PHOTOGRAPHING A FLASH LIGHTNING.
Having your camera all ready, the apparatus pointing out of the open window of your room, which room must be the uppermost one in your house, how are you going to manage so as to catch a picture of the lightning?
Theoretically, the photographing of a star does not seem so difficult; practically, however, innumerable precautions are necessary. Astronomical photography has got the matter down very fine. Your camera follows automatically the movement of the stars, but it is a mechanism which requires great delicacy in perfecting, and which costs several thousands of dollars.
The great astronomer does not do a great deal of active star-hunting. He may not sit down exactly in an arm-chair, but he makes himself fairly comfortable at his work. That scientific person, however, with a hobby for photographing meteors must be active. He has to be on the full jump. He knows that at a fixed time of the year and in a particular part of the heavens there are to be found a stream of meteors. There is, however, little certainty about his catching a first-class one. The field of the camera not being large, he cannot sweep the whole heavens. So it often happens that though he may have secured an assorted lot of meteors, the one particular and brilliant shooting star which he has seen with his eyes has escaped his camera. Meteors do not pose. That is not in their nature.
If the meteor is eccentric, what about the flash of lightning? You may have any number of storms during a summer, but they are not always accompanied with visible electrical phenomena. There may be plenty of lightning, however, but not in your horizon. But say there is a first-class storm, and with lightning. You have read the meteorological data for the day, and can in a measure anticipate this storm. If you are weatherwise, you know your local conditions, where is north, south, east, and west, and if experienced, you ought to be fairly certain as to the possible direction the storm should come from. Anyhow, you are prepared and have everything ready. Even should the lightning come, as far as taking its picture goes you may be disappointed. The storm may move so rapidly that all the electrical phenomena occur directly overhead or back of you. There may be what seems to you but a feeble discharge of electricity, but it is its distance from you which makes you think so. Then the flash is so far away that the light of it is insufficient, and so a poor, dull, uncertain picture is the resultant.
It is quite a feat to take a first-class flash of lightning, and with reluctance I am forced to conclude that there is much luck about it. But if chance enters for nine-tenths in the photography of lightning, there is the one single tenth which is constantly in your favor—that is, if you are adaptive, watchful, and always ready. You may look for lightning a whole summer and never catch a fine flash, through no fault of your own; and the very next summer, at a first essay, you may secure a magnificent print.
On the 13th of July of this year, at 9 p.m., I was watching a heavy storm in Brooklyn, New York; and my attention was directed to one great blinding flash of lightning, which, starting almost at the zenith, blazed across the sky and came to earth in some region unknown. I never saw a more vivid flash. It ought to have particularly riveted my attention, but it did not, and for this reason: It had just so happened that I had become interested in what are side flashes, or what are called "supplementary" ones. Now the question has been mooted as to what is the character of what seems to our vision to be second flashes—that is, apparent flights of electrical fluid coincident with the first or strongest one, and some scientific men think that as often as not we see the reflection of the important flash mirrored by the clouds in many different directions.
Intent on that side issue, though appreciative of the main discharge, my attention was called to two lines of lesser brilliancy which appeared to the right. "If," I said, "somebody had only photographed it all, how glad I should be!"
Imagine my pleasure when next day Julius Roger, Jun., an amateur photographer living next door to me, casually asked me "whether I had noticed the lightning of the night before"? My reply was "that I had noted it"; but I did not mention what I thought was a special feature of the electrical display.
"Here is one flash I took," said the young gentleman, and he showed me the photograph, an exact copy of which illustrates this article. On examining it, the first thing I did was to look for the particular side show, and there it was.
"Did you notice these?" I asked, pointing to the two cross lines.
"Not," said the young gentleman, "when I took the picture. I went for the main flash. When the picture was developed, then they came out, and they surprised me." I asked the photographer how the print was produced. This is his exact reply:
"It was about nine. I noticed the storm, and that the lightning appeared in the same westerly direction. There were quite a number of flashes coming in succession from the same quarter of the heavens. I pointed my camera to that position, leaving it exposed. When that particular flash made its appearance it impressed itself on the sensitive plate. Then I quickly closed the camera and developed the plate. The picture was taken on a Crown Cramer plate, which I believe to be particularly sensitive."
