How can the photographer photograph himself?

[worlda02]

I have a photograph (please see attached) which I always assumed was taken by my Great-Great Grandfather, a photographer. The only thing is, he is in the photograph and I'm not sure how that would have worked. He is the one located on the far right, holding a hat. I often heard that he 'jumped' into the photo, but I'm a little skeptical. I've also heard that some sort of timer was used and it had something to do with him holding the hat. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Also, for anyone who is interested in the photo itself, it was taken in the late 1890s and is of the historic Huntington Friends Meeting in Southcentral PA.

Thank you,
David

[Ash]

Considering the age of the photograph, the exposure could have been up to, or more than 15 seconds. That's just an example.

In that case you'd have well enough time to dart maybe 10-20 feet and get in the picture. It can cause ghosting though.


....or he balanced the hat and from habit knew how long it would take to topple forward, giving him 5-10 seconds head start

[Walter Calahan]

Easy, the photographer sets up the shot, then asks someone to cover, uncover, and then cover the lens.

[Allen in Montreal]

Easy, the photographer sets up the shot, then asks someone to cover, uncover, and then cover the lens.

No self timer?

Most photographers in the day had assistants. No doubt that task was left to the assistant. It was common up until recently for studio staff to shoot and the studio owner put his name on all pictures. This was case for my father in the 50s until he left the studios for the newspaper world.

[SampleMeagan]

< / end thread >

[Eric James]

These days you can use an Autoknips - often available on eBay.

[worlda02]

Did they have self-timers at this time, or was that a later invention? I'm thinking it would have been possible to have some kind of mechanical wind-up device using a spring, but maybe not.

[David A. Goldfarb]

There may have been a self-timer for roller blind shutters. I don't know if I've ever seen one.

Shutters were often operated with an air bulb, which would have required a rather elaborate kind of self-timer, if one existed, but one possibility, if he didn't have an assistant, would have been using a long hose, and the bulb could have been under the hat in his hand or in his other hand, concealed from view. They are outdoors in the sun, and the grass and trees and the children seem fairly sharp, so it was probably a short exposure.

[Vaughn]

My two cents worth -- he took his hat from over the lens and jumped (literally) into the photo. I think I see some of the white around the brick showing thru his upper trousers.

I think he used a wide angle lens (judging from the distortion -- the nearest corner of the building seems quite large compared to the rest of the building), so he did not have far to go to get into position (and he did not have time to put his hat back on after removing it from the lens).

My boys can hold still for 30+ second exposures, so this could be a 10 second or so exposure and still have everyone hold still.

Just guessing, of course...so you might be due for some change from my 2 cents.

Vaughn

[Deane Johnson]

Blowing it up and sharpening it in Photoshop, it doesn't look like there is any movement in any person, including the photographer. It appears to me to be a reasonably short exposure. Everyone is very sharply defined.

Surely he must have had an assistant trip the shutter, or whatever method was used for the exposure.

The position of his hat in hand is a bit unusual, but there is no indication it indicates anything specific that I can see.