With a camera

Photograph of a Mirage Tenby, England May 5, 1879
	(You) may be interested in the fact that I possess a photograph of a church spire in Tenby, halfway up which appears an inverted image of what was afterwards identified as (a) gunboat...12 miles distant. Though it was taken so long ago on May 5, 1879, it is possible that copies can still be procured if the photographer - Robert Symons...-- is still in business. The editor of the Photographic News...said, "Mr. Symons must be congratulated: he is the first to photograph that most romantic phenomenon, the mirage" This mirage was originally reported in English Mechanic and World of Science December 2, 1898, page 575.
Its a little difficult to imagine what this mirage might have looked like. I put all the basic elements in my drawing - the church, the spire, the upside-down boat - but I still can't quite picture it. I wonder how Robert Symons came to take the photograph. Was he taking a picture of the church or the mirage? Did he even see the mirage when he took the picture?
My friends ask, "How do you take a picture of a mirage?"

Report a mirage!

Have you ever photographed a mirage? Report it to the Mirage Reporter!