"You have certainly been on the watch for such a picture for a long time," I said.
My photographer's—who is a singularly modest young gentleman—reply was, "Maybe he had."
Looking at the print it will be seen how the effect of the brilliancy of the flash is heightened because of the intervention of a steeple, and there is even a luminous spot in the window of the steeple, where the lightning shines through it. The two side flashes are perfectly shown to the right. The exact time having been noted, I found out that this particular flash of lightning demolished a house in New Jersey, the distance of which from Brooklyn was, as the crow flies, nineteen miles.
Barnet Phillips.
[The series of four papers on the Science of Football, by Mr. W. H. Lewis of the Harvard Football Team of 1893, begun in this Department in the issue of September 8, is continued this week, and will be concluded in the next number of Harper's Round Table.]
Offensive team-play in the game of football means every man in every play every time.
FIG. 1.
First, in logical order, is the start-off, or opening play. The eleven should line up on the 55-yard line—the centre of the field. The rules allow three men to start before the ball, but not more than five yards back. The three fastest men should be selected for the flying start, preferably the two ends and a half-back. The ends should be out in the wings of the line, and the half-back near the centre; one of the remaining backs—full-back if he be not the kicker—should stand at about the 40-yard line to look out for a return. The other players should be lined up on either side in equal numbers, and at intervals far enough apart to sweep the field. (See Fig. 1.) The ball should be kicked as far down the field as possible without kicking into touch or kicking over the goal-line. The object is to gain as much distance as possible by the kick.
The only way to retain possession of the ball after the start-off, is to kick it so that it will roll slowly enough to allow the rushers to follow it closely, and with force enough to carry it only the required distance. This was done by accident in one great match, and was thought a very good play.
The direct attack is a style of offence generally known as "straight" football, "common," "ordinary," or "barn-yard" football. The object of this style is to take a given point by force instead of by stratagem. To illustrate the principle, take a few ordinary plays.
FIG. 2.
Full-back through right guard and centre is shown in Fig. 2: 1 showing the formation before the play starts; 2 showing where the play hits the line; 3 showing the runner through the line, everybody into the play. The centre and right guard will have to block longer than the other players, but should get into the push as quickly as possible. The play starts on right guard and centre, and goes there; there is no feint made in any other direction. The right half may be sent through right guard and tackle in the same way, the quarter-back, left half, and full-back behind him, or the left half may be sent through the other side in a similar manner. These are commonly called dive-plays. In them the backs should stand from three and one-half to four yards back. The success of the plays depends upon the runners reaching the line with all steam possible at the moment it opens, and in the whole eleven getting behind and pushing, as there will always be something to push against.
Circling the end is shown in Fig. 3. This may be done as in either Part 2 or 3 of that diagram.
In either case the backs should unconsciously stand back a foot or two farther than for dive-plays. The interference should be headed far enough out to draw out the opposing rush-line. The end should help block the opposing tackle. If the opposing end is a very good one, two men should be assigned to him, as in 3, Fig. 3; if not, one, as in 2, Fig. 3. The interference should keep the opposing eleven on the inside as far as possible.
FIG. 3.
The indirect attack is commonly called trick-play. Trick is hardly the word to use, however, because it has a suggestion of unfairness about it. The word "strategic" perhaps best characterizes this class of play. The growth of this style has been marvellous in the last few seasons. The tendency at present seems pretty strong in the opposite direction, towards straight football. One of the oldest tricks is the familiar criss-cross between the two half-backs. There is a very good criss-cross between tackle and end. The end should be near the side line, say over on the right. Let the left tackle run twice, and on the second run give it to the end, who has the long field, and if he is speedy he should make a good run. There are also plays in which the ball is concealed, as in the famous play used by Stagg's team, in which the opponents were drawn out towards the flank, and a runner was sent through the centre.
