement made In the
"dry plates" in the last year or two. Mr. An
thony sad at has GENE to pass that large
numbers OF photographers use dry plates in
their galleries. Sarony uses them entirely and
they are often Of good service in catching the
posture OF an actress which could not be kept
up long enough for wet plate to photograph
For instance. formerly when a person held his
hand above his head it was necessary to suspend
1t by black wire from the ceiling, in order to
hold it steady Dry plates are used in prefer
ence to wet for all outdoor work. views, etc.
The dry extra sensitive plates are also excellent
for photographng babies and also people who
cannot keep pose"
The reporter was next shown views of a
steamboat in motion taken from boat goin q
In an opposite direction. So quickly was it
taken that the jar and motion Of the boat had
not impaired in the least the clearness of the
picture. Another view showed a column of
water thrown up by a torpedo near Willet's
point. The time of the exposure in instanta-
neous photography is but small portion of
second, and on some cameras it can be altered
to suit the action that is to be photographed
The quick exposure is made by having drop
screen with round aperture in it move quickly
by means of gravtation or a spring across the
lenes thus admitting only flash of light. The
quality of the lenses has much to do with the
cost of cameras The best lenses are made of
crown glass and flint, and are perfectly achro-
matte and rectinear.