Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-25
THEY DON'T LOOK PLEASANT.
How a Camera Fiend Secured a Re-
narkable Collection of Photographs.

markable Collection of Photographs.
From the New Orleans Times Democrat
Il am the owner said q distinguished
amateur photographer who was in the city
recently, ''of what 1 have no hesitation in
declaring to be the most remarkable collec-
ton of portraits ever made along any spe-
cial line. They are about a hundred in num-
Der, and nearly all of celebrities but their
popularity lies in the fact that the subjects
are represented in every imaginable stage
OF Irritation, ranging from mere painful
surprise to white-hot, sizzling rage You
can see in a glance, too, that there is no
posing about them; they are the real thing
and consequently, as character studies they
are absolutely unique. / need something
like dozen more to complete the set, as
originally mapped out and as soon as /
secure them propose to have the collection
bound in large morocco album with this
inscription lettered in gold on the cover
Whom the gods would destroy they first
make mad.
THE idea suggested ITSELF" continued the
distinguished amateur, while l was sitting
IN Washington gallery one afternoon,
waiting for friend who was having pho
TO taken. AS usual, the operator told him
to look pleasant. and it suddenly occurred
10 me that this familiar phrase was respon-
sfbie Tor the fact that nearly all photo
graphic portraits are more or less unreal.
When man looks pleasant 1 said to my
self, he invariably looks unnatural, be-
cause. in the first place, he is apng an emo
ton he doesn't feel, and, in the second
place, a smile almost always masks the
true temperament. But suppose. on the con-
trary, that the photographer did something
to make his sitter look mad, what a reveIa-
ton Of character he would secure!' That
opened up a fascinating line OF thought. In
moments of anger we are off our guard.
Our real nature flashes out. The weak
nesses and infirmities We have been scrupu-
he hI1yn fnpfh
as plain as print, and a snap shot at such
an instant would be a human document OF
unparalleled Importance. Before l left the
gallery l had determined in a general way
upon the experiment which L subsequently
put into successful execution.
The main difficulty" the amateur went
on, was mechanical. 1t is easy enough to
exasperate a man and easy enough to pho
tograph him. but how to do both in success
sion was something of a puzzle. l might
walk up to John Smith. for example, ana
say, You're a liar!' but the chances are a
hundred to one that he would punch my
head before [ had time to focus him in
my Yiew-finder. To make a long story short
L finally solved the problem by simple
device, which L have christened an irri-
tator.' l use an ordinary box camera. pro-
vided with two push buttons When / push
the first you hear sharp, metallic click.
exactly like the opening and closing OF u
lens shutter, but much louder. That is
merely the irritator and has nothing to do
with taking the picture. The photo is real
ly secured by touching the second button,
which Is perfectly noiseless.
my modus operandi is something like
this 1 select my victim, trying to meet him
at some function where photography Is
barred, such. for instance, as funeral, and
approach him from the rear. After getting
him accurately focused L press the irri-
tator button, and as everybody nowadays
knows the meaning of the peculiar click,
he wheels around instantly, enraged at the
idea Of being snap-shotted. As he does so
A. l,,kx
an indeible record Of his evaporation. He
labors under the delusion, of course. that
he was photographed at the time of the
first click. and consoles himself with the re-
Election that I only got a view of his back.
after ali: so in the majority of cases he
merely waves me away and cautions me
not to do that again. His degree OF wrath
as he whirls on me will depend entirely
upon his natural aversion to being photo
graphed and the extent to which he has
been prosecuted by kodak fiends."