Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-12-24


'What IS the secret of the enjoyment Of r,hoto-
graphing" asked STAR Teportero? en- exnertenced
asis"t'ur photographer the other DAY.
III You ever land five pound trout with a 1y
roi:' querisl h' II reply.
TIE STAR nan was eoourb ~ = .-,, ..
Know ta't y ing Is part OF the business and said
Tt he had,
"fhotographing IS just Ike that kind OF fishing
II way, continued tho reproducer OF lights ana
SHADOWS you hook your fish, and II he IS we'll
I'o' eu you nave grand sport playing him hither
AMI yoh until, all worn out he succuTlDs. and lies
S'7plAS IN the bottom OF your boat lie IS a
1-a"'J' ana Jon call TO your comp nion in the
o'.-i poat 10 witness your success. With an adj
hiring glance at him you begin casting again TO
C"'en MS mate, II possible. OF course you Will
proudly exhibit your catch to your friends at the
hotei, and the fish Is enjoyed, perhaps, IT supper
Tine That Is all very pleasant, but The keen en-
Joyulent iOr you was while you were catching
him-from the first moment he took the fly until
you had successfully landed him. It is just so
WIN photosraphing. Making the exposure is like
getting the strike by the trout, but the principal
pleasure Is TO cOme-when you are clo5eted with
the milk white plate In the dark room. Develop
ing your picture corresponds 10 playing your trout
When you have closely watched the outline OF
your picture gradually appear and take upon
Itself thecearOUtlineS OF the object photographed,
LANDED YOUR FISH;
you have secured your negative. You may make
some prints from 10 and mount them and exhibit
them TO your friends. Just as you may have had
your trout cooked, and served up for your friends
But the keeneSt personal pleasure was when you
were developing your plate, when You were play
Ing your trout. You may have Jerked your rod TOO
soon or too late and thus lost your fish, and you
may have Over-eNpOSed or under-cxpOsed your
plate and thus lost your picture After having
.fr-h hslyrn Inyxl
him too much slack and permitted him TO throw
OF the hook and in the same way you may have
made the right exposure, but in the dark room
you may have exercised poor Judgment in endeayor-
ing To bring out the lines a. clearly as possible
from the sensitive plate, and seen the embryo
picture get brfOgyei, leaving nothing but the
cloudy glass when the trout Is landed; when the
picture Is deyeioped the real 1un is over. Print
Ing and mounting photograph requires some
skill perhaps but il is largely mechanical and the
amatuer photographer is generally satisfied 10
let professional photographerdo 1t. This Is the
reason 50 many more photographs are taken than
are printed and mounted The photographer Is
satisfied in having caught his fish, he doesn't
care 10 cook it,"
THE IMPROVED APPLIANCES.
''Why is there so much more interest shown in
this amusement now than formerly?" asked the
reporter.
Because OF the wonderful improvements in the
appliances, particularly the plates, was the re-
ply, so that knowledge OF chemistry is not
essential and the entire work is much simplttied.
The dry plate system was known seven or eight
years ago, but IL was not made practicable until
within ABOUT h.e yedfs. ne continued. anu tns
more intensified until it is difficult to take
anything but an instantaneous photograph orit
Will be over-expoSed- manufacturer sent me u
plate u few days ago that would not permit OF
near a much Iime or near as large lens aperture
as a plate furnished by the same man only two
months ago. These Improvements in the senSi-
tiveneSS OF the dry plates make II necessary not
iiS 80 tIi1 .'peI taIe 70 Tut ns put also
10 have strong springs TO drop the shutter 80 that
the exposure may last but a fraction OF a second.
We take pictures nowadays in one four-hundredth
OK the time We did i've years ago; that l., the eX
poSure Is one-tenth aS long as formerly while the
amount OF light allowed is only one-fortieth OF
what was formerly necessary.
wow L took photograph to-day with this
camera, pointing To a leather case that looked
like a diamond drummers saIchel land YOU know
that IL has been rather cloudy, yet my exposure
lasted but one twO-hundredth part OF a second.
