Okay, I'm really not an expert on the subject, but to my knowledge, the flash lamp (which involved burning magnesium powder) was invented in 1899 (in our world at least, and in the US). Wikipedia has an interesting picture of a 1909 flash-lamp, and it doesn't really fit the description of the flash Jack notices: Also, according to Wiki, the flash-lamp was developed for indoors photography.
So, what we've got is something like a Victorian-era box camera with a flash outdoors in very clearly described dying twilight, when modern cameras with very precisely controllable shutter speeds and comparatively pretty awesome flash capabilities can have trouble with dusk lighting. And when my brain adds that in with Victorian memento mori photographs where it's clear the deceased in the photograph is a corpse because the living people are slightly blurry thanks to the exposure time, I just hit a block trying to parse the image.
Could Her Royal Highness take the picture before it starts getting dark and require Jack to stand very still?
no subject
Also, according to Wiki, the flash-lamp was developed for indoors photography.
So, what we've got is something like a Victorian-era box camera with a flash outdoors in very clearly described dying twilight, when modern cameras with very precisely controllable shutter speeds and comparatively pretty awesome flash capabilities can have trouble with dusk lighting. And when my brain adds that in with Victorian memento mori photographs where it's clear the deceased in the photograph is a corpse because the living people are slightly blurry thanks to the exposure time, I just hit a block trying to parse the image.
Could Her Royal Highness take the picture before it starts getting dark and require Jack to stand very still?