PHOTOGRAPHING NESTS AND EGGS 57 



sides are brightly lighted and in strong relief. The 

 background should be moderately dark, but not 

 black. A perfectly black background is never 

 artistic (if you will pardon the word) and only 

 crudely effective. Publishers like it because it gives 

 what they term " colour " to the pages, but nothing 

 can be harder on a delicately lighted subject, full of 

 soft grays, than to force it to stand out with painful 

 garishness from a dead black ground. All gradations 

 of contrasts may be obtained by the use of white 

 reflecting-cloths, or to a more limited extent by regu- 

 lating the exposure or the developer, remembering 

 that an under-exposed plate will give increased con- 

 trast, but that the same effect may be obtained by 

 adding bromide of potash to the developer or by 

 reducing the amount of alkali. 



On the selection of the support much of the beauty 

 of the picture depends. A single small twig without 

 leaves has the advantage of making the bird the only 

 object in the picture. This has many arguments in 

 its favour, but still much can be done by choosing a 

 suitable support, such as a small branch with leaves 

 and perhaps flowers or fruit, to give additional interest 

 and beauty to the picture. Using such accessories 

 adds somewhat to one's difficulties, if the branch is 

 cut, as the leaves fade quickly, especially in warm 

 weather, and, needless to say, it is necessary to take 

 precautions against this either by having the end of 



