Evening star., 1925-07-05
Camera Men RiskLives

ing evidence of the terrific force o.
blasts due to flour and starch dust
and enabled those witnessing them to
appreciate more viYidly than ever
before the penalty that often is
exacted for carelessness in allowing
dust TO accumulate in plants.
One time in New Mexico Goergens
fell with his camera off a cliff and
landed within 6 feet of a giant rat
tlesnake. Instinctively, he set up his
camera to take the rattler's picture
The serpent struck. but missed. and
went through the legs of the tripod
The snake was killed and gave up
nine rattles and a button.
on still another occasion in the Ban
dolier National Forest, Goergens was
ordered to take pictures of a buffalo
charging the camera. He was assured
that the buffalo would stop within a
few feet of the camera. but instead of
rounding up one buffalo the directors
incensed a herd Of five and charged
them at Goergens.
The enraged beasts came head on.
Suppose they didn't stop? Goergens
already could hear the singing of the
angels. His only chance of escape was
to throw himself fiat on the ground
Fortunately for him. the buffalos
swerved off
The War College is still working on
most hazardous conditions experienced
by cameramen. To be sure. these pic
lures were taken in war time when
human life was valued lower than the
product, but they exemplify the spirit
OF men in Government service even in
time of peace.
Millions of feet of film were taken in
making practically a complete pieto-
rial record of the battle front MANY
men sacrificed their lives in this dan
gerouS work. but the result was a pho
tographic record that contributed
much TO the successful outcome of the
war. Special equipment was designed
in which TO develop the negatives
while the planes We're in fight, so that
the completed pictures We're available
upon landing. Only pictures of imme-
date value were thus developed. so
much footage being taken that the
| War College to this day-six years
after the armistice-is still develop
ling some of the negatives.
During the war period Goergens of
| the Department of Agriculture was
detailed to the Coast Guard to make
motion pictures of storms, wrecks and
other marine happenings. In this ca
pacity he was aboard the famous
Yamacraw in 1917, when 10 of the
| crew were drowned in going to the
! rescue of the Louisiana. which was
stranded on the shoals off Ocean City.
HE British navy during the war pc
| riod had been having difficulty
with the ramming of guns. Goergens
was instructed TO make study of the
| situation, and the outcome was the de-
IVelopment of a motion picture machine
attachment which made it possible to
make Photographic exposures at the
| rate of 128 a second, as compared with
| the usual rate of 16 pictures a second
| This was the first development of
! the so-called slow-motion picture
/ camera, and in photographing the
! firing of the British guns strips of
film were produced in which the shells
could actually be seen emerging from
the mouth of the cannon. A public
| patent was granted Goergens for his
/ invention and the British government
| was permitted to use it, for which
| they officially extended their thanks
to the American government and 10
/ Goergens individually.
| Fred w Perkins, in charge of the
Department of Agriculture motion
picture laboratory here in Washing
| ton, has been compelled to take on
| the job of movie operator along with
his many other tasks, particularly in
| fight scenes. He has made IA trips
| in airplanes for the purpose of taking
pictures under conditions that would
| faze even the professional daredevil.
| A particularly hazardous task was
| in connection with taking scenes of
| boil weevil cotton busting by aero
plane. The danger of this work lies
| in the fact that the busting planes
skins at terrific speed above the tops
! of the plants. spraying the cotton
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