Young Walter James Renner and pups - 1897

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Here's a classic Will Triplett photo. The subject is young Walter James Renner of Bluffton. The photo was taken on March 7, 1897, thanks to information written on the back of the photo.

While a photo of this pose today might be simple, consider Will Triplett's task in 1897.

His subject - a very young child - needed to stand is a "frozen" pose for several seconds. If he moved his image would be blurred. The pups in the photo were already under control.

The other consideration is that Will had one chance (one snap of the camera) to capture this pose. He didn't have the luxury of taking several photos and deleted the photos that didn't work. That's because he used a glass negative that was already in place in his camera.

So, next time you try a photo like this, see if you can manage it with one photo. It's nearly impossible.

There are a couple of other items to point out in the photo. First, the young boy is very well dressed and it appears that his hair may have been curled for the event. This may be the first time the parents of young Renner were able to have a photo taken of their child.

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