Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-08-07
ghe aaha Daily gape: aaeduesday g1oru august 1883.

Slides than are L1itue Ii rTduCo, Uue LAG hoS
the advantage of that rare combination, the
amateurs enthusiasm and the professionals
skill
That mention of instantaneous" pho
Biography recalls to remembrance Professor
Muybridge, of California, who astonished
the world a few years since with his photo
graphs Of 1.-THE horse In notion and who
since then has taken like pictures Of other
animals and of men and women In motion,
with the most surprising results in the demo-
Etion of preconccived notions OF muscular
movement. At first people refused to be-
lieve that the stiff legged, awkward looking
brutes his pictures showed were really the
graceful and beautiful horses and grey
hounds they had seen running. Then he
adapted, so as to work together, two SCI
entiflc toys and produced the "zoetrope,"
which threw upon the magic lantern screen
a rand succession of those strange caricature
LOOKING pictures, and, In so DONG, gave per-
feet pictures of the animals in motion.
The camera had been SO much quicker than
the human eye that it had given faithfully
all the successive motions Of the trot, pace
and gellop, each caught, as it was. In an ata-
tude that endured only for thousandth OF
second, perhaps and when those pictures, set
upon wheel and revolved before the lens OF
lantern, were thrown upon screen with
rapIdity Of succession equal to the move
ments of the animal originally photographed,
they deluded the eye Of the spectator into
seeing nothing like either Of them singly, but
the combined effect, such as he had always
imagined he saw in the movement Of the liv-
ing creature. That discovery made Muy-
bridge famous all over the world. By the
way, he used to be one Of the finest landscape
photographers in this country, and his views
Of California scenery had been the admira-
ton of Europe for years before his unique
line Of instantaneous work on animals made
his name famous
A sketch Of the pleasures Of photography
would be very incomplete that made little OF
the amateurs The infinite improvements in
late years in the directions Of perfecting and
cheapening apparatus and appliances and In
simplifying processes have encouraged tens
of thousands of men and women all over this
country to learn and practice the art OF pho
Biography simply for their own pleasure and
the incidental qualification Of their friends.
1t is said that in England there is hardly
town, or village even, that has not its ANA
teur Photographic club, and the same con-
ditions might very well exist in this country
did our amateurs care more for associatlng
themselves for mutual encouragement and
assistance, instead Of working-American
on-independently
Here in New York Photographic club has
recently been formed among number OF
wealthy amateurs, who have leased for their
uses a magnificent Fifth avenue mansion,
which they have fitted up in splendid style,
with light and dark rooms, exhibition halls,
laboratory, and a comprehensive outfit of all
imaginable sorts of apparatus, chemicals and
other materials, and superb library OF
standard works, and all the latest periodical
publications on the subject of photography.
Many gentlemen in New York, In private
life, have Photographic outfits that have cost
them from $500 to $500. a millionaire rail
road man, Mr.. Webb, starting off recently
with party OF friends on an excursion by
rail to the northwest, and expecting to be
gone a month or two, took along $500 pho
tographic outfit for his own use-and he
knows how to use it well Every United
States vessel has at least one superb outfit
for photography aboard, and some Of them
have several, the private property Of officers.
Rich young men, who have too much man.
illness and sense to loaf about New York and
journeys far abroad and amuse themselves
by photographing the strange and interest
ing sights they see. One such, who has re-
Gently returned after several years Of foreign
travel, Mr.. Horace Warren Gridley, has
brought back with him really wonderful
collection of views from the far east, includ-
ing among others of especial interest a num-
Der portraying the ruins Of Palmyra, which
In priv re
of these, which he left in London on his re-
turn, called forth such admiration and inter
est as to create a great sensation and elicit
columns Of eulogy from the leading London
newspapers.
But the beauty of amateur photography is
that one does not need TO incur such heavy
expenses or to 60 journeying afar to get a
vast deal of innocent, intelligent and beneti-
cial enjoyment out Of it. An outfit can be
bought as low as 81. 90, and one that-with a
good deal of skill-one can really take pic
lures with, can be had for $3.50 But good
serviceable, cheap instrument will cost from
SIS to SIS. And fair stock Of chemicals,
plates and trifiing appliances of various sorts
win run from Sc to $40 more.
This, of course, il not making any allow
ance for costly lenses, which are held at fancy
figures, from S25 ell the way UP TO $3.50, and
which dealers Will talk the amateur into
thinking absolutely necessary if they conceive
/ him TO be the sort Of person proverbially easy
of separation from his money. Enough OF
the art to enable an intelligent amateur to
/ take and develop decently good negative
/ and to make creditabie print from it can
very quickly be learned, and from that point
/ on progress viii be so fascinating as TO seem
easy.
But the amateur photographer has his
troubles Not infrequently he is liable TO be
/ bounced" and even kicked for trying 20 get
'.snap Shots with his portable camera in for
hidden places 1t was a never ending task
/ on bright days, when Mrs. Cleveland was In
( the White House, to keep the amateur photo
/ erapher away from the grounds. And in
+ New York the amateur who tries to get pic
/ lures in any Of the public parks without q
! permit from the park commissioners is GER
+ tain TO be fired out" by an officer. 1t is
seldom, however that the amateurs punish
/ uent is so condign as was melted out 10 an
+ English one at Cape JUDY, Morocco, about
two years ago.
He trained his camera on a picturesque
/ gang of Moors, and they, under the impres
( sion that he was taking undue liberties with
/ them, promptly jabbed him through and
/ through with spears until he was dead The
/ sultan OF Morocco agrees 10 pay an indem
! nifty 10 the English government for the some
/ what ungentle lesson in courtesy; but what
good is that TO the photographer
One OF the vivid delights of the amateur