This was posted on Reddit recently by the man’s great-grandson – the “gun” is a Hythe camera, used for training aerial gunners from 1915 until 1934. Why it’s mounted here on a surveyor’s tripod is anyone’s guess…
Vintage Saturday: Not a Gun
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Anti-air practice? Maybe?
Testing / calibration / sighting-in of the gun camera, perhaps.
Preparing for a safari.
GREAT PICTURE … Typical of the stoic Brit! There may have been a lot more transit survey tripods available than aircraft mounts for this type of use. Not a uncommon thing when developing new ideas.//Mike//
THE ULTIMATE “MANS TOY” IN THOSE DAYS???
I suspect he is using that setup for bird watching. I can’t think of a better arrangement for capturing birds in flight on film.
Good idea, and a practical usage for the device in question. On a lighter note, perhaps the birds in question are rather lucky it was just a gun camera and not the real thing, given the subject’s somewhat determined expression :)!
Coastal sand dunes, the peeling paintwork of a shabby British seaside hotel or large golf club house, smart casual dress which apart from the pipe, wouldn’t look unusual today, and the ultimate in steam punk toys…
I haven’t a clue what he’s doing there with that camera, but the whole thing reminds me of this man:
http://youtu.be/FkF_XpA5P48
his other stuff is good too.
Keith, many thanks for the link to the video! Incredibly funny — tongue-in-cheek commentary, facetious historical vignettes, subtlety, stock-in-trade self-mockery and the obvious all rolled into one — simply marvellous.