St. Paul daily globe., 1889-07-30
AMATEUR pHOroGRAPHERs.
One of the Dangers Which
Threaten Our Advanced Civili-


Threaten Our Advanced Civili-
Zation.
Burlington Free Press.
During the summer time the amateur
photographer is in his glory. If you go
up into the mountains OF down by the
sea, or to any of the springs with their
healing and fashionable waters, you
will meet the person with the camera.
The amateur photographer is proba-
ence He has but one idea, and that is
to take everything he can get focus
on. 1t is his special delight to surprise
people in unguarded moments and
confer upon them an 1gnominious
cardboard Immortality. 1t is a
very Iukewarm specimen of the
class who will not hang around in the
schrubbery for upward of an hour in
order to reproduce pair of lovers in
the act of extracting honey from each
others lips-a very laudable industry,
by the way, and one with which the
world could i'll afford to dispense. But
this is something which the amateur
photographer does not appreciate. To
him kiss is something very amusing
and picturesque when reproduced in
black and white simply this and moth
ing more.
This amiable person with passion
for Sneaking is thrown into transports
of delight when he catches lady in an
embarrassing position on top of fence,
or an elderly or dignified gentleman
who has slid off a Sloping rock into a
brook. He also likes to try his skill in
instantaneous photography upon red
shirted tourist pursued by bull. The
amateur photographer is humorist in
his way, just as the Emperor Nero was.
But it is a nightly unpleasant way for
the victims.
STILL there is this satisfaction about it.
Only once in great while can the anna
teur photographer produce anything
which is recognizable without a dia-
gram. Nobody, for instance, would
know the parties who are supposed to
be kiSsing-not even their most gossip
loving friends. They are splotched all
over with broad daubs of shade. the
perspective is out of killer, and the con-
joined lips of the young persons look
something like funnel. The amateur
photographer has done his best to make
the picture lifelike, but, thanks to the
superior modeSty of the camera and the
fine sense of propriety of the chemicals,
his efforts have been in vain.
There is no doubt that the amateur
photographer works very hard and
spends a great deal of money in the at
tempt to be a first-class humOrist. He
should at least have credit for his in
dustry and the very effective way in
which he aids the circulation of
Uncle SamueFs small bills. But, after
all, he seems to have mistaken
his vocation, A person who can pro-
duce such atrocious works of art as he
can surely ought to be making horrible
toy masks or painting tea chests in
Hong Kong. No doubt the amateur
photographer could also do the world a
good turn as an Arctic explorer, partic-
ularly If he should freeze to death or be
eaten up by polar bear. Intact, there
are many things which the amateur
photographer might do much better
than he can handle sensitive plates and
chemicals, Why, just think what a
grand subject he would make for Pas
teur or some of those medical geniuses
to experiment upon! And then, again,
how nobly he could serve science by
jumping down the cratur of VesuviuS
and finding out what the interior of the
globe looks likel How can a person
with so many grand opportunities for
usefulness thus opening before him be
content to sneak through the world
with a cheap camera and a Paul Pry
disposition? This is something which
has always been harder for me to under
stand than cuneiform inscription.