INSTRUCTIONS IN GENERAL 



when the bird sits on its nest. In other cases one cannot be 

 certain just where the subject will perch, but it will usually 

 be found that the bird, in approaching its nest or young-, 

 will make use of the highest and most prominent points, so 

 that the choice of some such point near to the centre of 

 attraction will be fairly safe. 



The plan we adopt to ensure accurate focussing is to 

 place in the desired position a dummy specially made 

 and alwaj^s carried (when it is not forgotten). The 

 one we have used successfully consists of a piece of 

 stick about the length and thickness through of an 

 average small bird, and tapered to a point at either end. 

 The central portion admits of due allowance being made, 

 when focussing, for the curve of the bird's body, while the 

 tapered ends form a guide to the position which the head 

 and the tail will occupy. We always make a point of 

 reserving the point of sharpest focus for the position in 

 which it is judged the bird's head will appear, as on the 

 sharpness of this portion of the picture depends, to a great 

 extent, its success. The dummy, whether shaped as we 

 recommend or otherwise, should have a surface showing 

 plenty of detail, or may have printed paper gummed to it 

 in order that the point of sharpest focus may be accurately 

 judged. 



Too much importance cannot be attached to the 

 accuracy of focus if the picture is to be satisfactory, and 

 the operator should take sufficient time to be sure that 

 nothing is left to chance. Perhaps the awe-inspiring 

 difficulties we have pictured even thus far may tend to 

 defeat our object and to influence the beginner to make his 

 exposures from a greater distance than we recommend, 

 more especially as he will soon find that the difficulties we 

 have mentioned decrease as the distance between the lens 

 and the subject increases. 



We have a little brief for our method up our sleeve, 

 however. Experts who have commented on our work 

 have specially praised two features. The first is the 

 accuracy of the focussing. We have already mentioned one 

 of the reasons for this virtue. We leave no stone unturned 

 to make the focus accurate, and besides we turn out any 

 plate which is not quite up to standard. The other feature 

 is the pleasing way our backgrounds have of forming them- 

 selves into shadowy distances, which add to the pictorial 



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