The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-08-19

Boston, Aug 19-- Hosts of pho- tographers, from astronomers with the last word in super-scientifi equipment to the most inexperl- enced amateurs with tiny cameras, will focus their lenses on tn total eclipse of the sun from places ep- anywhere in the totality belt which will cover most of New England on August 31. It. is possible inore- over that unpredictahle weather. conditions may permit the anna teurs in some cases to get better pictures than the astronomers. The latter will have their elaborate iI1- struments set up for weeks in ad- vance, and still may be handicap ped by locally cloudy skies, while many less experienced but more mobile emateur photographers in the area of totality may have clear skies above them, and secure pie lures of great interest and possible scientific value.
 Instructions to the amateur for securing the most successful pho- tographs of the. eclipse have been supplied to the New England coun- cii. The council, with headquarters at Statler building, Boston, Is fur nishing free on request to R. R. Huse, editor, q. special map and booklet on the eclipse, and Is act ing as a clearing house for other information on the. phenomenon, which will be visible in totality in the United States only in New Eng land. .t 4&
 Photographs of the eclipse may be made either In the total O the partial phase, and simpl instruc- tions are necessary for the two phases, the Eastman company states. The total phase will be vis- iblel only to persons in the path of eclipse, which cuts. a swath one hundred miles wide across New. England, covering northeastern Vermont, southeastern New Hamp-. shire, southeastern. Maine, the north shore of Massa chusetts, and the tip of Cape Cod. This will be the phase most worth photograph ing. but its duration Is less than two minutes. The partial phases, vissible anywhere in the northeast ern part of the United States, will give amateur photographers nearly two hours to make picture rec ord. 4
 For about an; hour before the total eclipse, the moon may be seen gradually approaching the suns disk, and for about an hour after. the period of totality,. the shadow will as gradually retreat. During these periods a series of proto-1 grapic expoures may be made at. intervals to show the progressive stages. These exposures may be made either by using a separate film for each. or by putting all the exposures on q single film without moving the filn in the camera. Intersecting records of past eclip- ses have been made by fixing the camera in q rigid position 70 that the path of the sun across the sky wa svisihle in the finder, and then intervals. Since the position of the sun change about Is degrees in an hour, the i've minute intervals are sufiicint to move each imag of the sun far,enough on the film 50 that 1t does not touch the previous im- age. Such a photograph would show a number of images of the sun across the long dimension of the picture, with the moon pro- gressively covering and later uncov- ering the sun--each image differ ing little from the. preceding one.
 Amateur photographers prepar- Ing to take pictures of the partial phase of the eclipse should set their cameras with the sun visible in the right side Of the finder when the camera Is in a horizontal position. Since the brilliance Of the un-eclipsed sun would be too. great for the film. some sort Of light fil- ter must be set in front of the lens. Fairly experienced amateur pho- tographers would probably have and use neutral density filter. but for the less advanced satisfactory sub1titpte Is q piece Of film which has been exposod to the light and then developed until it is black.
 Exposureg must De very short-- a snapshot with . camera that has q single ieuse and only one shutter speed; and not more than one lopth of q second with cameras that have double ylenaos. The larger, diaphrem stop should be used on single lens cameras; a stop of f.1i: fe:. or fB.S on double liens cameras. The HrBt exposure should be made. the inc stant the moon begin to obscure the sun, with subsequent exposures af i've minute intervals.
 photograp phing the total phass of the eclipse i5 different project
 During folniify the moon cuts off the brilliant rays ef the sun, Hlak- ing fife uas of c iIlfer in front of tho lens not onIy ]znnscessary but
 undesIrnhie.