244 THE OPEN BOOK OF NATURE 
pay for itself and the material you use. Once you 
become proficient in the art of taking pictures, you 
should be able to find a market for them. 
In Nature-work you have to place your camera 
in all sorts of curious positions to suit your sub- 
jects, and you have to devise ways and means of 
getting pictures that are not exactly straightforward 
work. The more movements your camera is capable 
of, the better will you be able to get at your subjects. 
A stand with a tilting-board is extremely useful ; I 
mean a simple apparatus whereby the camera can 
pe tilted forward at various angles, and even be 
made to point straight down to the ground. A 
tilting-board can be easily made by an amateur. 
I shall not go into details of its construction ; I 
tell you what is wanted, and leave you to construct 
a contrivance suitable for the purpose. Sometimes 
you will need to lengthen your stand by tying 
sticks to it (see p. 156) ; at others, one or two legs 
may have to be shortened ; and, again, occasions 
arise when it is best to dispense with the legs 
altogether. When you find a difficult subject, 
examine it from all points of view, think how the 
difficulties are to be met, then set to and meet 
them. 
The photography of birds and wild animals is 
exceedingly trying to one’s patience, and sorely 
taxes one’s ingenuity. More often than not the 
photographer has to contrive a hiding-place for 
himself and camera in a place near a nest or & 
particular haunt. A tripod of sticks covered with 
dull green canvas, and festooned with branches of 
trees, is a good hiding-place. Of course, there 
