This picture has an interesting story.
It was taken on a
street in Naples, Italy in early 1944.
The street photographer had a plywood box on a tripod
with a lens mounted on a sliding tube that stuck out the front. There were two black "sleeves" that
stuck out of the side of the box. I stood on some footprints on the sidewalk and held very still
while he took the lens cap off for probably about five seconds. He then put his hands through the
sleeves, fiddled around for a bit and then pulled out a wet paper negative.
He then placed the wet paper negative on a vertical piece of wood mounted on a thin wooden arm,
swung it out in front of the lens, re-adjusted the lens, and took the lens cap off again for about
five seconds.
He then put his arms through the sleeves , fiddled for a bit and then pulled out a wet positive
print .
I am so pleased that I still have it. You can see the tear across the top of the print. He must have
had the paper on some kind of roll on the inside the camera.
It was a real tour de force, a real demonstration of making do under extrememly difficult
circumstances. A real demonstration of resiliency!
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