How Birds Can Take Their Own Pictures 



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fixing is somewhat slower, giving the shadows a better chance to develop before 

 the light places become too strong. One should not forget that the slower the 

 process of fixing the stronger will be the contrast between light and shadow. 



Retouching negatives, which are to be used for scientific purposes, is not 

 allowable. Blotched pictures, or those which represent animals with white or 

 black spots, as well as those which require long titular explanations, although 

 nothing can be seen on the photograph, are worthless. In some other cases, 

 animal photographs are carefully taken from stuffed representatives, and these, 

 when they have been given a suitable title, are sent out into the world as photo- 

 graphs taken from living specimens. No special knowledge is required to give 

 these photographs their real value, for when one has closely examined a photo- 

 graph of the living specimen, one can easily determine a photograph taken from 

 the stuffed animal. 



Some of the peculiar poses of animals taken from life throw a strong light 

 upon our artists of today who show us very different pictures. It is interesting 

 to compare good animal photographs with good drawings. For instance, a 

 bird will be drawn in ten different ways by ten artists, and each artist will bring 

 out the characteristics of the same bird in a different way. If such a drawing is 

 enlarged a number of times with a stereopticon lantern the faults will be so 



greatly magnified that they will Icaj) at the observer, but a phot()grai)h under 

 the same conditions will retain all of its beauty. 



The difficulties of taking good animal pictures in the o[)en arc great, but the 

 resulting pictures justify all the work that has been expended on them. The 

 most difficult pictures that can be taken are those of birds, since one can seldom 

 come within reach of them with a camera, and if one does come within range, 

 then the light conditions arc unfavorable for snap.shols. If, in spite of all this, 



