My first solar eclipse
 

Ever since I made one of my occasional visits to NASA's eclipse
site last year, I've been eagerly looking forward to this day.
The eclipse was to be only slightly over 90% of total in my area
and I knew a photo of it wouldn't be anywhere nearly as
spectacular as in the totality zone. But it's the first major
solar eclipse I'd have a chance to photograph.

Alas, sunrise came and the morning sky was heavily overcast, with
thick fog rolling in too. There wasn't even a faintly luminous
spot to indicate where the sun was. My friends and I watched TV,
the clock and the darkening sky as the moment of maximum eclipse
came and went.

Some time later, the weather relented a bit and we began to catch
glimpses of the receding eclipse. I started shooting and went on
to take some 60 shots. The clouds were moving so fast that the
brightness level changed literally from second to second.

I saw no point in trying to check my exposures in between shots
as the next one would need a different level anyway. I went
entirely by guesstimate and kept turning the shutter and aperture
dials, using exposure values from f/11 at 1/2000 sec with a
filter to f/4 at 1/20 sec without a filter.

I was pleasantly surprised when I later found that more than half
of the shots had acceptable exposure, at least acceptable to me,
given the circumstances and my total lack of experience in
shooting a solar eclipse.

Here's the very first shot, taken about 10 minutes after the
moment of maximum eclipse:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...-22Jul09_1.jpg

My first solar eclipse
 

mianileng wrote:
[]
Here's the very first shot, taken about 10 minutes after the
moment of maximum eclipse:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...-22Jul09_1.jpg

Congratulations! And on not burning out the sensor or shutter! G

Here's mine, taken from out in space:

http://www.satsignal.eu/wxsat/images...7-eclipse.html

and from another viewer:

http://www.alanbanks.org.uk/Solar_Eclipse_220709.html

Cheers,
David

My first solar eclipse
 

"David J Taylor"
wrote
m...

Here's mine, taken from out in space:

http://www.satsignal.eu/wxsat/images...7-eclipse.html

............................................. Cheers,
David


David, what do you do for a living???
Satellite manager, or some such???
NO, really.
Rgrds, George

My first solar eclipse
 

"David J Taylor"

wrote in message
m...
mianileng wrote:
[]
Here's the very first shot, taken about 10 minutes after the
moment of maximum eclipse:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...-22Jul09_1.jpg

Congratulations! And on not burning out the sensor or shutter!
G

Oh yeah. The thought crossed my mind once or twice. But I was so
busy twirling dials to compensate for the constantly changing
light that I didn't stay focussed (no pun intended) on that side
of the matter for long.

Here's mine, taken from out in space:


http://www.satsignal.eu/wxsat/images...7-eclipse.html

and from another viewer:

http://www.alanbanks.org.uk/Solar_Eclipse_220709.html


One word: WOW!!

My first solar eclipse
 

On Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:00:47 +0530, "mianileng"
wrote:


"David J Taylor"

wrote in message
om...
mianileng wrote:
[]
Here's the very first shot, taken about 10 minutes after the
moment of maximum eclipse:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...-22Jul09_1.jpg

Congratulations! And on not burning out the sensor or shutter!
G

Oh yeah. The thought crossed my mind once or twice. But I was so
busy twirling dials to compensate for the constantly changing
light that I didn't stay focussed (no pun intended) on that side
of the matter for long.


You'd be surprised just how long you can focus the full intensity of the
sun on a camera's sensor, with even a wide-angle lens let alone telephoto
focal-lengths, before it will burn a spot in it. The dyes in the Bayer
filter going first, long before any damage to the sensor itself.

Do some calculations on radiation intensity and the heat-sink capabilities
of the sensor's matrix. These calculations were done many years ago in the
sci.astro.amateur newsgroup. Perhaps you could search for that discussion
using Google's "group" search. From vague memory, you will grow bored of
trying to focus on the sun long before it will do any damage (approx. 6
mins. if I recall). This is, of course, when the image of the sun is
focused on the sensor itself, and in such a tight image that it comes from
a wide-angle lens at widest apertures. Telephoto affords many more minutes
of focusing and composing time due to the enlarged image of the solar-disk
spreading its radiation over a wider area. The focal-plane shutters of SLR
design cameras are much more prone to damage than leaf-shutter (P&S)
cameras because the leaf-shutter is in a mid-distance optical path, not at
the point of focus.

