10 
BY THE WAYSIDE 
hardly give the best results. A good 
tripod, or means of fixing the camera to 
a tree limb, such as a clamp that holds 
your machine rigid, is necessary. Per¬ 
sonally, I prefer plates for my work, 
rather than films, or a film-pack; and it 
is necessary that the camera and plate- 
holders be absolutely light-tight, as 
often our dark slide has to be drawn 
for a long time, and any leakage of the 
plate holder is fatal to good results. 
Having decided on the habitat of our 
bird, whether on its nest, or at its feed¬ 
ing ground, or its lofty perch, we must 
set up our camera with care, accurately 
focussed. Perhaps it is necessary to con¬ 
ceal the camera, by means of branches, 
or leaves, or otherwise, and to have some 
means of springing the shutter at the 
right time. For the latter purpose, a 
long cord attached to the shutter-release, 
or a long piece of rubber tubing, will be 
necessary, unless we ourselves are con¬ 
cealed in a blind, with the camera at 
our hands. 
Nest and egg photography are com¬ 
paratively simple; and perhaps the be¬ 
ginner should always begin with a sub¬ 
ject of this kind. The bird on its nest, 
also, is often not difficult, because the 
mother bird is usually surprisingly gen¬ 
tle, and will allow rather close approach 
in many instances. In addition, she sits 
wonderfully still, and will consent to 
“look pleasant” long enough to admit 
of a sufficiently long exposure. The 
photography of the young bird, how¬ 
ever, is rather more difficult, as their 
restless movement makes a short expo¬ 
sure, and good light, necessary. I have 
found that a partially cloudy day is 
best for the securing of good results. 
The light is more even, and is not apt to 
give spotty, unpleasant results that 
sometimes result from sunshine. A dull 
light is always best for picturing nests 
and eggs. To show birds in rapid 
movement, we need of course the best 
of light, and a camera of the reflecting 
type, fitted with fast lens and focal 
plane shutter. 
The accompanying picture of a young 
mocking bird was taken with a Graflex 
camera and a fast lens. On a trip to 
my old home in Virginia, I was de¬ 
lighted to renew my acquaintance with 
this prince of singers, the southern 
mocking bird. There were scores of 
them all about the garden, around the 
blackberry bushes, and around the 
porches. The little fellow whose picture 
is shown, seemed to have no objection 
to posing on the finger of a friend of 
mine, who seemed to be also his friend. 
Readers of By the Wayside have much 
in store for them, if they have not yet 
made the acquaintance of the mocking 
bird. Its song, varied, clear and*musi- 
cal, is wonderful; and the friendly dis¬ 
position of the bird makes him an ex¬ 
ceedingly desirable bird neighbor. It 
is too bad that lie is so afraid of cold 
feet, and steers clear of Wisconsin. 
Let me advise all readers of this maga¬ 
zine who own cameras, to try some bird 
portraits. Make a lunch counter this 
winter for the chickadees, nuthatches, 
and downy woodpeckers, and get a 
record of their table manners. It will 
be pleasant and interesting work for 
any of us, and will serve to help us in 
our acquaintance with our little broth¬ 
ers of the woods. 
