THE OOLOGISI 



51 



journey, arriving at liorae tired but 

 well pleased with the daj's trip. 



Harry H. Dlnn, 

 Fullerton, Orange Co., Cal. 



The Photographing- of Birds. 

 Nests and Eg-g-s. 



Their 



To me a trip after birds eggs is in- 

 complete without the taking of a few 

 photographs. Not only because they 

 recall to mind many of the delights of 

 the trip but because they ai'e of the ut- 

 most scientific value. It is impossible 

 in writing out the data for a set of eggs 

 to give all the particulars of the loca- 

 tion of the nest and the locality, and 

 yet these are perhaps the most import 

 ant things next to the date. . 



In the following article I purpose to 

 give a few hints, a suggestion to collec- 

 tors which I think will be found of con- 

 siderable value, both to the beginner 

 and the more advanced student. 



THE CAMERA. 



First of all get a good camera. There 

 are many on the market and you will 

 find no trouble in getting one that is 

 suited to the purpose. It should be ar- 

 ranged for both time and instantaneous 

 exposures The size of the pictures 

 should be 3|x3i inches or over. I lind 

 the 4x5 size the best for all round work. 

 Either plates or films can be used, but 

 the latter on account of less weight are 

 much better. A film camera weighs 

 when loaded less than one half as much 

 as a plate glass camera. This will be 

 found of the utmost importance as 

 extra weight is always to be avoided on 

 a collecting trip. 



A large picture is of course the best. 

 There are two ways of arriving at this 

 point, one is by using a 5x7 or over 

 camera and the other is by enlarging. 

 The latter is preferable as a 5x7 eamex'a 

 is uuweildy and a good negative from 

 the smaller camera can be enlarged up 

 to 30x40 inches, or to any intermediate 

 size desired. Of course the larger 



camera does away with the extra work 

 of enlarging, but it is a question wheth- 

 er this makes up for the greater handi- 

 ness of the smaller one. 



Better pictures can be obtained by 

 the use of a tripod as most of the pict- 

 ures will have to be time exposures and 

 few, if any, can bold a camera steady 

 enough for this purpose. Of course 

 the tripod adds extra weight and is not 

 a very convenient thing to carry, but 

 there is one that comes which folds up 

 into a .«taflf about four feet long which 

 will be found a very acceptable aid in 

 walking as well as being always ready 

 for use. 



FOCCSING. 



The next thing to be considered is 

 focusing. If any reader will take the 

 trouble to look through some of our il- 

 lustrated Ornithological Magazines he 

 will find that in eighty per cent of the 

 pictures either the entire picture or 

 some part of it is more or less indis- 

 tinct. This arises from two causes, 

 first, the camera has been placed too 

 near the object, and second, the camera 

 has not been held steady. Let me say 

 right here doii't get too near the object. 

 The nest or bird may appear very small 

 in the. finder but it will be twenty times 

 the size on the plate and if you intend 

 to enlarge you can make it plenty big 

 enough. 



The 3ix3^ inch camei-a will be found 

 to make the best pictures as it is known 

 as the fixed-focus type. That is, all 

 objects are in the same focus. The 

 larger camera are of the acromatic-type 

 and have to be focussed. 



Never get nearer than eight feet of 

 the object to be photographed, if you 

 do the picture will be blurred and con- 

 sequently worthless. Always keep your 

 camera horizontal otherwise the pict- 

 ure will be slanting. In certain cases 

 the camera can be pointed downward. 



Endeavor to get your photo when the 

 sun is shining from behind, but you 

 can also take it when the sunlight comes 



