tine sparkles

Photographers in Germany have a very special bond with birds. It's a very close relationship because the little bird actually supposedly lives inside the camera.
So when everyone is ready in the portrait session the Photographer sais:"Alright everyone, the birdie will show up any second now..." (Alle laecheln, jetzt kommt gleich das Voegelchen!"). So everyone is smiling expectantly  and the photo is taken before one even gets a glimpse of this rare bird.

Now how come anyone ever came up with the imaginery birdie as such I'm not entirely sure. Especially for kids though it has this magic appeal. One of the mysteries in the photography trade but I think it stems from the very early days when the large format cameras were used to take portraits (nowadays one uses them for architecture and studio photography, they are rather awkward to take along not to mention their expensive price).
The large format cameras looked pretty similar to bird houses being all wooden (nowadays it's all black metal) and a large box with the lense  resembling the entrance to the "bird house".

I guess each country has its own photgraphy customs and traditions. No wonder that I love birds so much  ;-)  I had  forgotten all about it till this morning. What an interesting little concept, it got me thinking. So this little bird in my sketch...shhht! don't disturb, it's just nesting and dreaming...