So general is the interest to-day displayed in Natural History photography that it affords us much pleasure to reproduce so splendid an example of “bird-work” as is the illustration appearing in this number of  Camera Work.” -Alfred Stieglitz

The above quote appeared along with this photogravure of fledgling birds taken in a controlled studio setting arranged on a branch by the photographer. It accompanied the artist’s article titled Effective Lighting in Bird-Photography.

Arthur Radclyffe Dugmore: 1870-1955

Arthur Vaux Venner Radclyffe Dugmore was a Welsh-born American naturalist and wildlife photographer, painter, print-maker and author. He turned from “hunting to capturing his subjects on paper and canvas.”

…He was elected to The Camera Club of New York in 1902 and presented his work in their exhibitions. In 1902 Dugmore’s photography caught the attention of Alfred Stieglitz, the single most important figure in American photography at that time, who published Dugmore’s article entitled “Effective Lighting in Bird Photography” and his photogravure of small birds on a branch as illustration in the first issue of Stieglitz’ quarterly photographic journal Camera Work. Stieglitz explained that he had chosen Dugmore’s photograph because it demonstrated that “even scientific subjects may be given pictorial worth without loss to their scientific value.” His photographs were exhibited in London in 1903 at the Royal Photographic Society annual show In 1905 his work was included in the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition held in Portland, Oregon. Dugmore designed the cover for Country Life in America three times in 1906 and in 1907 and 1908, his thirteen-part series entitled “The Amateur Photographer” was published in the magazine. In 1909 and 1911 his articles were published in the American Annual of Photography. -Wikipedia (2025) continues…