lownes CAMERA HUNTING 193 



trophies finer than those which grace the homes of the finest 

 sportsmen. A good shot can drop a deer at well over a hundred 

 yards, but the camera-hunter must get within twenty yards to 

 get even a fair shot. Then, too, one learns to know the habits 

 of birds and animals better than he can in almost any other way. 



A couple of years ago I was out hunting with my camera. 

 Far up in a tree-top a Scarlet Tanager was singing lustily. I 

 whistled to him, and to my surprise he came down and perched a 

 few feet from me. I approached quietly, until I was within six 

 feet of him. He eyed me suspiciously as I opened the camera, 

 and then just as I was about to "snap," over he hopped right on 

 top of the camera. Of course I couldn't take his picture then. 

 I reached up and carefully set him back on his perch, and once 

 more he hopped back to the camera. A third time he repeated 

 the performance, and it began to look as though he would re- 

 fuse to pose. Then an idea struck me, and as I put him back on 

 the branch, I began to whistle. Soon he forgot all about me and 

 my little black box, He started to sing with all the vigor possible. 

 Then I snapped his picture and in a few minutes off he flew. 



Other times I have not been so fortunate. One day last summer 

 I came on four splendid Rocky Mountain Sheep. They were 

 down beside a tiny lake where they had come for salt and water. 

 I crept up quietly until I was within twenty feet of them. Cau- 

 tiously I felt back for my camera case and opened it. It was 

 empty, for I had left my camera in camp. 



Good pictures are occasionally the result of good luck, but more 

 often they represent hard work and long patience. Almost any 

 camera will do for wild life photography, although one using 

 plates is best. I always like to think of the words of one of Amer- 

 ica's greatest nature photographers. "Good pictures," he told me, 

 "are due 95% of the time to the man behind the camera." My 

 advice is to know the capabilities of your camera, — and then 

 use good judgment in using it. In any case, to have taken a good 

 picture of a bird or animal (or even a plant) is an achievement 

 to be proud of. 