That's a fairly nice image of a partial-eclipse, btw. I recall one total
solar-eclipse that I went to photograph in N. America back in the 1970's.
The slight bit of overcast greatly added to the event. It acted as a
rear-projection screen so we could see the diffraction bands pass through
the sky as rainbow bands of colors rapidly washing the full sky from
horizon to horizon. Further adding to the effects witnessed.. Amongst other
effects that the overcast revealed that "clear sky" observers would never
get to enjoy. Like the onrush of the sunset colors against the inverted
sky. (Total-eclipse chaser will know what I mean by an "inverted sky". It's
actually quite freaky, no matter how much you know in advance of what is
going on.) I never wish for perfectly "clear skies" when chasing down a
solar-eclipse now. I learned my lesson from those happenstance
overcast-skies and wouldn't trade that same experience for the world.

My first solar eclipse
 

mianileng wrote:
Ever since I made one of my occasional visits to NASA's eclipse
site last year, I've been eagerly looking forward to this day.
The eclipse was to be only slightly over 90% of total in my area
and I knew a photo of it wouldn't be anywhere nearly as
spectacular as in the totality zone. But it's the first major
solar eclipse I'd have a chance to photograph.

Alas, sunrise came and the morning sky was heavily overcast, with
thick fog rolling in too. There wasn't even a faintly luminous
spot to indicate where the sun was. My friends and I watched TV,
the clock and the darkening sky as the moment of maximum eclipse
came and went.

Some time later, the weather relented a bit and we began to catch
glimpses of the receding eclipse. I started shooting and went on
to take some 60 shots. The clouds were moving so fast that the
brightness level changed literally from second to second.

I saw no point in trying to check my exposures in between shots
as the next one would need a different level anyway. I went
entirely by guesstimate and kept turning the shutter and aperture
dials, using exposure values from f/11 at 1/2000 sec with a
filter to f/4 at 1/20 sec without a filter.

I was pleasantly surprised when I later found that more than half
of the shots had acceptable exposure, at least acceptable to me,
given the circumstances and my total lack of experience in
shooting a solar eclipse.

Here's the very first shot, taken about 10 minutes after the
moment of maximum eclipse:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...-22Jul09_1.jpg


I like the effect with the clouds.
It gives the image a surreal, mysterious look.
Kudos on your persistence.
Bob Williams

My first solar eclipse
 

"Bob Williams" wrote in message
...
mianileng wrote:
Ever since I made one of my occasional visits to NASA's
eclipse site last year, I've been eagerly looking forward to
this day. The eclipse was to be only slightly over 90% of
total in my area and I knew a photo of it wouldn't be anywhere
nearly as spectacular as in the totality zone. But it's the
first major solar eclipse I'd have a chance to photograph.

Alas, sunrise came and the morning sky was heavily overcast,
with thick fog rolling in too. There wasn't even a faintly
luminous spot to indicate where the sun was. My friends and I
watched TV, the clock and the darkening sky as the moment of
maximum eclipse came and went.

Some time later, the weather relented a bit and we began to
catch glimpses of the receding eclipse. I started shooting and
went on to take some 60 shots. The clouds were moving so fast
that the brightness level changed literally from second to
second.

I saw no point in trying to check my exposures in between
shots as the next one would need a different level anyway. I
went entirely by guesstimate and kept turning the shutter and
aperture dials, using exposure values from f/11 at 1/2000 sec
with a filter to f/4 at 1/20 sec without a filter.

I was pleasantly surprised when I later found that more than
half of the shots had acceptable exposure, at least acceptable
to me, given the circumstances and my total lack of experience
in shooting a solar eclipse.

Here's the very first shot, taken about 10 minutes after the
moment of maximum eclipse:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...-22Jul09_1.jpg


I like the effect with the clouds.
It gives the image a surreal, mysterious look.
Kudos on your persistence.
Bob Williams

Thanks. I too felt that the pictures with thick wooly clouds
looked better than those with thinner, almost uniform clouds.

My first solar eclipse
 

"Further Info" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:00:47 +0530, "mianileng"

wrote:


"David J Taylor"

wrote in message
. com...
mianileng wrote:
[]
Here's the very first shot, taken about 10 minutes after the
moment of maximum eclipse:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...-22Jul09_1.jpg

Congratulations! And on not burning out the sensor or
shutter!
G

Oh yeah. The thought crossed my mind once or twice. But I was
so
busy twirling dials to compensate for the constantly changing
light that I didn't stay focussed (no pun intended) on that
side
of the matter for long.


