International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

Twelve The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER June, 1934 Dantes Inferno Has Nothing On This! By Paul R. Harmer KRAKATOA — a motion picture of 3,000 feet in length and accorded the honor of being the most unusual picture of 1933, released by Educational and brought out of Java by Joe Rock, one of the keenest minds and most wide awake Independent producers in the motion picture industry. To those who have seen the film, or will see it, a few words need to be said about the history of the great volcano, Krakatoa. Little of the early history of Krakatoa is known except that it was in eruption in 1680. This volcano is located on an island in the Straits of Sunda, about half way be that night ; the houses trembled from subterranean violence— but this was only a rehearsal for the fury to come. By ten o'clock the next day, August 27, 1883, the real performance began. An overture consisting of two or three introductory explosions was succeeded by a frightful convulsion which tore away a large part of the Island of Krakatoa and scattered it to the winds. In that final effort all records of previous explosions on this earth were completely broken. It was this supreme effort which produced the mightiest noise that, so far as the writer can ascertain, has ever been heard on this globe. Thousands Top, Left to Right — Shot from an airplane about 300 feet from the periphery of the main disturbance. Still by J. H. Bekker; Long shot of the demon volcano Krakatoa in eruption. Column of steam, flame, smoke and lava approximately four miles high. Still by J. H. Bekker; Medium close-up showing the explosive force of the volcano. Shot from a boat at 800 feet distance. Note tidal wave at tween Java and Sumatra. The eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 was the most violent outburst of nature ever recorded. In May of 1883 the first eruption did not threaten to be a serious one. The people chartered steamers and ran excursions to the volcano, where a vast column of steam poured forth, accompanied by a terrific noise, from an opening about 90 feet in width. Earthquakes were felt with increasing violence and fine dust clouded the sky. Great rumblings were heard, the sea was disturbed and the population was annoyed over an area as large as the British Isles. As the wind was unable to carry the dust away as fast as Krakatoa threw it up, the atmosphere became charged with suspended particles. A pall of darkness hung over the adjoining sea and islands. So dense was this suspended dust that at midday a darkness as intense as midnight prevailed. On the night of Sunday, August 26, 1883, the dust clouds in the Straits of Sunda, now thicker than ever, were only occasionally illuminated by lurid flashes from the volcano. At Batavia, 100 miles away, there was no quiet base of cone. Still by J. H. Bekker. Bottom, Left to Right — A shot from boat showing part of new cone on right. Still by J. H. Bekker; Note new cone on left. A long shot from the boat showing the unimaginable power of the explosive force of incandescent lava. Still by J. H. Bekker; A shot from boat at a distance of approximately only 500 feet. It is an explosion of lava. Still by J. H. Bekker. of nearby inhabitants' ear drums were broken and four hours later the sound was heard and recorded by the coast guard on the Island of Rodriguez, a distance of 3,000 miles west. In ten hours the sound was heard and felt in Berlin, Germany, and the shock was felt clear through the earth. The air in Britain tingled with the volcanic impulse, while in Central America the wave impulses, coming around the earth in opposite directions, met. Barometers all over the earth vibrated and were disturbed for five days, violently at first, then gradually becoming normal. The dust of Krakatoa encircled the earth in thirteen days. The marvelously beautiful sunsets which prevailed during the autumn were caused by fine dust hurled into the upper atmosphere, where it remained suspended for many months, finally becoming gradually diffused over the earth. Geologists estimate ten cubic miles of rock and earth were hurled into the air. Stretches of water that had an average depth of 117 feet were so filled up as to be no (Turn to Page 19) Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.