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Photographing Nests and Young Birds 



The dead branch of a tree makes a natural and effective perch 

 for the bird to stand on ; it should be carefully selected, with no 

 twigs that would be much out of focus. Then focus your camera 

 on some particular point ; mark this lightly with a penknife and 

 take the photograph when the bird stands on the marked place. 

 When several birds are to be photographed together, they must 

 be arranged so that each one shows in a different position from 

 his companions. You may say that this sounds easy, but is most 

 difficult to accomplish ; here is the time for the much-needed pa- 

 tience already mentioned. 



Young birds may be photographed while in the nest, but this 

 is not often satisfactory, since only the heads show. Especially in 

 the case of the smaller birds is it difficult to get all parts in focus. 

 Moreover, the location of the nest is generally in the shade, so that 

 to get good results a time exposure is desirable. But the birds 

 invariably move ; so, on the whole, I think the best results are to 

 be obtained without anything in the way of accessories. This has 

 been my experience, though others who have been more fortunate 

 in getting good effects with the young in the nests think that is 

 the better method. 



When nests containing eggs are to be photographed it is 

 better to choose a cloudy day, otherwise a screen should be used 

 in order to soften the light, or the markings on the eggs will 

 scarcely show in the picture, and the detail of the nest will often 

 be lost in the strong light and shade. The screen may be made 

 of cheesecloth or fine muslin, and a light, portable frame for it 

 may be constructed of thin bamboo, arranged so as to fold and be 

 carried with the tripod. 



If the nest is photographed in bright sunlight, a piece of white 

 paper or cloth may be used with advantage as a reflector in order 

 to soften the shadows. When photographing ground 

 nests the ordinary tripod is troublesome and difficult 

 to tilt to the necessary angle. After trying various 

 schemes, 1 am now using a device which works satis- 

 factorily, its disadvantage being its weight. Three- 

 ply wood should be used in making this, and the 

 metal parts may be taken from an ordinary tripod top. 

 The bar AB is cylindrical, Js inch in diameter ; to 

 this is clamped a ball-and-socket device, allowing the 

 camera to tilt forward without moving the legs of 



22. 



