THE OUTFIT AND METHODS OF THE 

 BIED PHOTOGRAPHER 



THE BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER'S OUTFIT 



HE beginner must not suppose that 

 good bird photographs can be 

 made only with expensive appa- 

 ratus. Under favorable conditions 

 there is no great difference in the 

 results secured, with the ordinary 

 camera and lens of any reputable 

 maker and those of the highest class. My own 

 work has for the greater part been done with an 

 outfit costing about thirty dollars ; and although 

 the best lens is, of course, to be desired it is not a 

 necessity, and cost therefore is no more an obstacle 

 to the hunting of birds with a camera than it is 

 to their pursuit with a gun. 



The Camera. Individual taste will doubtless 

 govern the size of the camera chosen, but most natu- 

 ralists and sportsmen consider the camera carrying a 

 plate four by five inches as the one best adapted to 

 their wants, and with this decision I heartily agree. 

 The advantages of size, weight, and economy, both 

 as regards the camera, its holders, and plates, are all 

 in favor of the 4X5, while as far as the bird pho- 

 tographer is concerned, it is not often that he has 

 need of anything larger. The image of a bird will 

 rarely be without adequate setting in a space four 



