154 Photography for the Sportsman Naturalist 



important that there should be nothing between 

 the nest and the lens that is not sharply defined. 

 In fact, the less of anything there is in front of the 

 nest the better will be the picture. 



Nests at the extreme ends of or in the very top- 

 most branches, or in trees that cannot be climbed, 

 may often be successfully photographed from some 

 adjacent tree by means of the telephoto lens. In 

 these instances the camera should be placed as 

 near the trunk of the tree as practicable, so as to 

 obviate as much as is possible any vibration. 



It is never well, when climbing to a nest, to at- 

 tempt to carry your camera with you. Leave it 

 on the ground attached to the end of a ball of 

 twine which you can carry in your pocket and 

 pay out as you climb. When you have reached 

 the desired spot in the tree, the apparatus can be 

 easily hauled up to you. If you attempt to carry 

 it up, you not only run the risk of dropping it, 

 but of its causing you to fall, yourself, by getting 

 in your way. 



As a last resort, when all other attempts at pho- 

 tographing the nest fail and if it is one that you 

 particularly desire, which cannot easily be found 

 again, then you must remove it ; but only do 

 this when it is impossible to obtain the photo- 

 graph by any other means. When it is found to 

 be absolutely necessary, then remove the branch 

 and all, just as it is, cutting it off carefully so as 



