"WHY DOES HE DO IT?" "WHY DOES HE DO IT?"

The following article concerning the Photographic Competition of the Crimson, which begins next Wednesday, was written for the Crimson by J. H. Durgin '26, photographic chairman last year.

An eminent Greek professor once gave as a reason for the study of that language the feeling of quiet superiority a Greek scholar was able to maintain over the vast majority of people who did not share in his accomplishments. And so with the Photographic Department of the CRIMSON.

There is more to a photographic competition than meets the casual eye. One sees a harassed looking student dashing about with a camera, trying to worm his way into such hallowed places as the football secret practice field; climbing trees to get aerial views of this and that; seeking to round up Professor so and so, visiting lectures from such-and-such, and catch him in an informal pose. And comes the inevitable question "Why do you do it."

The scene shifts to the CRIMSON office. It is late, bed time, perhaps, for the student of well-regulated habits. But not the Photographic candidate. He is in the dark room, developing the negatives which have been the fruit of his day's labors. And again he is asked, "Why do you do it?"

The Photographic candidate has his reasons, however. There is the training in the technical side of photography; of developing, printing, and enlarging pictures. There is the acquirement of a discriminating taste in photography, the appreciation of what is good and bad in grouping, light effects, background, and what not. In short he has mastered what may be a vocation, and what certainly is a delightful hobby.

There is a still more important side to a CRIMSON Photographic competition. There is that indescribable thrill of being on the inside of things, of doing something useful, of seeing in print the pictures he has taken. The CRIMSON candidate, unlike the managerial aspirant, is in a responsible position from the start. He is the accredited representative of the CRIMSON, a member of the photographic staff, and so on an equal footing with photographers from the metropolitan dailies.

Then, if he goes on, there is executive work, the possibility of becoming Photographic Chairman, one of the five major officers of the paper. As chairman, he is in full charge of the rotogravure supplement, and he has, in miniature, the same problems which face the executive in charge of a similar department on a Boston or New York paper.