AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



5i3 



ginning work on a tree at a point 6 or 8 

 inches higher than the other stumps around 

 him. 



There is something across his left fore 

 foot that looks like a string. Is it a string? 

 If not, what is it? 



His body does not look exactly the right 

 shape for an animal standing up as he is. 

 His stomach would naturally hang down, 

 and he would be larger around at the flanks 

 than he now appears. 



The judges want to be perfectly certain 

 on all these points before deciding the 

 matter, in order to be able to answer any 

 criticisms that may be made later. 



To which Mr. Balch replied: 



I do not know what to say as to shape 

 of the beaver that is standing, only that he 

 or she, whichever it may have been, did 

 not stop long enough to do any cutting 

 on the tree. He (or she) simply had time 

 to reach up when I pulled the string and 

 got them as they were at the time. As to 

 what it is that looks like a string across 

 the foot, you may be able to make out 

 from the negative, which I send herewith. 

 I can not say what it is. I noticed the 

 same thing and have tried to make out 

 what it was. All I can say is that it may 

 be a twig of some brush that happened to 

 be there at the time. I put some small 

 poplar branches at the place to help stop 

 the beavers if they came, so that I could 

 get their photo. There certainly was no 

 string there. I was careful not to leave 

 anything around when planning for the 

 picture that would in any way scare them 

 if they came. I was not near the stand 

 after the camera* was set until after I had 

 snapped it. I do not think the beavers 

 came up as far as the turn or fork of the 

 roads the first afternoon and night. It 

 rained all the last part of the first night, 

 and to that cause I attribute my luck in 

 getting the photo. 



If you or the judges think for a moment 

 there is any fraud in the picture I should 

 prefer to have it withdrawn and that noth- 

 ing more be done about it. 



Yours truly, W. E. Balch. 



HOW SOME PRIZE WINNE RS WERE MADE. 

 The beautiful little humming bird 

 shown in "Our Daily Visitor" came reg- 

 ularly to the flowering beans that grew 

 on the porch of our summer home in 

 Rowe, Mass. I determined to get his pic- 

 ture for Recreation, if possible, and I do 

 not need to tell of the hours and patience 

 that were consumed before the happy re- 

 sult I have sent you came to reward me. 

 A long focus camera was placed in; a win- 

 dow near and focussed on a particularly 

 alluring bunch of the blossoms. For a 

 while, on several different days, the bird s 



erratic and lightning like maneuvers 

 seemed destined to spoil all the plates on 

 the farm, even when he came for an instant 

 where I wanted him. 



At last, on a bright August forenoon, I 

 caught him. In the 4x5 negative his little 

 likeness is, naturally, small indeed, so I 

 adapted our school stereopticon outfit to 

 my large camera and made the enlarge- 

 ment on Velox paper, to about life size, 

 which I submit. The plate used was a 

 Record, made by the New York Dry Plate 

 Co. 



Fred'k R. Woodward, Lowell, Mass. 



"A Choice Spider for the Babies" was 

 taken with a long focus camera, and devel- 

 oped in weak pyro. This photo of a house 

 wren carrying a spider to 7 young birds 

 concealed within the bird box was taken 

 from life. The subject was difficult, be- 

 cause of the restless nature of the bird- 

 This was intensified by the nearness of the 

 camera, which was only about 18 inches 

 away. Ten visits were made to the bird 

 box and 9 plates exposed before this pic- 

 ture was secured. 



The bird was first watched, in order to 

 determine on which part of the box it 

 would alight the greatest number of times. 

 That being known, the camera was fo- 

 cussed on that point. Forty feet of rubber 

 tubing was then attached to shutter, with 

 the operator at the other end, about 35 feet 

 distant, bulb in hand, waiting for bird to. 

 reappear. 



Geo. Embody, Hamilton, N. Y.. 



The photo of live wild moose was taken 

 from a canoe on the Lake of the Woods, 

 about 60 miles South of this place. There 

 were 3 moose crossing the lake. Mr. Alan 

 Sullivan and I, who were on a prospecting 

 tour, paddled up to the moose through 

 rough water and secured a few snaps at 

 them. You will note there are 2 moose 

 shown in this view. We were not able to 

 get all 3 on account of the distance and the 

 rough water. We used an Eastman Ko- 

 dak, 5x7, instantaneous exposure, and 

 printed on Velox paper, using films. 



Wm. Schwartz, Rat Portage, Ont. 



CAMERA NOTES. 



GENE S. PORTER. 



For those amateurs who lay aside their 

 paraphernalia with November and rest on 

 their laurels until May, let me advise a 

 change of program. Try winter photogra- 

 phy. Add to your customary apparatus a. 

 pair of stout boots and learn for yourself 

 that no season has more appealing material 

 to offer you than has winter. There is 

 great beauty in the stubble fields, hedged 

 in by blackened snake fences and leafless- 

 bushes, snow laden. There is wonderful! 

 beauty in the river, whether it flows a 



