International photographer (Feb-Dec 1929)

October, 1929 The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER Fifteen they brought out flares which lighted up the entire camp and the radio towers and antenna and made a record of these shining lines against the dark background of the Antarctic night. Sun Returning It was 11 degrees above zero yesterday when this phenomenon took place but today it is 8 degrees below again and clear, for which we are all thankful. It is good once more to see the stars and the faint northern twilight in the morning after many days of gloom and complete darkness. New moving pictures are being made of other outdoor scenes and soon there will be flares shining down on the bay ice, as if witch fires were glowing there, throwing grotesque shadows among the uplifted cakes. Joe Rucker and Willard Van Der Veer, the Paramount men, have had their troubles with their moving picture cameras for film snaps and cameras jam in periods of intense cold and frequently they have to come in and thaw themselves out before making another attempt to get a picture. But they are slowly obtaining a night record of life and scenes in the Antarctic. One who attempts to operate a camera or theodolite or other instrument in the Antarctic must be prepared for many vexations. Moving parts bend due to contraction from the cold; moisture condenses between the lenses and fingers are burned until the tips appear to have been repeatedly seared by flames. Cameras Freeze The first breath of the Antarctic in the ice pack gave an intimation of what was coming. The moving picture cameras began to get stiff and were taken apart and washed out with gasoline. As the ship got further south the photographers lugged their cameras below and with many imprecations disassembled them and refitted the moving parts. This binding was due to the unequal expansion of steel shafts working against brass bearings or some steel or brass part which came into contact with aluminum. When there was room in the wardroom to work, the table top was frequently covered with parts of cameras while Rucker and Van Der Veer loosened bearings with crocus cloth, fitting and refitting, until the crank could be turned. Even the tripod had to be taken apart and refitted. Whenever a camera was brought below it began to sweat and had to be carefully wiped and dried so that no moisture remained in it to freeze when it was again taken outside. Here at the base cameras are baked in the oven or hung above the stove to dry when it was necessary to bring them indoors. If the slightest moisture is left in them they will freeze and bind in a few minutes. The still cameras froze and had to be thawed. Frost gathered between the lenses no matter how careful one might be, and was only removed by baking. Some cameras have quit altogether because the shutters were not designed for low temperatures, but others have with care been persuaded to continue working satisfactorily, although frost will gather on the lenses of them all. A little camera which may be carried in the pocket and kept warm until needed has proved to be the most valuable, both for withstanding cold and for ease of operation with blistered fingers. The motion-picture film began to snap at 25 degrees below zero. It would break and have to be rethreaded, an operation done with bare hands because of the small space in which to work. Fingers stuck to metal parts and after such a job Van Der Veer or Joe could be seen hopping about and holding their hands under their armpits in pain. Care had to be taken not to breathe in the cameras during this operation, as the breath immediately formed frost all over the working parts. The thing that will make a cameraman madder than the proverbial hatter is to walk up to him while he is rethreading and say: "Isn't that interesting?" and breathe into his camera. The condensation due to difference in temperature down here can hardly be imagined by one who has not experienced it. The warmth of the body coming in contact with something cold condenses moisture from the body. Even a book which has been lying near a cold wall will steam like a teakettle when it is opened in a slightly warmer atmosphere. This gives a faint idea of the quality of condensation outdoors which at very low temperatures makes the breath crackle audibly as it leaves the mouth and turns into clouds of vapor. Vapor Bothers A man standing inside the entrance to one of the house tunnels forms so much vapor by breathing that the house appears to be on fire. And what one breath will do to a camera is best suggested by a row of asterisks. The automatic camera quit at about 20 below zero because contraction from cold causes the springs to bind. It has been found, however, that an automatic may be warmed over a primus stove and if it is then carried under the parka next to the body except when in use it will work for about an hour. This is the way moving pictures were made in the Rockefeller Mountains. One of the hardest things to overcome is the snow which collects on the lens during a blizzard. If the camera is turned away from the wind an eddy forms which sucks the snow into the lens and if it is held partly facing the wind the snow gathers even more rapidly. It has to be removed frequently and with great care so as not to melt it and prevent frost forming. It cannot be blown out and there is difficulty in getting it out as the mere approach of the hand is sufficient to cause condensation and freezing. But some blizzard pictures have been made despite these difficulties. Now that the cameras have been adjusted so that they will withstand the cold, they are left outdoors as much as possible to prevent sweating. But it was found difficult to keep the snow out when it was drifting. Light Changes This drift is incredibly fine. The cameras are made to keep out light and are nearly water tight, but after a blow or two, two or three spoonsful of snow would be found inside the cameras. Various types of hoods were tried until one was found which offered protection. The dogs also took a liking to the tripods and the legs were chewed until they resemble old-fashioned hitching posts. The film is kept outside in one of the tunnels to guard it from quick changes of temperature and sweating. The widely differing light conditions have been one of the greatest obstacles to good photography and only by constant tests have the proper shutter openings, speeds and filters been determined. On January 1 at noon a three-times filter and stop twenty were used and the light had so changed by April 1 that in the same location it was necessary to use stop eight without filter to get equal quality in the negative. Men Take Risks The movie men have not made their pictures without some personal risk also as they have had to scramble around on soft ice, over pressure ridges and at times near crevasses. Van weighs more than 200 pounds and with a 100-pound camera and tripod on his shoulder he offers a lot of weight to be held up even by a big shoe. When the bark City of New York was bucking the ice one day he went out ahead of it to get pictures and had to cross a soft spot. He sank in a foot at a time and walked like a cat on a wet pavement, but he got across all right. Rucker fell into a crack where the ice dock alongside the barrier gave way and only the legs of his tripod across ihe crevasse saved him from going down. Luckily he had the tripod under his arm, but he had to wriggle hard to lift himself out. The same difficulty in operation has been encountered in the use of the theodolites and scientific instruments operated by clockwork. The theodolite lenses frost over and are baked out and the turn screws are covered with chamois to protect the fingers. The clocks used in the magnetic recording instruments froze and were washed out with gasoline and then gradually cooled to prevent condensation. They are now operating well both in the magnetic observatory and the meteorologist instrument shelter, indeed the thermograph has withstood 58 degrees below zero without stopping. S. M. P. E. TO TORONTO (Continued from Page S) Projectionists 30 Producers 11 Owners -10 Distributors 7 Directors 42 Miscellaneous, 14 Manufacturers 5 Chairmen 2 Inventors 4 Professor of Photography 3 "The class of men composing our membership is changing," said the president. "We are acquiring an interest in radio and acoustics as applied to sound pictures." That's a roster to be proud of and accounts, in no small degree, for the wonderful progress made in the technical side of the industry.