Life, 1891-08-13 · page 11 of 14
Life — August 13, 1891 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page 81: "Our Amateur Photographer at the Races" This is a humorous illustrated sequence showing a amateur photographer's misadventures at a horse race event. The numbered panels follow the photographer from preparation through disaster: 1. A fashionable tandem (two-seater carriage) heads to the races 2. "The Starter" begins the race 3. Horses are off 4. The photographer attempts to capture action shots 5. Results from passing the stand show chaotic photography 6. A near-miss moment where an enthusiastic spectator nearly ruins the shot 7. The final panel shows the photographer knocked down by a horse, with a caption noting his portrait efforts would have been ruined anyway The satire mocks amateur photographers' ambitions and the chaos of attempting action photography at sporting events.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
OUR AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER AT THE RACES. REXPLCTED MUCH of) 5) aN PASSING THE Stany.— How THESE PECUWAR, RESULTS WERE VOBTAINED OUR, PHQTOGRAPHER CANNOT-FOR THE WORLD, EXPLAIN HE WouLD, HowEVER , HAVE HAD A SPLENDID PICTURE OF ‘s 7 THE FINISH IF 1T HADNT HAPPENED THAT THE NOSE OFAN \Y ENTHUSIASTIC JEWISH GENTLEMAN INTERFERED JUST AT THE AS TAKING 17, AT THE VERY 7 18" Om THE PornT OF TAKING eK PORTRAIT OF THE LAST t Mak MORSE INTHE RACE CAS WA A CONTRAST TO THAT. a) OF Tan WINNER) HE RLCHVES A VickENT CoMMOTION- A SORT oF ELECTRIC SHOCK, — PORTRAIT OuR AMATEUR 1S RATHIR PROUD cf THIS PLATE. By AD TAKEN THE PORTRAIT CF THE MORSE SIDEWAYS IN OF THREL QUARTERS FRONT, 1T WOULD NOT WAVE LOOKED SO FLONGATED comicbooks.com