Kicking is the easiest method of gaining ground, although it gives the ball to the opponents; but it is better to allow the opposing team to have the ball on its 25-yard line than to have it yourself on your own 25-yard line. It is almost impossible, when the teams are anywhere near equally matched, to rush the ball from goal to goal without relinquishing it. One team starting from its own 25-yard line may rush the ball to the centre of the field, or to its opponents' 40-yard line. There it is more than likely to lose it. The defensive team is getting stronger all the time, and the offensive one weaker. An eleven should have a scheme for a kicking game determined by the relative strength of its rushing and kicking. How much kicking can be done depends on the direction of the wind more than upon anything else.
Do not wait until the third down to kick. Your opponent expects you to kick, because you must. Good judgment should be exercised in the placing of the kicks. A team should not kick from right under its own goal-posts, because of danger of the ball's striking an upright or the cross-bar. Change the territory by running a play out on the end, then kick.
Signals.—A signal is a sign of some kind given to indicate to the player the play to be used, and the time of its execution. Signals should be as simple as possible, so as to be easily understood by the side using them. The signals, once decided upon, should be thoroughly learned by constant drill, drill, drill! It is important that every man should know them thoroughly. They ought to be second nature to him. They should be perfectly clear to him the moment they are given, so that there is no conscious effort of the memory at all. Without them there can be no concert of action, and team-play is absolutely impossible.
FIG. 4.
In the first place, there must be a vocal signal, as it is almost impossible for the whole eleven to catch a visible signal. A very simple code is to number the holes in the rush-line from left to right, or vice versa, and then disguise the hole number by some simple combination of figures. (Number the holes as shown in Fig. 4.) Let the hole where the play is to be made be the second digit of the second number. If the signal were "12, 61, 83," then 61 would denote the hole or indicate a play around the left end; the numbers 23, 24, etc., would indicate a play between left guard and centre. There are six possible variations from this simple code.
There may also be a system with an index number—as 43, for instance. Let the hole number be the second digit of the first number after the index; the numbers "81, 43, 36," call for a play between right guard and tackle, 6 being the number of that hole. The plays may be numbered, and the figure indicating the play may be disguised. Or plays may be lettered, as is often done. All formations should be numbered or lettered in some way.
If the play called for does not indicate which back is to carry the ball, the quarter-back should have a silent visible signal of some kind. Usually the quarter uses finger signals, putting the hand behind his leg where it cannot be seen by the opponents. One finger may indicate the left half; two fingers, the right half; and three fingers, the full-back, or middle man. Pulling up trousers or stockings, or scratching the head, may also indicate what man is to take the ball.
The signal should be called once only. The second calling is not necessary at all; besides, it slows up the game. Men feel that they have plenty of time after the first call, and loaf to their places. They are not particular about catching the first signal, since it must be given again.
The signal should be called by the quarter-back, as the play must be started by him, and he is in a better position to see the best opportunity for the next play, and he can be easily heard from either flank of the line. If the captain should change a play, he should not call the signal himself, but tell his quarter the play he wants.
The signal should be called loudly enough to be heard by every man in the midst of the din of battle. The quarter should put as much earnestness and enthusiasm as possible in the calling of the signals. Snap them out, and let the merry war go on!
Where sequences are played without vocal signal, the quarter should have some sign for his back, although it is not absolutely necessary. Sequences should be short. The time to play them is at the opening of the game. They cannot be played continuously, as the contingencies of the game cannot easily be foreseen.
Generalship.—The generalship of the game devolves upon the captain. There must be one head on the field, and only one. A game may be largely planned before going upon the field. At the time the game is being mapped out is the occasion for consultation with coaches and players. Before the game it may be decided what is to be done under given conditions of wind and weather, or what is to be done if the team gets the ball at start-off or not. By studying an opponent's preceding games, it is sometimes possible to determine somewhat in advance the kind of game that is likely to succeed against that particular team. The strength and weakness of the team must be considered also.
