Photographing Birds' Nests 147 



pod legs at least ten feet long in this manner and 

 have done my focussing while standing upon the 

 shoulders of an assistant. This may seem hard on 

 the assistant, but it is better than carrying a step- 

 ladder to the site of the nest, although I should 

 advise the use of an assistant with a good pair of 

 shoulders, especially should you be of some weight 

 yourself; otherwise you may take a hasty tumble to 

 earth in the midst of the focussing and will be 

 more or less likely to bring the camera down with 

 you in your fall, which would benefit neither you 

 nor your camera. 



All the advice given for the lighting and ar- 

 rangement of the ground nests should be followed 

 here, although when working in the manner I have 

 just described it will be found impossible to shade 

 the nest ; but in such cases, when the nest is not in 

 the shade of some other tree or bush, wait, if you 

 can, until some passing cloud obscures the sun long 

 enough for you to make the desired exposure. 



Mr. Dugmore advocates the use, in some 

 instances, of a white screen placed beneath the 

 nest, so as to reflect light on the under side of it. 

 This, he says, "may easily be clone by taking a 

 yard or two of white muslin and fastening a stick 

 at each end. The sticks should be pointed at one 

 end so that they may be put into the ground, and 

 the cloth, tightly stretched, will be held at such 

 an angle that the light will reflect from it upon 



