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Stamford, CT is no ordinary town.
Its many residents like to collect art.
It only gets better when they exhibit their art on their lawns.
Such is the case here. Every time I head up Fifth Street, I am treated to some lawn art
In this case, it's a scene of an oldtime photographer, tall, elegant, mustached, dressed black and white to the hilt --the kind who would hold up a pan with ignition powder.
The early box camera was set on a tripod. The photographer would first pose his subject in front of the camera by looking into the lens and opening up the shutter. He would then hold up a 'flash' pan filled with magnesium powder and then mixed it with potassium chlorate which would ignite spontaneously emitting light to illuminate the subject.
For you history buffs, I quote from Robert Leggat's article which was inspired by Arthur Gill, FRPS, a prominent member of the Royal Photographic Society's Historical Group: He reports that in the late 1880's flash powder (described above) was introduced. "It would be spread on a metal dish, the metal powder would be set by percussion-sparks from a flint wheel, electrical fuse or just by applying a taper. However the explosive flashpowder could be quite dangerous if misused. This was not really superseded until the invention of the flashbulb in the late 1920's."
Leggat continues: "Early flash photography was not synchronized. This meant that one had to put a camera on a tripod, open the shutter, trigger the flash, and close the shutter again- a technique known as open flash."
And further: "Certainly early flash photography could be a hazardous business. It is said, for example, that Riis [Jacob Riis, the New York City social crusader] working during this period, twice managed to set the places he was photographing on fire!"
So much for early flash photography.
By the way, notice the speckled white dog that accompanies this outdoor image.
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