WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY (ITH, 1891. 
——_——$—$$—$—$$—$—$—$— SS ———— 
WILD AND DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 
PHOTOGRAPHED AND DESCRIBED, 
BY 
MR. GAMBIER BOLTON, F.Z.S. 
Mr. GAmpBreR BOLTON, in opening his lecture, and before 
exhibiting the specimens which he claimed to be the first serious 
attempts made to combine artistic and scientific qualities in photo- 
graphs of animals, explained the enormous difficulties attending 
the work which he had been engaged in, difficulties of which the 
portrait, landscape, and hand-camera photographer knew nothing 
—a puff of wind moving the mane, tail, or feathers ; the slight 
sound causing the twitching of an ear ; the quick action of the 
eye and nostrils, or even the movement necessary in breathing, 
spoiling hundreds of otherwise perfect plates, many of them 
taken only after hours, and in some cases even days, of watching. 
It was quite a common occurrence, he said, to use thirty to fifty 
plates on a single animal or bird, and in some istances nearly one 
hundred plates had been exposed and developed before the one 
perfect negative had been obtained. From this they would see 
that a good deal of patience was required—some would call it 
obstinacy ; anyhow, a determination not to be beaten, but to 
return to the task day after day until the result satisfied you. A 
natural taste for, and some idea of, zoology, and a certain amount 
of artistic training, were also necessary before the proper positions 
for the various subjects could be selected—positions that would 
please and satisfy naturalists, artists, and the general public. The 
scientist cared little for picturesqueness and happy expression ; he 
wanted Nature, and as far as possible in profile. The artist wanted 
Nature at her best ; and the lion yawning, or the tiger suffering 
from influenza, had no charms for him. But the public he had 
found quick to appreciate their efforts, and would often take up a 
photograph that would sell more quickly than it could be printed. 
He condemned the general use of instantaneous photo- 
graphy in the case of animals as of little or no use to the 
- scientist or the artist. It required a strong light, and gave 
consequently strong shadows with little detail. Slow plates 
should be used, and the exposure should be one of at least two 