You'd be surprised just how long you can focus the full
intensity of the
sun on a camera's sensor, with even a wide-angle lens let alone
telephoto
focal-lengths, before it will burn a spot in it. The dyes in
the Bayer
filter going first, long before any damage to the sensor
itself.

Do some calculations on radiation intensity and the heat-sink
capabilities
of the sensor's matrix. These calculations were done many years
ago in the
sci.astro.amateur newsgroup. Perhaps you could search for that
discussion
using Google's "group" search. From vague memory, you will grow
bored of
trying to focus on the sun long before it will do any damage
(approx. 6
mins. if I recall). This is, of course, when the image of the
sun is
focused on the sensor itself, and in such a tight image that it
comes from
a wide-angle lens at widest apertures. Telephoto affords many
more minutes
of focusing and composing time due to the enlarged image of the
solar-disk
spreading its radiation over a wider area. The focal-plane
shutters of SLR
design cameras are much more prone to damage than leaf-shutter
(P&S)
cameras because the leaf-shutter is in a mid-distance optical
path, not at
the point of focus.


During those moments when I did think about the effect of the
sun's image on the sensor, especially when I removed the filter,
I felt that, since the image on the monitor was not bright enough
to cause flare, it was probably not intense enough to damage the
sensor.

That's a fairly nice image of a partial-eclipse, btw. I recall
one total
solar-eclipse that I went to photograph in N. America back in
the 1970's.
The slight bit of overcast greatly added to the event. It acted
as a
rear-projection screen so we could see the diffraction bands
pass through
the sky as rainbow bands of colors rapidly washing the full sky
from
horizon to horizon. Further adding to the effects witnessed..
Amongst other
effects that the overcast revealed that "clear sky" observers
would never
get to enjoy. Like the onrush of the sunset colors against the
inverted
sky. (Total-eclipse chaser will know what I mean by an
"inverted sky". It's
actually quite freaky, no matter how much you know in advance
of what is
going on.) I never wish for perfectly "clear skies" when
chasing down a
solar-eclipse now. I learned my lesson from those happenstance
overcast-skies and wouldn't trade that same experience for the
world.


You've confirmed something that's been in my mind after the
event. It was frustrating not to be able to see the progress and
the peak of the eclipse, but I too felt that the clouds made the
photos more interesting.

One observer team, though, was even less fortunate than we were.
The state's Science Promotion Department and the local astronomy
club led the team of more than a hundred individuals to a hill
top that they thought would be a good observation point. The
thick fog that enveloped most of the town lasted much longer at
their location than it did at ours. They never caught even a
glimpse of the whole thing. One local newspaper printed a photo
of the team because they didn't have a single photo of the
eclipse itself.

My first solar eclipse
 

mianileng wrote:
Bob Williams wrote
mianileng wrote:
...
Some time later, the weather relented a bit and we began to
catch glimpses of the receding eclipse. I started shooting and
went on to take some 60 shots. The clouds were moving so fast
that the brightness level changed literally from second to
second.

I saw no point in trying to check my exposures in between
shots as the next one would need a different level anyway. I
went entirely by guesstimate and kept turning the shutter and
aperture dials, using exposure values from f/11 at 1/2000 sec
with a filter to f/4 at 1/20 sec without a filter.

I was pleasantly surprised when I later found that more than
half of the shots had acceptable exposure, at least acceptable
to me, given the circumstances and my total lack of experience
in shooting a solar eclipse.

Here's the very first shot, taken about 10 minutes after the
moment of maximum eclipse:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...-22Jul09_1.jpg

I like the effect with the clouds.
It gives the image a surreal, mysterious look.
Kudos on your persistence.
Bob Williams

Thanks. I too felt that the pictures with thick wooly clouds
looked better than those with thinner, almost uniform clouds.

Beautiful, thanks for sharing.
For comparison, here's one I got of the normal afternoon sun through fog
at 1/1250 seconds, I think it was 500mm f/5.6.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgehill/2841308492/
and the moon:
http://edgehill.net/nature/weather/more/pg2pc11


--
Paul Furman
www.edgehill.net
www.baynatives.com

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