While the aperture through which the light
lens.r
Have the Improvements in the camera kept
pace with those Of The plates? asked the reporter
There has not been the same field for improve
IlentS," was the reply, ''but the cameras have
been made much more convenient and easy to
US TO dispense with the tripod and other incum-
ORANGES, so that the compact detective camera
can now De used"
DETECTIVE CAMERA
This IS called a detective camera" he con-
tinued picking uD the leather case spoken of
above, although Ii Is not the genuine article.
Everything Is IN readiness 10 take a photograph
i screw at the bottom enables me TO place an Oh
ject in focus at distance OF from i've to one
hundred feet, without having TO go through the
dark curtain process. When see the object to be
photographed appear in the center OF this little
ground glass in the top OF the case, 1 press this
DUP attaciiei 70 . luuoer Iu9e, 1he exposure Is
Second, and the plate Is ready for the dark room.
These cameras are particularly suited to amateur
photographers, because they can be carried so
easily. use mine great deawhile driving. dropft
In the bottom OF my buggy and when come across
something that would make pretty embarrassing
picture rest the camera on my knee and fire away.
In travelling about the country with such outfit IL
is absolutely necessary 70 keep It securely locked
so that The chamDermafd at the hotel some
other curious person can not have an opportunity
OF seeing what you have been doing. I generally
md that when somebody has made an inyeStiga-
ton OF my outfit, can't tell afterwards my self
what had been doing. What does one OF them
cost? Oh, about sixty or seventy dollars. made
this one myself and IL answers my purposes very
Well There are but few real detective cameras
made I'm this country, but they have them down
nne In England and have the phOtOgraphing ap-
paratus concealed In many clever and Ingenious
ways Who would e.er suppose that a fellow
coming along the street with a brown paper par
Gel under his arm could take photograph OF a
man as he meets him, without stopping? BY pull
n 1g 6nn ae pe ne OF sne Papet at dhe END
the flap sprung back all so quick that the eye can
not see It, An English detective succeeded In Sc
curing the photographs OF large number OF men
who were suspected TO be rogues by Disgusting
himself as a bcOtblack with an OUTFIT complete.
His camera was concealed in his boot box The
crooks finally discovered his dodge and steered
clear or him i have heard OF German who
had
ELS CAMERA IN HIS HAT.
string passed from bis hat, apparently as a
guard, down under his vest and the end was tucked
In his trousers pocket. All he had to do when he
wanted photograph was TO pull the string.
Through an opening which was made and
closed in the hat so quick that it could
not be seen, the exposure was made The
only American detective camera / know
OF Is made In New York. 1t Is a nat metallic
breast plate about the size or saucer, which IS
worn inside the vest. The exposure Is made by
means or a button which prOIrIdes through one OF
The button holes OF the vest BY pulling a string
extending down under the vest the Photograph Is
takeh- ihere are six plates In the saucer, which
revoive, 50 that by pulling the string six times as
many photographs can be taken"
AMATEURS AND PROFESSIONALLY
"Does the work OF amateurs equal that OF pro-
fessionalS:" asked the reporter
-No, don't think 1t does was the reply .sTbe
kinds OF work differ materially and it Is perhaps
unfair TO compare them. The professional Mo,
tographer dev0teS himself mainly 10 indoor work
and has 10 make a careful study or light and
shadow Of course he Is limited 10 a few conyen
Eonal Backgrounds, and there he Is Handicapped
put the treatment OF the light which comes
through his skylight is his study, and he manages
II 50 cleveTly that the result is clear smooth pie
lures. The amateur, under ike conditions,
wouldn't notice little light or shadow which
would ruin his picture a likeness Now toOl
photograph or a little girl yesterday Thought
the light was very favorable but when deyelooe,i
the plate one cheek looked IL bad case OF tool h.
ache had made a balloon OF II. A little dash