254 



Camera Craft Notes. 



[Emu 

 ist 



April 



Camera Craft Notes. 



Effects of Sunshine. — Bird photographers well know that strong 

 sunhght, though generally helpful, is occasionally troublesome. 

 This fact was emphasized in photographing a female Red-capped 

 Robin {Petroica goodenovii). 



The camera used was half-plate, but a piece of cardboard fitted 

 in front of the ground-glass enabled one to take quarter-plate size 

 pictures, and the two in the print belong to the one negative. 

 They were taken from the same stand, but, of necessity, the body 

 of the camera had to be turned slightly to get the focus for the 



Female Red-capped Robin. 



FROM PHOT 



CHISHOLM. 



second exposure ; that simple move made all the difference. The 

 bird did not sit long enough for one to note the position of the 

 sunlight on the little figure, but developing the plate revealed an 

 interesting contrast. In the first snapshot the bright light had 

 thrown the bird's breast and the inside wall of the nest into a 

 most pleasant contrast with the shadowed front of the structure ; 

 but in the second attempt it had struck right across the Robin's 

 head, thus rendering the photograph useless as anything more 

 than a curiosity. — A. H. Chisholm. Brisbane, 19/2/16. 



