Here's the scoop on the picture. Just Dad having his son help out his photo studio enterprise. (Not to worry Richard)
The Most Recognizable Picture Still Looks Scary - Test Your Long Jump Skills at the H.H. Bennett Studio
He's known as "the man who made Wisconsin Dells famous." Lest you think it was a water park owner, or ski show entrepreneur, let's reveal right here and now that it is Henry Hamilton Bennett. Never heard of him? He’s considered one of the top 10, maybe even the top three landscape photographers of the 19th century. Still not ringing a bell? Perhaps his photos will jog your memory. Surely you've seen the picture of a young man leaping from one rock ledge to another. It's titled "Leaping the Chasm at Stand Rock" and is one of Bennett's most famous. The photo captures Bennett's son Ashley frozen in mid-air. At the time, many people thought the photograph was faked since stop-motion had not been invented. Until Bennett invented it, that is. The story goes that Bennett had Ashley repeat the jump multiple times to get just the right shot, a story that would make any mother cringe. His life and photos are superbly chronicled at the H.H. Bennett Studio, the photographer's original studio still standing on Broadway in downtown Dells. There's even an exhibit devoted to the famous photo, with markers on the floor to test your own leaping ability.
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Hunt ethically. Eat heartily.
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