The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-19

and smoke effects, and of the working
of the fire department under all sorts CT
conditions.
There are probably not more than half
a dozen of the fire photographers here re-
ferred to- Many photographers at one
time and another get a picture OF a nre;
but only casually, as opportunity presents.
A fire is not like scenery, or a house, or
a bridge that one can go out and photo
graph when one wants to, or when the
conditions are favorable but Al springs up
unexpectedly at all sorts Of hours and In
various places, and to get photograph
Of it one must have knowledge Of the fire
freedom Of movement, and camera al
ways at hand, besides command OF IA
cilities for work after getting to the fire.
Those requirements necessarily limit the
fire photographers to q very small num-
Der. confined to the ranks of firegoers
There is probably no man whose blood
is not stirred by the sight Of a fire engine
dashing along the street to fire; every
body is fascinated by the spectacle of the
fire itself; all are interested In the fire de-
partment and it's work, and everything
pertaining to II; there are some for whom
these things have absorbing interest.
These are the TRIGGERS with an intense
interest in the fire department, and In ev-
erything belonging to it, and like inter-
est In fires.
The fregoer may be a business man; he
is likely to be man whose time Is more
or less at his own command; who can
come and go as he pleases. OF course,
ne has a fire badge so that he Is free
within the fire lines. He Is familiar with
the working OF the department. An APP
parAtus going along the street has for him
a significance quite beyond that which 1t
would have even for one interested In such
subjects but not familiar with them;
3 artq "A
ments Of apparatus that to him convey
definite information.
If the firegoer is also an amateur pho
tograDher, he has a camera at his place
OF business or his office ready; but he pho
tographs many other things about the
department besides fires. He has for ex-
ample a picture of the men turning out
on an alarm, the scene in the bunkroOm,
with the firemen jumping out OF bed. He
has pictures Of the hooking up in the en-
CINE room. with the horses dashing from
their places and pictures of speed exh-
billions taken at public displays OF the
department, and pictures of drilling, men
jumping into nets, and that sort of thing.
Al the fire he may take, besides pic
lures Of the fire itself. a picture Of a big
stream, Of course, with the pipe and the
men holding II. one who looks at a series
of such pictures realizes right away that
he Is looking al something out OF the or
binary The fire photographer takes, per-
haps, a picture of the fire line with the
policemen holding the people back, and
the men and the boys composing IT, tho
fire line that everybody has seen. on a
still day he takes a smoke effect--a fire
engine with great masses of white smoke
rolling up from the smokestack, and
broadening out .nto a great rolling plume
above. Here Is a picture OF a stream
playing diagonally upward and across
street upon a building on the other slde
The drip from the stream makes fine
thin haze that is like a very thin, almost
impalpable veil, through which. in the
distance down the street may be seen
with perfect distinction the figures of men
and boys
After the fire he may take pictures of
the wrecked buildings, or Of a striking
Interior; he takes next day 1t may be,
the burned building as it looks covered
with play bills. Il Is not always possible
to get a satisfactory picture of the fire.
Il is comparatively easy to get good pic
lures Of the incidental happenings Alto
gether such pictures make a series of
great interest The photographer gives
copies to his friends. and sometimes he has
them mounted as lantern slides Thus en-
larged and thrown upon a screen, they
make pictures Of a most striking and in
teresting character.