July 20, 1896.

THE AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNAL.

155

INTERESTING LAJITERJI SLIDE COMPETITION

IMPROVED METHOD OF JUDGING SLIDES.

jOy most interesting competition of lantern slides was held at the last general meeting of the Amateur Photographic Association of Victoria. This society is strong in good lantern slide makers, and the competition was looked forward to with great interest on this account, as until the slides were handed in no one knew positively who were the competing members.

Messrs. J. W. Small and Co., in order to encourage the making of slides of a high quality, presented an optical lantern as a prize to be awarded to the maker of the best slide from a given negative. The donors supplied the negative and laid down the rules which were to govern the competition ; these, briefly stated, were to the effect that each competitor should have the use of the negative for 48 hours, only one slide was to be submitted by each, any plate or process might be used, slides were to be sent in under mottoes, and accompanying each slide was to be a sealed envelope bearing the same motto and enclosing the name of the maker, together with all particulars as to how the slides were produced, judging was to be done by all members of the Association who might be in attendance on the evening of the competition.

The system adopted by the Society for testing was a new one, as far as this part of the world is concerned ; the slides were exhibited two at a time, the two lanterns being placed side by side, and five feet apart, and five feet discs were projected by them.

After a pair of slides had been exposed for the time agreed upon, they were removed from the lanterns and re-inserted, with the difference that the slide which was at first in the right hand lantern was now shewn in the left, and that which had been viewed by the light from the left was changed into the right. A few seconds longer and the scrutineers ordered the vote to be taken, one slide being first voted for and then the other. The slide for which the greatest number of votes was cast remained in the lantern, and the other was removed being thrown jout of the competition; a third slide was then introduced, and so on, until the whole of those submitted had been shewn; the operators varied things at intervals, for sometimes they changed the slide which remained in the lantern after a vote was taken, and transferred it to the other instrument before the next slide was inserted (the lenses were kept capped betwmen each two changes,) and this increased the interest. The object of changing the slides is said to have been the prevention of one slide having an accidental advantage over another by reason of any slight difference between the lights in the two lanterns.

The lime light wTas used, and the competition appears from what we can learn to have passed off in a very satisfactory manner.

The points to be learned from this competition, which we believe is the first that has been conducted upon these lines in Australia, are w'orth considering.

In the first instance, (and this is a novelty here), the wdiole of the competitors work from the same negative, thus the holder of extra

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