514 NATURE PICTURES, 



of focus. Bright sunlight is necessary, as the exposure must not 

 exceed one-fiftieth of a second. With such a short exposure the shad- 

 ows are likely to be lacking- in detail, so it is advisable to place l^eneath 

 the birds a white cloth, and this should be tilted to such an angle that 

 the reflected light shall strike those parts of the birds that are in 

 shadow. If the natural background is not strongly sunlit, it will be 

 an advantage to use a white or light-gray cloth as an artificial back- 

 ground, but it should be placed at a reasonable distance from the birds; 

 from 4 to 8 feet will answer. Now place th(^ little fellows on the perch 

 and arrange the camera, remembering — if you wish to photograph the 

 parent bird with her young — to leave sufficient space between the 

 young birds and the edge of the plate, so that no matter on which side 

 the old one comes to feed them the camera will be in readiness. All 

 that remains to be done is to attach a long rubber tube to the shutter. 

 Then sit down in an inconspicuous place and wait patiently until the 

 old birds have full}" convinced themselves that no harm is intended. 

 Then they will venture near the camera and feed their hungry ycung. 



An}' one who uses the camera as a means of studying bird life will 

 undoubtedly be surprised to find how marked is the individuality of 

 birds. Not by casual observation does one discover this, but in the 

 intimacy with the birds that one acquires when one watches for hours 

 at a time the ])ird upon whose nest or young one may happen to have 

 the instrument focused. 



A camera, to be rigid and sufficiently durable to stand several sea- 

 sons of field work, must be fairly heavy, though not of necessity 

 large. A sufficient size for most work is 5 by 7 inches, while some 

 even prefer one as small as 4 by 5. This latter is correct in size and 

 proportion for those who wish to have lantern slides made from their 

 negatives, and is certainly far l)otter adapted to all whose enthusiasm 

 is limited, and who do not wish to overburden themselves. 



For my own part I use the 5 by 7 almost exclusively, and frequently 

 I wish it were larger, particularly when the subject to l)e photographed 

 is the parent bird feeding her young after they have left the nest. 

 Place four or five fledglings on a branch, leaving sufficient space on 

 either side to allow the old bird to stand, and reduce all this interest- 

 ing material down to a 5-inch space, and you will realize the advantage 

 of even the extra '2 inches allowed by the 5 by 7, How many times 

 has it happened to me to have the father or mother bird perch just out- 

 side the limits of my 5 by 7 plate, and assume some attitude that I was 

 most anxious to catch; and again how often has the plate through its 

 limited size cut oft' part of the adult bird. In such cases I long for my 

 larger camera which, on account of its weight, has been left behind. 



