(PHOTOGRAPHY! 



THE NEXT COMPETITION. 



In the April issue we announced a prize 

 competition, to close June ist. The prizes 

 offered were as follows : 



ist prize $10 



2d prize 5 



Five consolation prizes of $i each 

 When the competition closed we found 

 that only 278 pictures had been received. We 

 were disappointed. 



While the number of pictures received in 

 the short time allowed for preparation was 

 a Mattering indication of the interest the pho- 

 tographer-sportsmen manifest in our depart- 

 ment, we feel that the response should be 

 more general. Therefore, we are going to 

 raise the prizes offered in the next compe- 

 tition, which will close September ist, as fol- 

 lows : 



ist prize $25 



2d prize 10 



3d prize 5 



RULES GOVERNING SEPTEMBER COMPETI- 

 TION. 



(1) Awards will be made by the Art Editor of 

 Recreation. 



(2) All photographs submitted will become the 

 property of Recreation; but no photograph will be 

 reproduced, other than the prize winners, without 

 a payment of One Dollar for its use. 



(3) The following questions should be answered 

 in submitting the prints: 



Subject (give full description) ? 



Owner (if the prints represent ho" c ' 5 -, grounds, 

 animals or other objects of ownership) r 



Location (near what city or town; geographical 

 name if a river or lake) ? 



Date of exposure? 



How many views taken of general subject; 

 is this the best? 



Published or promise of publication elsewhere; if 

 so, what publication? 



(4) Any subject representing outdoor v fe or sport 

 may be depicted. Birds and animals, fishing and 

 hunting are particularly desired. 



(5) Packages containing photographs should be 

 marked "Competition," and postage must be fully 

 prepaid. 



The prize winners in the June competition 

 will be announced in the August issue. 



SUPERIORITY OF FILM. 



The question which puzzles many a 

 would-be amateur photographer is whether 

 to use films or glass plates for his work, 

 and why one is preferable to the other, 



Now, there are very strong reasons why the 

 man to whom Recreation appeals should 

 favor film as against plate, and we propose 

 to point out these reasons. Mind you, we 

 have no personal feeling one way or the 

 other. We use both in our work and a 

 critical comparison of the negatives taken 

 respectively on films and plates reveals no 

 difference in quality from the technical point 

 of view. In the matter of printing, it may 

 be mentioned en passant, that him negatives 

 may be printed from the back, which is, of 

 itself, a great advantage for carbon workers, 

 as it obviates the double transfer over which 

 so many amateurs stumble. 



The most obvious advantage which films 

 possess over plates is their lightness and 

 complete immunity from any danger of 

 breaking. The reduction in weight is not 

 confined to the film itself, but its nature per- 

 mits also of a reduction in the bulk and 

 weight of the camera in which it is exposed, 

 a fact which is fully taken advantage of by 

 the manufacturers, some film cameras being 

 marvels of lightness and portability. 



Glass is proverbially one of the most brit- 

 tle of substances, and a valuable glass nega- 

 tive is liable to be irretrievably ruined at 

 any moment by sudden fracture ; a pull, a 

 chance knock, or unequal pressure in a print- 

 ing-frame may at any moment cause its de- 

 struction. 



Another point on which films score over 

 their glass plate rivals is in the small space 

 which they occupy when stored. Although 

 this may appear to be but of minor advant- 

 age it is by no means so in practice, and to 

 the average amateur who has limited space 

 at his disposal for storing his negatives, it 

 is a most important matter. However, eco- 

 nomical one may be in making exposures, 

 in course of time negatives accumulate, and 

 glass negatives, if kept in boxes, as they 

 should be, occupy a considerable amount of 

 space, whereas the equivalent number of 

 film negatives may be stored in envelopes 

 between the leaves of a book, and, compara- 

 tively speaking, occupy no room at all. 



Before leaving the question of weight it 

 is necessary to point out the increased com- 

 fort afforded by the use of film, in the field, 

 and on tour, particularly to ladies and those 

 whose powers of physical endurance are not 

 great. Even a small plate camera with a 

 dozen glass plates becomes a dead weight 

 after a day's tramp. 



