1902 A nimal Photography 1 4 1 



whether birds, mammals, reptiles, or insects, is the most 

 difficult and fascinating branch of the work, but by no 

 means the only useful one. The photography of captive 

 animals, of slow-moving ones, of anemones in a rock pond 

 on the sea-shore, of fishes in aquaria (special narrow aquaria 

 with parallel glass sides), are equally useful special branches. 

 Even the photography of dead or set-up creatures is, es- 

 pecially in the case of insects, extremely useful for illus- 

 tration. Douglas English advocates the rearing of the in- 

 sect " sitters," and photographing in specially selected 

 surroundings in every stage, and his book, ' Photography 

 for Naturalists,' will be found invaluable. 



It is impossible within the prescribed limits to enter 

 fully into working details of these different branches, but a 

 few hints may be of service. 



An infallible way of fixing the attitude of a dog is to take 

 a biscuit out of the pocket and nibble it. The attention of 

 a horse can be secured by getting an assistant to lead out 

 into sight a stable companion. A toad or frog is not easy 

 to secure : place either on a spot previously focussed, cover 

 with a small box, allow a short time to settle in position, 

 then raise the box and expose. An American writer, Dr 

 Shufeldt, who gives the last hint, tells us that the best way 

 of photographing a small living snake is by "coiling it all 

 up in a bunch on the spot where it is to be taken, and then 

 covering with the left hand. If held for a few minutes thus 

 firmly, although very gently, covered, and then the hand 

 slowly removed, an exposure can be made at the proper 

 instant." 



For many purposes, including photography of the in- 

 habitants of the sea or fresh-water ponds, it is necessary to 

 fasten the camera vertically, so that the lens points down- 

 wards. To do this a special angle bracket to screw on the 

 tripod stand is required. This is made of a couple of boards 

 about 7 or 8 inches square and f of an inch thick, joined 

 at one edge at right angles and strengthened by a strut. 

 A socket corresponding to the camera screw is provided on 

 one side, and a hole a shade larger on the other. The 

 bracket is screwed to the tripod head with an extra camera 

 screw, and the camera is then fastened to its vertical side, 



