88 Bird -Lore 



from the nest, this being necessary in order to secure an image of the 

 desired size with the short focus lens at hand (a B. and L. Zeiss Ana- 

 stigmat, Series ii A, 6^ ^4-/i, focal length 5^ inches). Fifty feet of 

 rubber tubing, a large bulb, and a field-glass made it possible to 

 watch developments and carry on operations from a safe distance. 

 But, although the camera was nearly concealed with ferns and leaves, 

 this day's proceedings were not rewarded with much success. The 

 birds proved exasperatingly timid, and returned only after prolonged 

 waits, to disappear instanter on the click of the shutter (a B. and L. 

 iris diaphragm shutter). So we- left the field, not disheartened but 

 bent upon improving our paraphernalia. A day or two later found 

 the camera again in position, but this time with tripod green-painted 





^ 



■^A 



V- 



^Jny 



u- 



\mm^ 





CATBIRD ON NEST 



and the whole unsightly top enveloped in a green hood with only 

 a small aperture for the lens. This ruse succeeded fairly well, and 

 during the three or four hours that the light was good on this day, 

 and during a like period on a subsequent day, a number of exposures 

 were made that resulted in an interesting series of negatives, giving 

 good prints and still better lantern slides. 



Only one of several time-exposures turned out perfect. It is here 

 presented, not only as the prize picture of some three hundred nega- 

 tives made during the summer of 1898, but as the sole and only 

 entirely satisfactory outcome of some twelve or fourteen hours' work. 



