THE OUTFIT AND METHODS OF THE 
BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER 
THE BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER'S OUTFIT 
HE beginner must not suppose that 
good bird photographs can be 
made only with expensive appa- 
ratus. Under favorable conditions 
there is no great difference in the 
results secured with the ordinary 
ae camera and lens of any reputable 
maker and those of the highest class. My own 
work has for the greater part been done with an 
outfit costing about thirty dollars; and although 
the best lens is, of course, to be desired it is not a 
necessity, and cost therefore is no more an obstacle 
to the hunting of birds with a camera than it is 
to their pursuit with a gun. 
The Camera.—iIndividual taste will doubtless 
govern the size of the camera chosen, but most natu- 
ralists and sportsmen consider the camera carrying a 
plate four by five inches as the one best adapted to 
their wants, and with this decision I heartily agree. 
The advantages of size, weight, and economy, both 
as regards the camera, its holders, and plates, are all 
in favor of the 4 x 5, while as far as the bird pho- 
tographer is concerned, it is not often that he has 
need of anything larger. The image of a bird will 
rarely be without adequate setting in a space four 
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