24 BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA 



properly arranged would make an excellent field 

 blind. 



It is difficult to carry one of these blinds in 

 addition to a camera, etc., without assistance, and 

 I fear that the inconvenience attending their use 

 will restrict them to the few enthusiasts who count 

 neither time, labor, nor cost in attaining a desired 

 end. 



For my own part, I prefer, when possible, to con- 

 ceal my camera and make the exposure from a dis- 

 tance rather than to weight myself with a portable 

 blind and to endure the discomforts of being con- 

 fined within it. 



Sundries. The bird photographer will find that 

 he requires numerous articles not usually to be found 

 in the regulation photographic outfit, as, for exam- 

 ple, climbers for ascending trees and stout cords for 

 hauling the camera up after him ; a dark-cloth, green 

 in color, to aid in disguising the camera, and a mir- 

 ror. The latter should be of plate glass, and meas- 

 ure at least twelve by ten inches. A good plan is to 

 buy a piece of glass of desired size and frame it sim- 

 ply in white pine. It may then be attached to a 

 limb, a stick driven in the ground, or other conven- 

 ient object, by means of the ball-and-socket clamp 

 mentioned under Tripods, which may be screwed into 

 the back or the outer border of the frame. Such a 

 mirror will reflect sunlight many yards to shaded 

 nests, where, in photographing old or young birds, a 

 quick exposure is necessary. A vest-pocket mirror, 

 for use in reflecting the reading of the diaphragms 

 or time on the shutter, will permit one to make the 

 desired changes from the rear, and thus prove help- 



