8 WILD LIFE A^D THE CAMERA 



experience the greatest obstacle to photographing 

 them. 



Of the many dehghtful birds I have had the 

 good fortune to know, the worm-eating warbler 

 family, whose portraits are shown elsewhere, have 

 afforded me the greatest pleasure, for they became 

 absolutely fearless of the camera, and they placed 

 a degree of trust in me that was as unusual as it 

 was delightful. 



To photograph the nest containing eggs is 

 usually a comparatively easy matter, as a long 

 exposure may be given. The best results are 

 obtained when a grey day is chosen, as the light is 

 softer and more diffused, so that all the details, 

 both of nest and eggs, are clearly shown. A very 

 different task is the photographing of the young 

 in the nest, and the resulting pictures are seldom 

 what one hopes for. The reasons for this are 

 obvious. The young are never quiet even when 

 asleep, owing to their rapid respiration. This 

 precludes a time exposure, and this in turn pre- 

 vents the use of anything but a large diaphragm ; 

 therefore, as the distance from the near edge of the 

 nest to the bird farthest away is several inches, 

 only a small part can be in focus, while the rest is 

 a blurred mass. If the light is sufficiently bright, 

 the best results may be obtained when the nest- 

 lings raise their heads for food, as each bird is then 

 more clearly defined, instead of being a part of a 

 shapeless, heaving mass. This applies more par- 

 ticularly to the photographing of small birds, as 

 the camera, with a lens of ordinary focal length, 

 has to be placed very near tlie nest, with the 



