Article September 20, 1947 Issue

THE TEXTBOOK

[Of Special Interest to Young People]

FREDERICK JACK GUNSTON

John used to go on frequent business trips, which took him all over the world. On one of these trips he visited Germany. While there he bought himself a Leica camera, together with a textbook giving him all the details of this intricate apparatus. The salesman gave him a rough outline of how to use it and how to make good photographs. Following this outline John took some pictures and succeeded remarkably well, so well that he did not consider it necessary to study the textbook.

A year passed and, being very busy, John found little time to use his camera. But one day he took it up again, for he went on a trip to the Far East and naturally wanted to bring back snapshots of this trip to share with others. He took many, but imagine his disappointment when he found they were all blurred. Remembering how good his previous pictures had been, he blamed the motion of the boat, the climate of the Far East, anything but himself. He tried again, but his pictures were worse. He sought expert advice, but no one could show him his error. Finally he became discouraged and thought about selling the Leica.

In the meantime John became a student of Christian Science. One day he thought earnestly and prayerfully about these difficulties and it came to him to get out the Leica textbook and read up on the subject. On the first day of reading he found his error. He had completely overlooked locking the lens barrel by a turn to the right after pulling it out. It was only a slight turn, but the omission of it had ruined all his pictures. The moment he corrected this slight omission he took good pictures, and the camera became a joy and photography his hobby.

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