NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY 245 
must be a means of entrance and exit, also a small 
hole for the lens of the camera, and facilities for 
observation. The camera is focussed on, say, a 
nest, the dark slide is placed in position, and when 
the bird is in a suitable position, an exposure is 
made. Generally the hiding-place has to be left 
in position for a day or two, until the birds get used 
to its presence. Patience and perseverance, with 
common sense and ingenuity, are very necessary 
virtues for the Nature photographer to possess. 
As to the general manipulation of a camera, the 
development of plates, and the making of prints, I 
shall say little. You can get much free information 
from makers of cameras and materials, and all the 
guidance you are likely to require in a handbook 
costing only a few pence. The amateur learns by 
his blunders. 
In Nature pictures you require detail, and to 
secure this you have to “stop down” your lens to 
a fairly small aperture. The smaller the aperture, 
the longer the exposure. Snapshots are sometimes 
necessary, but avoid them where possible. Stop 
down your lens, and give a reasonable full exposure. I 
often stop down to aperture f/44, and give anything 
from twenty seconds to a minute’s exposure. Such, 
however, can be done only with still subjects. 
For developing I use Rodinal. It is, in my 
opinion, the best developer going, but it must be 
allowed full time in order to secure sufficient density 
in the negative. I watch for the appearance of the 
image, counting the number of seconds between 
the time of pouring the developer over the plate and 
the “‘ coming up ” of the “ high lights.” I multiply 
