8 Bird- Lore 



merit and beauty of this method of securing bird pictures. Atten- 

 tion, however, has thus far been directed chiefly to obtaining 

 illustrations of nests and eggs and captive birds, to the neglect 

 of the more difficult but more interesting occupation of securing 

 photographs of live birds in their wild state. Herein lies the 

 chief fascination of this branch of photography, for good photo- 

 graphs from life of an}^ of our birds, even the most common, are 

 still novelties. 



The successful- bird photografpher must possess a good camera, 

 including a first-class lens, with at least an elementary knowledge 

 of how to get the best results from it; some acquaintance with 

 field and forest and their feathered inhabitants, and a fund of 

 patience, perseverance, and determination to conquer that is abso- 

 lutely inexhaustible. No matter how well equipped in other re- 

 spects, this latter requisite cannot be dispensed with. As to the 

 technique and many details of the art of photography, the writer 

 is still too much of. a novice to speak ver}^ intelligently. Suffice 

 it to say, that the general principles governing other branches of 

 photography are to be consulted here. One great difficulty to be 

 encountered is that there is little opportunity to arrange the light- 

 ing or background of the object to be photographed, and as the 

 latter is apt to be either green foliage or the dull ground, with 

 the camera very near the object, the beginner will be much per- 

 plexed to determine the proper stop and the right time of ex- 

 posure. With the usual appliances a wide open stop will be found 

 necessary with the rapid exposure required, and this will detract 

 in a disappointing manner from the beaut}^ of the negative as a 

 whole. But every determined student will try in his or her own 

 way to lessen these defects, and will find in failure only increased 

 incentive to discover better methods and better appliances. Cameras 

 and lenses especially devised for this kind of work are promised in 

 the near future. A rapid telephoto lens is a great desideratum, and 

 there is reason to believe that in the near future such an one will 

 be available. Those to be had at present increase the time of ex- 

 posure too much to be generally useful in bird work. The writer 

 has used a 4x5 long-focus ' Premo ' with Bausch and Lomb Rapid 

 Rectilinear lens (Zeiss-Anastigmat, Series II-A, ^)^ x6}4), the focal 

 length of the combination being about 6^ inches. Many kinds 

 of plates have been used, but any good rapid plate will do. For 

 those who are willing to take the additional care necessary to 

 handle them successfully, rapid isochromatic or orthochromatic plates 

 are undoubtedl}' to be preferred, as they preserve quite clearly the 

 color values. 



