PHOTOGRAPHING NESTS AND EGGS 25 



smallest diaphragm must be used), otherwise both 

 the immediate foreground and the part a short dis- 

 tance back from the nest will be completely out of 

 focus. The long exposure made necessary by the 

 smallness of the diaphragm is a great drawback if 

 there is much wind or if there are small plants whose 

 leaves and flowers are affected by the slightest move- 

 ment of the air. 



Ground nests situated in fields or any place where 

 vegetation is abundant are less easy to photograph. 

 The best effects are secured on calm days. Direct 

 sunlight is not* only unnecessary, but scarcely to be 

 desired, for the reason that the shadows are inclined 

 to be too dark and the eggs will not show their 

 markings. A bright cloudy day is the best for nest 

 photography, but if the sun is shining the nest may 

 be screened by means of a piece of thin white mus- 

 lin. This will allow sufficient light to pass, so that it 

 will be easy to make a brilliant photograph. On no 

 account under-expose your plate when the subject is 

 a nest flooded with sunlight. Much more satisfac- 

 tory results are to be obtained by erring on the side 

 of over-exposure. Those hard black-and-white pho- 

 tographs so often to be found in amateur work are 

 the result of under-exposure, coupled not infre- 

 quently with faulty development. 



A nest that requires special attention is the exqui- 

 site little domed home of the oven-bird. It is not 



