, 1889-02-21
IN A TWINkLING.
Taking a Photograph In the Four
Thousandth of a Second.
A Chat With Ernest Marx, the
Noted instantaneous Artist.
How He Caught the Flyers in Last
Seasons Fastest Race.

eral hours in Cheyenne yesterday and was
interviewed by a LEADER representative.
The traveller was none less than Mr..
Ernest Marx of Plainfeld. n. j., an ex-
pert photographer of the progressive
school. He stands pretty nearly at the
head ofthe profession in his line, which is
instantaneous work. He devotes his
entire attention to this difficult branch.
Let me tell you about my apparatus"
said Mr.. Marx. ut is, for the most
part, of my own devising. In all my turf
work | use a double camera, an arrange
ment consisting of nothing more than two
ordinary cameras, one placed on top Of the
other. l generally station myself in the
stand with the judges, directly beneath
the wire. My cameras are mounted on a
tripod and move on a pivot. As soon as
the horses enter the last sixteenth of a
mile l find the leader by means OF the
upper camera, and l follow him, keeping
his nose even with a line in my instru-
ment. As soon as he comes down the
stretch, and, as he passes under the wire,
the fash bolt in my shutter, which is
worked upon by a string fastened to the
stationary tripod, springs and my under
camera receives the impression.
Il use a No. so Cramer plate, and as
soon as the picture is taken | develop the
negative In my ipprovised dark room, and
have it in the hands of the judges, in a
finished condition, within three minutes.
Next year l propose to afix to my camera
an electric arrangement by which l will
secure a still more accurate exposure. l
shall have a button in the stand SO ar
ranged that the bed of the camera will
press it as it swings around, and as the
line of my instrument shows at an angle
with the finish line. One thing which
this new arrangement will overcome is
the possible variance arising from a
shrinking or expansion of the string as |
now use it. When my new idea is de-
veloped, l feel certain that l will be able
to place negatives in the hands of the
judges within eighty seconds after the
finish, or before the riders have weighed
in"
How quick an exposure does your
camera make at present ?"
According to my figures, the four
thousandth part of a second. Here is
the shutter which | use. Now, when it
opens, endeavor. If you can, to see day.
light through the lens"
Snap went the spring; a convulsive
witch of the machine in Mr.. Marks
hand was all hat was noticeable, and the
reporter confessed that he had not sue
ceeded in getting an impression.
Then Mr.. Marx said: las an ~illustra-
ton of the accuracy of the impression
which my very sensitive plate is capable
OF receiving in the somewhat limited time
at its command, Just look at this photo
graph of the finish in the fastest running
race of the season. 1t was taken at
Sheepshead Bay on june 81. Inspect
this one for yourself"
The photograph was an excellent speci-
men of the art, perfect in every respect,
as photographs go. Eolian, the winner,
was caught III inc laSt Ol MS StTlue, TWO
lengths ahead of Fitzroy, who was half a
length ahead of Terra Gotta. The mile
was run in l:40l, but a better conception
OF the speed at which the horses were
travelling will be obtained from reflection
upon the fact that while travelling at
a l:40 gait a horse gets over 50 $40
feet every second, assuming, for
the. sake of the deduction, that the
uniform rate of speed is maintained
throughout. Each prominent muscle on
Eolian's legs, neck and shoulders was
plainly delineated. Garrison, the jockey.
with back bumped, a sure indication that
he is riding in earnest, was sitting well up
on Eolian's neck, and the very expression
in his eye was observable. His lips were
parted and his. teeth we're tightly clenched.
Palmer, on Fitzroy, had a seat entirely
unlike Garrison's. Mclaughlin on Terra
| Gotta, had his whip in air descending on
tie Western cracks flank. Both Terra
Gotta and Fitzroy were in the first stages
of the stride, f~orefeet twisted up and
hind feet on the ground, and a capital
illustration was afforded of the difference
in their gaits.