First, consider the matter of generalship without reference to the opposing team. There are two ways of advancing the ball—one by kicking, the other by rushing. The rushing game is divided into straight football and strategic. There are practically three schools of football: the simple straight football, the strategic, and the kicking. The right use of these different methods of advancing the ball, the proper proportion of each kind of plays, is the great problem of good generalship. Simple straight football should form the basis of the offensive game. This is more easily executed, and is less exhausting upon body and mind. A trick requires the doing of so many things by each individual at a given time that there is produced a great mental strain. Men begin to worry and wonder whether the trick will succeed. And if a fine trick fails they despair of the success of anything else, and so lose spirit. At any rate, they have lost that force and energy necessary to play good, hard, straight football. The trick should be merely an incident of the game. Its proper function is simply to add a little uncertainty, and to keep the other side guessing. It is a mistake to think that the only scientific game is the strategic one. The science of the straight game does not lie in the formation, but solely in the execution.
The bulk of rushing games should be straight football. Three or four tricks, or half a dozen at most, are a sufficient number. The whole repertoire of plays should be not less than twenty nor more than thirty. A few plays well executed are better than a load of stuff indifferently learned. It may not be best in all cases to have the kicking game the dominating feature of the offence. That will depend largely upon whether the team is best at rushing or kicking. A judicious admixture of both is the desideratum. If a team has the wind in its favor, it should take advantage of it and kick often. If it has the wind against it, it will be forced to rush more or less. When a team is down in its own territory, if it is going to rush, the play should be one that is likely to make considerable ground if it succeeds, and an open play of some kind should be the one used.
In bringing the ball in from touch it is not wise to always use the "long field." The "short field" often yields good ground.
The plays should be varied enough to keep the opposing line in its normal position. If one point be continuously attacked, that point will be strengthened. If the middle of the line be attacked, the middle will close up. If the flank or end be attacked, this line will be opened because of a movement towards the end in order to better protect it. The line should be continually opened and shut so as not to allow the opponents to concentrate at any given point.
The speed in playing is another feature in generalship. It is not the number of plays per minute that counts, but the speed in execution. Hasten, but do not hurry, is the rule here as everywhere else. Enthusiasm and not excitement is what is wanted. Too rapid a succession of plays results in a jumble merely, and a sort of feverish excitement instead of deadly execution. Still, it must not be understood that a calm, deliberate, sort of a game is the one to be played. When the opposing team is on the run, there should be no let up in the fire. As the advancing party gets nearer the goal, the harder, faster, and more aggressive should be the game. No time should be given the other side to pull itself together, but it should be driven back and over the goal-line; then it is time to rest. If the opposing side is weak on the ends or at a particular end, it is good generalship to take advantage of that weakness. The same thing is true of tackle or centre. This is to be considered, however, that opponents will always endeavor to re-enforce or strengthen a known weakness. The result is that nominally the weakest point may be the strongest. It is well to try the whole line occasionally. The strong man may be caught off his guard. While plays or downs should not be wasted against stone wall, the brutal policy of attacking one point at all time until it gives way should not be indulged in even on the ground of generalship. A team ought to make the best use of its own strong points. If a particular back is good at carrying the ball, give him enough to do, but do not kill him. If there is a back particularly good at kicking, kick, and kick frequently. If a tackle or guard is good at making holes or immensely superior to the man opposed to him, send the plays through that point.
The ninth season of the Cook County High-School Football League opens this year with the promise of a larger membership than ever before, none of the nine teams which were members of the League last year having dropped out, and with the possibility of five new teams coming in. This Association was organized in 1888, and the only schools which were originally members now left in the Association are Hyde Park, Lake View, and Englewood. They are the strongest schools of the section, and one of them has each year carried off the championship. Lake View got the pennant in 1888, 1890, 1892, and 1893; Hyde Park in 1889 and last year; Englewood in 1891 and 1894.
The Hyde Park team seems to be stronger than any of the others this year, and should repeat the success of last fall. Seven members of last year's eleven are back in school, and a large number of candidates are training for the open places. West Division has bright prospects likewise. They had a strong eleven last year, and also have seven of the old men back, and about thirty candidates trying for places.
The men in training for the Englewood High-School team are a heavy set, and should develop into a strong eleven. Lake View High-School ought to appear somewhere near the top at the end of the season; in Wiezerowski, captain of the team, they have the best end that has ever played in the League. The Manual-Training School players are laboring with the difficulty of an unsportsmanlike faculty, and will probably be unable to develop a good eleven. Evanston High is also unfortunate in having but three of last year's men back again, but with good coaching they ought to be able to do something by the end of the season. Oak Park H.-S. is about as badly off, having but two players of last year's team in school, and few men capable of filling the vacancies. Oak Park's eleven last year made the State record of scoring the greatest number of points in any one game; it defeated English High, 80-0.
