52 NATURE AND THE CAMERA 



Occasionally one comes across young birds that are 

 only just able to fly, hiding in the scrub. These, if 

 not too far advanced, are splendid subjects for the 

 camera, but they are not very easy to find. In fact, 

 it is seldom that more than two of the brood can be 

 found. So it is best to rely on watching a nest, 

 spending some time near it in order that the old 

 birds may become used to your presence. 



When the young are about ready to leave, make 

 all your arrangements before disturbing them. Se- 

 lect the support you wish ; a growing branch on 

 which there are not too many leaves is best, and to 

 confine the range of both old and young birds it is 

 well to isolate the branch by cutting away the im- 

 mediate surroundings, otherwise the young will hop 

 about from twig to twig and so get outside the field 

 of your camera. Be sure when focussing on the 

 support to leave sufficient space for the old bird on 

 either side of the young. If the branch is inclined 

 to sway with the breeze, secure it firmly, or it will 

 swing backward or forward and be out of focus. Do 

 not forget that the weight of the birds will cause the 

 branch to sag downward, so allow for this when 

 placing the camera. On the choice of the back- 

 ground much depends. A light background is far 

 the best, as a dark one, being of course out of focus, 

 comes out much darker than you might expect. A 

 cloth background, as suggested in Part IV, can be 



