The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1898-09-16
NOVEL PHOTOGRAPHS.
Some Fresh Wonders Performer
by the Camera.
Extraordinary Combinations Produced by
an Ingenious Arrangement of
Mirrors-SOme Curious
Examples.

A French photographer has pleased
Paris, always charmed with a novelty,
by producing extraordinary photo
graphic combinations through an in
genious arrangement of mirrors. The
results he attains are novel, surprising
and sometimes sensational, as, for in
stance, his bona fide photograph of a
well-known Partisan being ridden in
the street by his horse. Grotesque COM
binations such as this are, of course,
familiar to us all, for photographers
have long been able to produce very
curious effects by embodying figures
from several negatives in one print.
The beauty of this last Photographic
novelty is, however, that the prints do
not "give away" the process, as the old
fashioned built up photographs invari-
ably do by the stilted postures and in
congruous discords of the composition,
but appear to be single, instantaneous
glimpses of real scenes of an altogether
impossible nature. They are clever
enough to deceive an expert, or to make
a superstitious person almost believe IN
miracles.
All Paris is enthusiastic over one of
his pictures in particular. It is phd-
tograph of gentleman in evening
dress, with the face of his fiancec
daintily poised on his immaculate shirt
front. The girls face seems to be as
much part of the mans figure as is his
head, and not merely picture stamped
on the white linen bosom.
This feat is accomplished by posing
the figures in such a way that they are
reflected from the maze of mirrors di-
rectly into the eye of the camera. Some
times the woman's face is reproduced
in smaller form, and in the shape of a
heart, and is SO arranged as to take the
place Of the organ in which the god OF
love is popularity supposed to dwell.
Photographs taken by the mirror
process show people in every concciv-
able position. For instance, two broth
ers are photographed to appear as one
balanced upside down on the others
head. AS both are in evening dress,
from patent leather pumps to crush
hats, it is difficult to decide when one
has the picture right side up. Pictures
of ANNALS in all conceivable positions
are fad of this photographer, whose
art often takes humorous turn. A
very small snake in the act of swallow
ing an unusually large elephant is fa-
vorite with those who have sense of
the ridiculous. Other pictures, how
ever, lean to tragic rather than the
comic.
A pyramid of babies, to the number of
a score, is another picture which at.
tracts great deal of interest, for,
though the tots are still in the long
clothes period of existence, they appear
to balance themselves with all the sang
fro;d of professional acrobats.
One large photograph which the Pa
risian camera juggler lately exhibited
at an exhibition of pictures. noted 1core
for their oddity than the popular char
acter of their subjects, is probably 1he
most grewsome of any he has yet taxen.
This photograph por trays an exceeding
" beautiful woman dressed as for :
ball, through whose body the bare arm
of a man is thrust, the hand clasping
the handle of a sword that is dripping
with blood. The won,an's face is dis
torted, as though with pain, and she
seems about to fall to the ground.
Y. Herald.