A LOCAL photographer caught last week’s rare solar eclipse on film as the shadow of the moon covered Northern Europe.
Westbury saw the moon block out roughly 85% of the sunlight around 9am on Friday 20th March as their orbits aligned. The phenomenon was the first of its kind since the full eclipse in 1999, and could be seen through the clouds.
Local historian Alex Prowse took this photograph at the White Horse Health Centre.
Alex said, “As I began to drive away after my blood test I noticed another resident looking up towards the sun. Fortunately it was fairly cloudy which made a solar screen to see through, as we have been warned so many times never look directly at the sun.
“I pulled over and good fortune would have it that I had my bridge camera with me. I was able to photograph directly through the lens because the bridge camera has a detachable screen, whereas looking through a normal camera could easily damage your eyes. The person next to me had an iPhone but could not pick up the quality that the Sony cyber shot was able to produce.”
Alex plans to use his photos as subject for painting at Westbury Art Group, who meet on Monday afternoons at All Saints Parish Hall.