Leo Lyon, San Francisco.—See Harper's Round Table for August 13 and 20, 1895.
K. W. Wright, New York.—Defender's measurements are given as follows: Length, 124 ft.; water-line, 89 ft.; breadth, 23 ft.; draught, 19 ft. The lead in her keel weighs 80 tons. You will find an article on the building of Defender in Harper's Round Table for September 17, 1895.
"TRACK ATHLETICS IN DETAIL."—Illustrated.—8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.
The Graduate.
Any question in regard to photograph matters will be willingly answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.
Owing to the number of questions, we devote the entire Department to answers this week.
Sir Knight Luther Pflueger sends a description of a way in which one of his friends made lantern-slides. He bought some glass strips of a size to fit his lantern [Lantern-slide covers could be used.—Ed.] and some transfer-pictures which are used by school-boys to embellish their books. He gave the strips of glass a thin coat of mucilage, and allowed it to dry. He then applied the paper, which had been wet in such a way that the paper was thoroughly soaked, but the face of the picture was dry. (The pictures could be wet by thoroughly saturating a piece of blotting-paper with water, and laying the pictures on it, face up.) He then pressed the pictures on to the glass, took hold of one corner of the paper, and pulled it off, leaving, if successful, the thin film of the picture on the glass. This part of the operation requires carefulness. This method enabled him to make cheap and pleasing slides. Thanks for the description; some of our amateurs will be glad to try it.
Sir Knight Charles M. Todd says he is thinking of buying a small camera, and wishes to know what apparatus he would need for developing, etc.; which are the best, films or dry-plates, and if they are manipulated in the same way; if blue prints are permanent; what prints can be made the cheapest; and the name of some good work on photography. Sir Charles adds that the first thing he looks for in the Round Table is the Camera Club Department. The outfit required for developing and finishing pictures is: one red light; one developing-tray, 4 by 5; one fixing-tray, 4 by 5; one toning-tray, 5 by 8; one printing-frame; one ferrotype-plate for drying prints; one 4 oz. glass graduate. See No. 781 for directions how to make a lantern, and also hints on reducing expenses. Dry-plates are easier for the beginner to manage than the films, but fine negatives are made with either. The same treatment is given both, with the exception of drying. The films, after washing, are soaked for five minutes in a solution made of ½ oz. of glycerine and 16 oz. of water. This prevents the film from curling. Blue prints are permanent; they are also the cheapest. Wilson's Photographics is a good work on photography.
Sir Knight B. P. Atkinson asks how photographs should be prepared for prize contests; if pictures can be copied with an 8 by 10 camera and a single lens; when an article on posing will be published; if exposure meters are reliable; what is the cause of negatives having a spotted appearance when ice is used; how pin-holes in negatives can be remedied; what kinds of lenses are best for landscapes. Platinotype prints make the most artistic photographs, and should be mounted on plate-sunk cards. These cards are made specially for platinotypes; full directions for use come with the platinotype-paper. Pictures may be copied with an 8 by 10 camera, but the single lens would be hardly suitable for fine copying. A rectilinear wide-angle lens is a good lens for copying. Suggestions for posing will be given in the early number of the Round Table. Exposure meters are not always reliable. The spotted appearance of the negative is probably caused by using the water at too low a temperature. The temperature should never be below 50° to insure good work. Pin-holes may be covered by painting them over with retouching fluid, and, when dry, taking a fine camel's-hair brush dipped in lampblack (moist water-color), and touching the spot very lightly with the lip of the brush, taking care that it does not lap over on to the film. A little practice will enable one to fill up pin-holes or light spots so that they will not be noticed in the print. For landscape-work a single achromatic lens will give sharp definition and good contrasts. For general landscape-work a medium-angle, rectilinear lens will be found satisfactory. The angle of view of the lens should be from 45° to 60°.