AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



DID NOT FANCY THE CAMERA. 



(From the "Arizona Kicker.") 



One day last week, when the car of a 

 travelling photographer reached this town 

 and went into camp on a vacant lot in 

 Apache Avenue, we called on the stranger 

 and asked him if he knew the risk he was 

 running. He replied he had been all over 

 the West, and was old enough to take care 

 of himself. We attempted to give him 

 some fatherly advice, but he wouldn't have 

 it, and we turned away in sorrow. His 

 first customer was old Pete Johnson. Pete 

 has a mouth on him like that of an alligator, 

 and t'his is his tender point. He has killed 

 2 men and wounded 2 others for laughing 

 about it. When we saw him enter the car 

 we knew the photographer would take his 

 mouth as a whole, instead of covering up 

 half of it with a towel, and that if it showed 

 in the picture shooting would be sure to 

 follow. 



Wednesday afternoon Pete called for his 

 pictures, calculating to send one to his 

 mother in Connecticut. He didn't look at 

 'em till he got into the alley behind The 

 Kicker office. Then he opened the pack- 

 age, and as we happened to look out of the 

 back window we saw him jump a foot high. 

 There was some face where the face ought 

 to be, but not much. It was most all 

 mouth. It was a mouth which had no 

 beginning or end — a sort of railroad tun- 

 nel, as it were. Pete didn't do anything 

 just then but turn pale and hold his head 

 down; but we knew his vengeance was 

 only delayed. 



When the sun went down in a blaze of 

 glory and night enwrapped the earth, and 

 the silvery stars came out one by one to 

 do their twinkling act, the town was sud- 

 denly aroused by the rattle of small arms. 

 Old Pete Johnson had gathered his crowd, 

 and that crowd had quietly surrounded the 

 photograph car and opened fire. Three 

 wild yells from the photographer followed 

 the first volley. Then all was silent — all 

 except the steady pop! pop! pop! of the 

 guns in the hands of men who had work 

 cut out for them. 



An object, which might have been the 

 photographer, was seen flying across the 

 vacant lots toward the sand plains, but its 

 flight was so rapid and erratic that not a 

 bullet took effect. When the car had been 

 shot to pieces some one lighted a fire un- 

 der it, and in the course of half an hour 

 nothing but a heap of ashes was left to 

 mark the spot. 



No one knows what became of the man 

 who came here with such confidence in 

 himself to cater to a people whom he knew 

 nothing about. We gave him due warn- 

 ing, and our conscience is clear. He is the 



fourth man who has made the same mis- 

 take within the past 2 years, and if the 

 next comer wants to become a fixture he 

 will get right down on the ground and 

 seek to post himself in advance. We are 

 not a purty crowd in this town, but we 

 don't want our homeliness transferred to 

 a card for outsiders to chuckle over. 



BROMIDE PAPER. 



Recently an amateur handed me a large 

 number of mounted silver prints and 

 wished to be informed as to the reason 

 of their sickly, yellow color. Of course 

 he used the combined toning and fixing 

 bath. That I saw at a glance. 



" Why don't you use the separate bath? " 

 I asked. 



" Well," said he, " it is such a long 

 winded process, and I have so little time. 

 The combined bath works so nicely I al- 

 ways use that. Beside the manufacturers 

 of the paper recommend it; so I thought 

 it would yield permanent results; but so 

 far all prints turn yellow in a short time 

 and I am becoming disgusted with pho- 

 tography." 



I handed him a print made on P. M. C. 

 bromide (platinoid) and asked what he 

 thought of that. 



" Will it keep? " he asked. 



" Yes, indeed," I answered, " just as well 

 as a negative, provided it has been fixed 

 and washed thoroughly." 



He bought a dozen sheets and now you 

 could not get him to use any other paper, 

 at any price. Simple to handle, no waiting 

 for sunlight and an absolutely permanent 

 print. The metol Hydrochinon formula, 

 given by the manufacturers, does away 

 with the old Oxalate and Iron developer 

 and the acid washings. Prints may be 

 made at any time, using the light of the 

 dark room lamp to expose by and devel- 

 oped at once, either one by one, as they 

 are taken from the printing frame, or when 

 the entire lot has been exposed. 



I cannot understand why more amateurs 

 do not use the P. M. C. bromide; for the 

 pictures are more pleasing than the glossy 

 ones, and are permanent. This paper al- 

 lows more time for taking views, as no 

 sunshine is needed for printing. A rainy 

 day, or an evening may be taken to do 

 the work. C. 



COPYING REFLECTIONS. 



It is said the mirage has been photo- 

 graphed, and if the results are at all 

 like the descriptions of this optical illu- 

 sion, a series of them would be both pleas- 

 ing and beautiful, for the reflections from 

 lakes and other smooth surfaces are some- 



415 



